I personally would go shop real stone tile yards and see what they have. You'd be suprised, they can often come very close to the big box store, especially for smaller amounts (they can clear out a lot of smaller stuff at great prices). I had to buy fill in for our bathrooms and laundry rooms and got great deals on very high quality travertine. About a buck per sq ft more than the big box store (and to be fair...I'd never have purchased from the big box but DH priced them). As to the slippery issue...I have slightly polished travertine in two bathrooms with tubs/showers and they're not slippery, even when floating in quite a bit of water (we have a splashy 3 year old). No more so than the wood floors when they're wet. I also have travertine as my shower floor base, which is obviously wet, and it's not at all slippery, though of course we did do smaller tiles than the main floor to get the slope. I don't know what your budget is for the kitchen, but if you really love the look of travertine (you'll hit me for this) you might want to try finding Lavastone. Lavastone looks like travertine but has the work horse properties of the hardest granite or stone. It never needs to be sealed, and it's beyond beyond gorgeous. The last person I told that to bought Lavastone and her husband sent me a personal email to tell me how much they love it, but also to ask me to quit telling his wife stuff :oP (It's not inexpensive LOL) Anyhoo...just peak at it :) It's beyond beautiful!

Kiktx, it is not rude to ask that at all. I will probably change my seating orientation around at some point. But the reason I put it that way for now is that wall behind the couch looks really bad as it is still unfinished. That picture I posted above was actually taken before we added the windows. Those were just screens behind the couch! The original house is single wall construction and the only windows were a couple jalousie type in the bathrooms. That's what they call a 'coffee shack' here. Plus, we always hang out on the lanai whenever we want to enjoy the views. Only time we are inside sitting on the couch is after it's dark anyways. :-) Thanks again everyone for all your help. Once I get the sample tiles, I will ask for advice on which looks the best.

Well, @frostedsleet and @Beverly... I had an interior designer come and look, and what do you know, she looked at all my paint samples, then went to her own bag of samples she brought and pulled out none other than Accessible Beige! I was SO hesitant/not onboard at all... and then the more I'e thought about it, the more I am so in love and feel like it is the right choice!!! And that just like I'd hoped, a designer saved me from a mistake. One of my main goals in my home is to draw attention AWAY from the high ceilings and have a more cozy feel. I realized with a darker color, it's hard not to notice how much WALL there is and in turn draws attention TO the high ceilings. (I know many people love high ceilings... they're not my cup of tea but I thought I'd get used to them!). So, about 99% certain this is what we'll go with and will probably order the peel and stick sample this weekend. The only thing I'm worried about is if it will take more paint/prep work and be significantly more expensive since I'll be coming from a slightly darker color, Sherwin Williams Argos. Any thoughts there?

Neither yay nor nay........it depends on what the other options are, and what the rest of the house is like. Certainly not my ideal, but not a deal breaker for me either. Obviously a compact urban setting, and if this was an add-on because the original bathroom(s) in the house are tiny, I'd add some decorative non-slip floor mats and enjoy the space that the other bathroom(s) in the house don't offer. The views will always be crowded urban because that's where some people want to live.