So long as you use materials produced for outdoor living AND you are FULLY AWARE of travertine's PIT falls...sure you can do whatever you want.

First off, travertine has a MASSIVE range of quality. It ranges from cheap (with a side of crumbling surface to make the cheap stuff look even cheaper) to INCREDIBLY expensive (which is a much higher grade product that has a much better structure).

Not only does travertine have quality issues, it is a form of MARBLE. Right. Crumbly, holey (it can be the swiss cheese of the stone industry) marble that is highly absorbent and almost impossible to keep clean.

Now imagine the low quality stuff (the stuff that gets tumbled) is used outdoors. Water etches it. Mud gets caught in the hole-riddled surface and the stone fails to maintain its look for more than a season.

Of course you can stop this by having the stone patched (it will eventually pop out) and polished (it will eventually wear away) and sealed (it will need resealing on a semi-regular basis in the outdoors).

Of course once you patch it, polish it and seal it, it can become quite slick. Which makes it quite dangerous.

It's your call.

Thanks SJ. You sound so strongly against it... are you a pro or homeowner with a bad experience? I’m aware of the cons but also have heard lots of success stories to. So would love to know what else would be an option. Any suggestions for a light color tile and not fake-looking porcelain (the ones that try to look like travertine)?

I'm former pro. I love travertine. It is stunning. But I'm not found of the tumbled simply because it looks like it is the lower quality stuff. I think tumbled limestone looks much nicer than tumbled travertine...but that's just me.

Ask yourself if you are willing and HAPPY to do/pay for the maintenance. And ask yourself if you are willing to put up with the 'dirty' look of travertine because the dirty look is going to be 70% of time whereas the 'freshly polished' look will be 30%.

I'm someone who is pretty liaise faire when it comes to the look/maintenance of my exterior products but the look of dirty travertine would drive me banana's. I would hate it.

Homeowner: Know Thyself.

Anyone have suggestions on what type of tile I should install on our front patio? It’s covered but would get wet occasionally. Something light in color..beige tones. Thanks!

What about slate?

Livewire- No freeze and not moist here. And it’s covered. And very little rain here.

Millworkman- can slate come in lighter colors? I don’t want too dark.

What about some sort of regular tile that’s ok for outdoors?

Thanks! Here’s a pic. Work in progress ;)

A porcelain terra cotta look would be perfect for that home. Maybe with some corner deco inserts, or patterned tiles on the riser face. Add some black iron touches like lights and maybe a decorative railing, , and it’ll be the coolest entry on the block.

Funny you should suggest that! I actually have been looking at patterned tiles for the riser! I found one that I love. It’s from Israel and would be super expensive so I’ll keep looking. Love these examples.

I would love a lighter tile.. maybe I can find a light terra cotta...hmmm

Thanks!!

Your house is already light. You absolutely need contrast between the two. And you do not want lighter than your house to show all of the dirt paths from feet.

No personal experience, however, my neighbors have travertine patio & stairs leading up to it. It’s been there at least 12-15 years & still looks beautiful.

Btw, the fabulous Getty Museum in Los Angeles has 1.2 million square feet of Italian travertine. One of the most beautiful complexes of buildings & exterior surfaces I’ve ever seen !