We’re kind of all done with beige travertine floors these days, aren’t we?
Except……if you go to your local real estate sites in most suburbs (like ours) you’ll find an immense number of homes with beige travertine floors in the main parts of the house. And if it is not real beige travertine, then it is a porcelain or ceramic alternative that resembles the look.
Mostly, these homes have been painted and decorated in warm neutrals, more of an older Mediterranean style look, with heavily faux finished walls and muddy color schemes. That was the style before grays and whites became popular, as I’m sure you know.
While people don’t mind repainting after awhile, ripping out all that travertine is not quite so appealing.
First of all, if you are living in the house, it is a dirty, dusty, loud, obnoxious mess to live through. The dust gets everywhere and is a huge inconvenience and pain to remove.
Travertine tile
Second, it is expensive to tear all that out and redo with wood or whatever you are intending to replace it with. (Wood really adds value to a house and stands the test of time, BTW.)
So, if you find yourself having to live with travertine floors and desperately need a visual update, if you want to do something that helps minimize their look and makes your home look current and appealing, then I’ve got some suggestions for you today. :-)
Colors that work well with travertine
One color direction I like to take when dealing with travertine floors is toward the blues. When you are dealing with such a warm (or pinkish beige) color that covers a big portion of the space, usually, the last thing you want to do is add in more of the same.
You want to add in cool tones.
Blues are a great compliment to travertine and serve to tone down all that beige/pink/yellow color. Check out this palette below that incorporate blues with a travertine color.
The white here is SW Alabaster, a very light warm white. The blue paint is SW Gray’s Harbor. Wouldn’t that dark color look great as kitchen cabinets if there was travertine on the floor in the kitchen?
Flatlay that coordinates blue tones with travertine tile.
I paired a Caesarstone countertop material with it, Rugged Concrete, as it has a blueish gray tone that would blend with the cabinet color.
I like satin nickel as metal finish here, to keep the tone of this palette cool.
The fabrics range from a lighter slate blue to navy, with the color of travertine picked up in the small stripe and the background of the animal print. I think the leather is a nice rich color that works well here too.
Here’s another palette with navy blue as the accent.
This palette uses a navy blue with the cashew color of the travertine and adds in a dark neutral brown.
I think this would make for a smart looking kitchen with Taj Majal countertops and SW Backdrop as the cabinet color. That dark tile from Ann Sacks would blend nicely with SW Backdrop.
I like the idea of dark bronze hardware for this look. The navy and whites here really bring the travertine up to date.
A navy blue and brown palette updates the look of travertine tile.
Some travertine goes more yellow.
This palette below is dictated by the color of the porcelain tile which is similar to some travertines. This one goes warmer, more yellow actually, so leaning to more of a “straw” tone can be nice.
In this particular case, doing some antique brass hardware would work as it echoes that warm tile color. I have a Danby white marble here as a countertop material. Danby is warmer overall than a typical white marble.
Navy blue, straw, warm white and a golden travertine look color tile create a pretty combination.
Another possibility is Taj Mahal quartzite, if the Taj is warm toned. Most of it these days is coming in with more of that look, less gray than in the past.
I love the navy accents and the warm wood here too. This looks fresh because of the white paint, SW Alabaster.
Blue / Green or Peacock compliments travertine nicely.
You can also go more blue/green or peacock, as shown below.
A cool dark green works well too. Going dark to achieve a strong contrast between the light tone of the travertine and the accent color, takes the focus away from the beige of the travertine.
See how the soft white helps freshen up the palette? That is SW Aesthetic White and the peacock color is SW Stillwater. It looks great with a soapstone that leans to the green family.
The travertine color is picked up as a cashew color accent in a darker, richer form in the leather, fabric and natural finish of the wood flooring.
I like the satin nickel hardware color here in this palette.
This turquoise blue green palette works well with the color of travertine tile.
This would be a great opportunity to do a two tone kitchen, with dark lowers and light uppers. You could do some kind of white backsplash tile to work with the white paint color so that everything above the counter would be fresh and light.
I really love the idea of putting a dark color on lower cabinets, as that contrast will be nice there against the color of the travertine floor.
Always add in whites with travertine.
Since travertine is a bit of a muddy mottled beige, and can either read as yellow, pinkish beige or more taupe, I don’t want it to be the neutral in the space.
I want white to be the neutral.
It needs to be a warm white or a white with that pinkish tinge to it that travertine can have, but overall, putting whites with travertine adds crispness and turns the travertine into a distinct “color” in the room.
All the palettes here use a warm white to brighten up their look. I would go with some kind of white that works with your travertine as walls, trim, ceiling colors.
I’ve got more examples of how warm whites look great with travertine floors here.
Grays can work with travertine too.
One of my most popular blogposts is one that shows how a beige and gray color scheme can work really well.
When you purposely marry them together by using a dark gray or a warm medium gray with travertine, you can get a really smart look. There are lots of fabrics that mix these two colors and using them can help you create a really beautiful and sophisticated palette.
Add in white with travertine tile to keep it fresh. This palette uses charcoal gray to make travertine feel more neutral and less pinky-beige.
The dark gray here is SW Roycroft Pewter paired with SW Alabaster as the white.
A dark gray soapstone would make a gorgeous countertop here and I’ve got an antique nickel cabinet pull to bring in even more cool tones.
This would be a dark, sexy kitchen, but the light floors would create balance.
So, if you are looking to update your travertine tile without tearing it all out to start over, try some of these recommendations I’ve mentioned above.
*This post has been refreshed with new content, 4/4/2020.
Here’s a kitchen remodel with travertine floors, pictured below, that we kept, as they ran throughout the downstairs of the house.
And yes, we redid those countertops, plus a lot more!
BEFORE - A kitchen remodel where we worked with these travertine floors to create a dazzling new kitchen. (Countertop and island were replaced though!)
Check out my Flooring Guide, full of lots of great info to help you choose the right flooring products for your home. It’s a downloadable pdf, available here on my site, for $15.
And then here is my Guide for Selecting Paint Colors, so you can be assured of a good pick every time.