ellendi, thanks for asking. I brought home so many samples of slate and quartzite, including the silver sands and the quartzite I'd posted photos of, and none of them seemed right to me. The silver sands seemed cold. Had a silver sands listello that I liked but then putting the same slate with it, with all its variation, still seemed cold and too busy.

Finally I found a travertine with warmer tones in it; it's called Vino Gold (Emser). The samples we have are not as yellow and peach as the ones you see on the net, but they mimic the lighter and warmer tones in the oak cabs without being too bright, and there's not as much variation as in slate. So I'm going tomorrow to pick up the tile, it's going to be tumbled 4x4 which we'll set in a diamond pattern just like the old BS. My BIL is giong to put it in with DH as helper, but that can't happen until July, so things are on hold for a bit. I'm very excited about it though and hope I'll still be excited after I see the actual pieces! We plan to use a top-quality sealer to avoid staining problems. Have had a big discussion about grout, filling in the pits in the trav, etc.

I'll take a photo of the actual stone after I bring it home and post it. My BIL has set tile before but he's not worked with trav, so I hope we're not letting ourselves in for a problem. He's a contractor and could use the work, so that's the plan. You're very kind to ask. Thank you!