msrose: the Taj majal is gorgeous and right in line with everything I am drawn to for my countertops (I am also remodeling my powder room which also has the travertine floors). So, I think my travertine is the same as the one you are considering. We installed it about a year ago. I absolutely loved it until I started planning my kitchen and powder room remodel. I, too, considered wood as my alternative, but ended up with travertine because of 1) cost and 2) pool. The kids are constantly running in the house dripping wet. Regardless, at this point, I honestly wish I had chosen wood. It is sooo much easier to coordinate countertops, paint, and backsplash tiles with. In addition, I have read on numerous design blogs that the travertine is associated with the tuscany look which is trending out. I am not a trendy person, but we will likely only be in our house for another 8 or so years and need to be considering resale value. With all this said, I love the warmth of travertine and still think mine is beautiful. I will post a link for you in a mintue from a color expert regarding travertine that you might find helpful. Best of luck!

We had the exterior of our solid oak front door refinished this past fall. The finisher used Zar water-based polyurethane. We'll see how it holds up, but this guy really seems to know his "stuff" and the product has been around for a long time.

Jaynes123 "Until GW, I wasnt even aware kitchens had BSs," Same here. The only backsplashes I saw in newly remodeled kitchens were the same granite as that on the counters. Then I see all the posts about backsplashes here in GW and folks asking again and again what kind of backsplash should I get, or does this or that look good for a backsplash. I asked my wife, "What the heck is going on in GardenWeb and all this "Backsplash thing". She says "Some tile sales folks are hanging around and all they gotta do is convince a person or two and the rest follow. That was probably close to 10 years ago now. We see it over and over again, first White kitchens, Now gray. Now everybody must have an Island~~~~and on and On it goes~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ I guess if you are a "Follower Type", all is well and good. But I've always done my own thing and will continue to do so. I will say that one place GW was a lotta help and Yea I did follow, was with Induction, Luv it!!!!~~~the other "Stuff", not so much ~~but ~~~~~that's just this old guys opinion, not necessarily right or wrong! Gary

I was also looking for a terrazzo option for our upcoming master bathroom project in our midcentury modern-esque house. I love the look and feel like it could be a "timeless" option much moreso than the other flooring options out now (plank tile, travertine, etc etc). You may find differently in your area, but at least in Minnesota it seemed like noone wanted to talk to me about terrazzo for my home -they only do schools and shopping malls, etc. I found engineered quartz tiles that have a similar look. I bought mine as a closeout/discontinued line off of ebay for a very reasonable price, or Tilebar.com sells several options too (http://tilebar.com/nebula-ash-quartz-tile.html). Unfortunately our master bath project is moving at a snails pace so I can't give feedback on the tiles installed, but the stacks of them sitting in my basement look beautiful!