Yikes!! Paint them!

Oh dear, you are BRAVE to be taking this on.

I would look into using some self-leveling compound to smooth them out, then apply a sheet of laminate (Formica, Wilsonart, whatever) to the smoothed counter. That would get you a usable surface for the top. On the edges, I think they make solid wood banding you could use (maybe 1/4" or 1/2" thick) to hide the edge of the Formica, then you'd need to use a trim router to put a nice edge on the top. Something simple like a bevel or a roundover bit. You can stain the wood to be very, very dark (even black) which could work with the laminate depending on what you choose. Or whatever color would work for your laminate.

Or maybe go with Butcher block, this video shows how to apply it right over an existing counter:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVZWBLSZCzE

Good luck - let us know what you go with!

Wow, who in their right mind would think this was an appropriate choice for a kitchen counter.

How about going to a local glass shop and having a large piece of tempered glass top made to cover your main work section? I had a glass top made for a large built in desk used by my kids. No issues with it and once in a while we lift/tilt the whole thing up and clean underneath. The glass would visibly disappear.

You could also buy a few large pieces of butcherblock to place in key work spots.

I can understand the tiles aren't optimal countertop material but don't you use cutting boards to prep your food? Sorry if this is obvious. Just not understanding vacuuming your counter multiple times a day.

Boy, talk about aesthetics over function. I love the look of travertine but completely a no go for a countertop. chispa's idea of glass could be really cool. Keeps the look and improves the function. Building on tartanmeup's mention of cutting board, butcher block can be purchased very cheaply and can be easily cut to size so maybe cover the areas you use for regular food prep with pieces of butcher block.

tartan, I make a sandwich for my son to take to school every morning, no cutting boards required, just a plate. I am neat, but still need to wipe down the counters afterwards due to some crumbs from the bread rolls, a piece of lunch meat or cheese that broke off, a piece of grape stem, some mayo/spread, etc. All of those things would not be easy to clean on that pitted travertine shown by the OP.

I have never prepped food directly on a counter, chispa. Guess I never realized others did. :)

Ugh, I have no useful suggestions, just sympathy. Our kitchen remodel was in part (larger part than I should probably admit ...) driven by my hatred of the counter tops which were 1" tile and millions of deteriorated grout lines. Grind coffee? Vacuum the counter. Cut a loaf of bread? Vacuum the counter. Sprinkle sugar on something? Vacuum the counter. Even chopping veggies and such on a cutting board results in some overflow, and short of extricating every piece with tweezers you have to vacuum. Trying to wipe up with a sponge would just snag and tear it, so more vacuuming. I think the self-leveling compound and laminate sounds sensible.

tartan, no not directly on the counter, but I use a plate to assemble the sandwich and crumbs can fall on the counter. Easier to use a plate that then goes into the DW. I don't have an endless supply of cutting boards so I would have to hand wash and I'm lazy! Even with a cutting board you would still get some stray crumbs as mentioned by Avatar above.

Gotcha. :)

Big piece of lucite or some other plastic--glass probably wouldn't be good....

Find a local handyman and get laminate tops out of Depot or Lowes. Inexpensive and actually quite durable. You are going crazy not making just a sandwich - what happens at Thanksgiving dinner?

Good luck!

Avatarwait literally summed up my life right now! Tartanmeup, I don't prep right on the counter. As avatarwait and chispa stated, it's just all the ""stray crumbs". To say that I took wiping down countertops for granted is an understatement.

We cringed when they told us how recently they'd done it because I'd much rather formica or laminate over this "stone" as Pam, greendesigns and Debbi mentioned. I honestly couldn't fathom how this could have been an upgrade or worth the cost. I agree with vpierce that glass might not be ideal.

I think the butcher's block idea as Pam, chispa and SirJohn suggested would be a good solution for the island since that's where I do all my prep anyway. I keep a large one around when I prep dinner just to try and contain the chaos. The rest of the counters will just have to wait until we redo the kitchen. I would just hate to waste all that a year or two from now.

We've just been replacing major appliances, replaced the roof, got solar panels and we are in the process of redoing the deck... so while I spend so much time in there, I just haven't had the ability to give the kitchen any thought. I almost wish there had been no countertops so it'd be higher on our priorities list but that would have definitely limited budget in the long run...

Thank you all so much!

Also, thank you all for commiserating with me! I thought it was awful, but I wasn't sure if I was just being an unfair critic or if we were just particularly sloppy at food prep.

Not an unfair critic! :) I think there are ways to seal travertine and make it more polished, less porous. Similar to Bri Bosh's idea of polyurethane. If you pass by a stone place (store? fabricator?), drop in and ask. Worth a shot. Good luck and keep us posted with your temporary solution (not that we're likely to come across this situation again... ;-))

I wish I had a clever idea for you, but all I can offer is commiseration. What a terrible choice for material! I did have a laugh imagining a tiny Roomba you might invent for chasing crumbs. Maybe get a little dust broom to tide you over until you get a solution. I’ve seen some small ones that are cute. Good luck!!

Cover them (or at least a food prep area) with melamine. You don't want to prepare food on what is an inherently unsanitary surface.

Ok, here's an extremely fast and cheap idea for a wipeable surface (depending on how desperate you get): contact paper or vinyl wallpaper. Might have some air bubbles because of the travertine texture but on the whole, it will be smoother. I put it down on my textured vinyl laundry room floor and it's held up surprisingly well. Sweeping and wiping spills is no trouble. Btw, I'm sure I've seen motorized table top crumb catchers featured in some magazine gift guide before.

Tartanmeup &Bri Bosh - Our initial (and only) idea was to possibly epoxy it, but decided it was too big a project for something we weren't keeping around. It's a shame we're not into the look of it or we'd look into getting it honed, though I don't even know if it's actually possible with what we have. Polyurethane might work, but I think the concept of a smooth butcher's block fits both our needs and our aesthetic. An added bonus is that it would add just a tiny bit of extra height to the island which would make prep work easier on me. Also, if it happens to be salvageable when we redo our kitchen, we can reuse it for a spare garage workshop table.

The mention of your floor made me realize both our floor tile and the backsplash are totally smooth and the grout lines are filled so much better... I think we've been prepping our food wrong this whole time!

I checked out the crumb catchers on amazon and they are very reasonably priced/well rated! I'd never seen them before.... I'm gonna pick one up for the remaining counters. But Scottie Mom's tiny roomba (patent pending) idea is too on point! haha.

I really appreciate everyone's feedback! Thank you all :)

Yay. Glad you found a solution that will fit your current and future needs. Butcher block makes a lot of sense. :)

I like the butcher block idea too. Hope it works out well. And let’s find the investor who wants to back that tiny crumb-catching robot :-)