I agree--I have a small travertine floor and it catches dust and stains easily because it's so porous. I wouldn't use it on kitchen counter. If you really want to, you'll probably want to find one of those miracle sealers, and seal it often.

we put it in the bathrooms in our last home before we sold it. Thankfully it sold quick because you had to be so careful not to stain it. I can't imagine using it in a kitchen.

I've had a travertine dining room table and coffee table for nearly 20 years. Never, in any lifetime, would I consider travertine for a countertop. It stains and it waterspots. Pain in the whatever for a countertop! This year we will have to treat both tables for waterspots and general spots. The weather will have to warm up and we are in Central FL!

So Travertine shows WATERSPOTS?

If that is the case why does anyone use it..at all?? I am so confused.

alterit, I can't answer for everyone but for us, it was a real cheap way to get a high end look. ;-)

I wouldn't use it for counter tops in a kitchen or bathroom. However, I would consider and have considered using it for the backsplash in the kitchen. It has a beautiful, old world look and feel hat is hard to beat and it was used to build the Colosseum in Rome. The variation in the material is hard to reproduce and the tiles are relatively inexpensive when compared to other similar building materials even porcelain tiles.

Having said that, it's really a matter of how much maintenance you are willing to do. If you really like something such as travertine, marble, or ganite, you also have to learn how to take care of it.

I have tumbled travertine for a kitchen backsplash. Honed on a seldom used entry. Splatters on the backsplash wipe off with no problem. It's sealed to the max and one swipe with a Mr Clean Eraser does the job. Entry floor already has a couple of stains in spite of it being sealed. Because of the increasing complaints about honed travertine floors, I chose to do porcelain travertine look a like tiles in my bathroom and SO glad that I did. Travertine on a kitchen or bathroom vanity??? No way! It would make a beautiful countertop IF you never really "lived" in the kitchen or bathroom :) I love it!
Monica

I wanted a travertine kitchen countertop so badly. An architect friend of ours had it in his kitchen so I went to his house to talk to him about it. He had had it for about 4 years. There were lots of stains on it--wine etc., but it did not bother him at all. The stains would have bothered me. I did put it in all of my bathrooms and love it there and have had no problems yet. I'm glad I made the choice not to put it in the kitchen.

Anyone else?

Last nite I did a little test with an unsealed piece I have. I spilled a little Nyquil (red liquid medicine) on it. In the morning most of it came off except a few specs.

Does anyone know the price on Travetine Countertops. Is it the same price as Uba Tuba Granite? WHICH is Cheaper?

Justmeinsd...I was surprised that it was inexpensive..It is so beautiful.

I'm actually doing a travertine counter in the bathroom...but I'm going into it knowing it's probably going to etch and maybe even stain (hopefully not...we don't really use any products that would stain, I don't think). I am in the camp that would NOT recommend it as a countertop in any situation, even though I'm doing it myself (doesn't make sense, I know).

If I hadn't found our vanity/top/sink for so cheap ($358), I would have chose a different top. But for my budget (and admittedly picky tastes), the only solid surface I could get was that white, cultured marble. Everything else was at LEAST double for the look I was going for...and the ones I REALLY liked were $1300+.

If I had enough money to do granite in the kitchen and had to chose between the pretty travertine or a basic granite, I would go with the basic granite. The kitchen is the workhorse of the house and I wouldn't want to have to tiptoe around it. And to be honest, after being on this forum A LOT over the last two years, I don't even remember anyone who has ever used travertine in their kitchen for the reasons mentioned by previous posters.

:)
Sarah

Lets see...
baby oil (any kind of oil)
colored toothpastes
hair dye
perfumes
makeup (mascara, liquid foundations, lipstick)
hair products
mouth wash
first aid products
fingernail polish
lotions
liquid soap
I'm NOT saying all these things will stain travertine
but it's a quick list (without giving it a lot of thought) of every day items in an average bathroom that I think you'd have to be careful with.
It's such a beautiful stone but really not one cut out for kitchen and bathroom counters. I don't know which is less spendy but UT is in the lower tier of granites price wise.
UT is a very dense granite. Doesn't need to be sealed and would be about as bullet proof a stone counter you could get.
Monica

I have it in my bathroom, a well-done DIY from previous owners. The kid bathroom. Polished on the counter and tub-surround, honed on the floor. I haven't sealed it the 2.5 years I've had it and I don't think it was sealed when installed because all the leftover materials were left behind and no sealer.

My kid learned to use the toilet and brush her teeth in there. The polished surfaces show water spots but wipe down easily. (This will vary based on one's local water of course.) The honed floor has been flooded, peed on, 409ed, Lysoled, and had cat poop sit on it for several days while we were on vacation. The poop required a little work. Ick.

Anyway it is holding up really well. It hasn't been exposed to cosmetics yet, though. I should seal the heck out of it if it's still in when my daughter starts that...

I don't know if I'd recommend it for counters because I haven't truly tested it there, but it's been through it all on our floor and is performing beautifully.

Thanks for the comments...

Wondering THE COST DIFFERENCE:
Travertine Countertops VS. Uba Tuba Granite

For bathrooms My builder has alloted me $65 sq ft installed price for my countertops.

I can stay in budget if I use Uba Tuba..wondering about the travertine.

I had a customer who insisted on using travertine for her countertops. No local fabricator carried travertine slabs, as they never considered it usable for countertops (even for the bath). She found some large format travertine tile at the local discount place along with some fancy chair rail molding that she used as an edge. It looked totally fabulous when she finished. Old world rustic. Six months later, she was back to order the granite I had suggested in the first place. She absolutely hated how it stained, and yes, she sealed it to the max. It also had some of the voids flaking out the epoxy and grout and getting food stuck in them. She tried cleaning them with a scrub brush and some type of what she called "just regular kitchen cleaner" and etched them really good. In six months time, the countertops went from totally fabulous to totally gross and horribly etched. And she was only an "average" Italian cook. But those tomato sauce and wine etches and stains didn't make it look "patinaed" at all. It made it look unsanitary and just yucky.

Proceed at your own risk. Healthwise and financial being the topmost risks.

Thanks all ...I am not doing travertine in the kitchen.
But I am still considering it in the bathrooms.

We put 24x24 squares in our masterbath 2 years ago. We sealed it with a high quality sealer and have had not problems. We don't clean it with commerical cleaners but got some stone cleaner. We are very happy with it but I agree I wouldn't use it as a kitchen countertop. It was a less expensive alternative than solid granite for us and with the small grout lines we like the look.{{!gwi}}

Yes, I used travertine for my countertops. It wasn't the polished stuff, but it was very well sealed. Granite wasn't in the budget at the time, and we both really loved the way the travertine looked. DIY cost was a fraction of what the granite would have been. I had very few problems with either staining or etching. And although I liked the look, in retrospect I would not do it again because it was difficult to clean (not perfectly smooth) and the sanded grout shredded my rags.