Travertine Floors: Learn How To Update Their Look

If you have a suburban home that is 20 years old or so, you might just have a lot of travertine in your home, floors, bathrooms, kitchen backsplash, etc.

While travertine has come full circle and we are seeing it back in style these days, the look that was installed in homes back then, isn’t quite the look we want today.

Just like how I have described how darker, moodier rooms have made a comeback in a previous post, it doesn’t mean that the dated Tuscan look from the 2000’s is totally on trend now.

If you look at photos of homes built during this time, finished with lots of travertine, you can see these are still dated. Right?

So how do you update without redoing everything? Busting out a tile floor, especially in the main parts of the house, living room, dining, kitchen, foyer, etc. can be expensive, messy and very disruptive.

It’s no secret that I like warm whites. In this article on color palettes to go with travertine floors, where I’ve had many comments and photos uploaded by readers over the past few years, most of the time I suggest going with a warm white.

Usually I suggest SW Aesthetic White. SW Accessible Beige works for more of a light beige look.

I suggest those often because, although there are different shades of travertine, from gold to silver, often the travertine in question has a pinky beige undertone. In that case, Aesthetic White works well.

If you want a brighter creamy white, SW Alabaster can work too. Check out this transformation of a bathroom where the floor and wall tiles were travertine. All they did was paint and change the lighting.

BEFORE - Travertine Bathroom Update

AFTER - Travertine Bathroom Update, painted SW Alabaster

These two photos below are from a home I worked on over 10 years ago. We did beautiful wood floors throughout, except in the primary bath. This home had lots of collectible items from years of international travel. The homeowner wanted a natural, simple backdrop for these treasures and our travertine actually fit the bill!

We used SW Panda White for walls, cabinets, ceiling, everything all one soft, warm white.

Travertine primary bath with SW Panda White paint color. Designer: Carla Aston

Travertine floor in primary bath with SW Panda White paint color. Designer: Carla Aston

I just consulted on a travertine bathroom recently where they are keeping the walnut travertine floor as it goes into the closets and bedroom, all over the house. I suggested a creamy white/ivory ceramic tile for the shower walls that has some variation and a zellige type look.

I took a pic of two of the ivory tile samples I have here along with a remnant piece of travertine I had and then laid a piece of standard white subway tile so she could see the difference between a creamy tile look and the more stark white.

Go for a creamy, warm white when pairing whites with travertine.

Cool Whites Don’t Work

You have to really be careful which white or off-white you use.

Going with a bright, plain white or a cool white, usually does not look good. It fights with the travertine tile and doesn’t make it look intentional at all.

It really exaggerates the muddy tone of the travertine.

All you have to do to see a good example of this is look at Zillow and see how many people did what their realtor told them to do, paint everything white, leaving the more expensive finishes alone. They weren’t picky about the tone of the white and boy, do these look bad.

The travertine or travertine look tile just looks muddy or yellowed. It really stands out. And this bathroom below looks almost clinical.

A creamier white would have been a better choice. It would have been a much nicer looking companion to the travertine.

Dark Colors and Finishes Can Work Too

Dark tones like warm grays are really good with travertine.

I love SW Dovetail as a medium to dark mocha toned neutral. It has a nice contrast with travertine floors but doesn’t get too dark.

More good dark color choices.

Cool Colors Make a Nice Contrast If Not Too Light

This travertine entry looks great with blue-green accents and the adjacent dining room in SW Silvermist. The kitchen is painted in the same color, below.

Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer

Carla Aston, Designer | Colleen Scott, Photographer

The paint color in the moodboard below, SW Meditative, would look great with travertine floors. You can see how this scheme makes for a nice coastal vibe.

A fresh blue-green-gray paint, BM Boothbay Gray, adds some color in this remodeled, travertine bathroom.

BEFORE - This bathroom was pretty plain.

AFTER - Paint and new tub give this bathroom a more finished look. Designer: Carla Aston

Update 10/9/2024: This is an older post that I completely gutted and rewrote with new images and information for today’s design climate. The questions accummulated over the past years are very valuable to the content here. Read some below to see if your home has similar looks.

I have 5 color palette examples to use with travertine, linked below.

Here’s a short list of my fave subtle blue-greens that would all look great with travertine tile.

And here are a few remodeling consultations I have worked on, where homeowners kept that travertine tile, for your inspiration!

This blogpost was thoughtfully written by me, Carla Aston, and not by AI, ghostwriters, or guest posters.