I would talk to your tile installer about the sub-floor issue.

With respect to durability, while procelain tile is more durable, Travertine is still fairly durable and is used on flooring all the time. If you love it, go for it, just know the pros and cons first. Here are some threads with good information on the topic:

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/3941191/travertine-vs-porcelain-tile

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/674360/travertine-vs-porcelain-tile

We put real brushed and filled travertine down in our open floorplan house - including the kitchen. We have “Noce“.

You will need to be careful about dragging stuff like coolers, chairs across the floor - same carefulness as hardwood. We didn’t know this at first and have scuff marks in front of the fridge from dragging the cooler, up to the ice maker to fill. The scratches do fade in time.

Our installer used a very powerful 10 year sealer. We have no issues with staining. I do have an older dog that has “mistakes” and I can see a slight dull spot (like the sealer might be gone in that spot??). Nobody notices except me, and I have to look hard. We keep saying we are going to reseal those spots but haven’t.

I think the travertine is softer on the legs than porcelain tile (we had porcelain our previous house) - I did get ridiculed here on Houzz for saying that - but I think it’s true.

We also have travertine outside on our patio and around the pool. We have “Blanco”. It is awesome around the pool, even in the Florida sun, there has not been a single time the paver felt too hot to sit on. Its smooth and doesn’t snag your bathing suit.

We are trying to decide if our new construction will have hardwood or travertine inside - but definitely will do travertine around the pool again.

Most clients want natural stones, they are beautiful; that said most do not really understand what's involved. I always bring up what happens with stone and their responses can help them decide for themselves. In your case, travertine, it's soft, do you have dogs? Will you get upset on scratches/ possible stains? Are you OK if filler pops out? If it's polished, some areas will dull over time. Your answers will go a long way to help you decide what's best for your space.

I love travertine...but I would only use travertine look porcelain because I'm lazy and I am NOT fond of the orange/peach tones that are most common with natural travertine. The brown/grays are RARE and EXPENSIVE (whew are they EXPENSIVE...so expensive that only HIGH END homes use it).

I know I want the look but not the hassle of travertine. Travertine often requires FILLER...yep. Filler is scraped over the finished floor to fill in THOUSANDS of voids in the stone. Low-to-mid grade travertine has pock marks all over it. Those can be the size of a pencil eraser..and several millimeters deep. Those need filling. So the installer SMEARS the surface will filler. Then they polish it down. And then they seal it. Your TOP END installer (who works almost exclusively with natural stone...not just tile) will know how to do all of this. A regular tile setter (who only works with stone on occasion...like 2-4 times per year) might not have all the know-how. Over time the sealer needs to be redone and the filler often needs to be redone at the same time as the sealer.

And the subfloor requires stiffness. Porcelain tile needs it. And regular stone REALLY needs it. That means your subfloor must be assessed before you make any decisions. You will need to discuss transitions through doorways or where it meets other floors. Do NOT assume the tile setter will solve it for you. Without explicit/detailed directions, they will do what is 'easiest' for them with the tools/materials available to them at the time. If you have not purchased the materials that will get you the best possible transition, then your setter will create something out of nothing...and that often is very disappointing for a homeowner.

What is the CURRENT floor in the kitchen?

I have a couple of threads on this same subject. I am looking for a bathroom floor that does not look fake as almost all porcelain does (in my opinion at least). I would love to use natural stone or travertine but like you I am always being warned against doing so.

I’m following this thread in hopes of learning some new alternatives!

I have had both and though I love the real travertine, I do not want to be a slave to the material. There are enough good copies especially if you select one with rectified edges and a wide variety of patterns before the tile repeats.

You can duplicate the look with porcelain

Since you asked what floor we have currently, (don’t roll the eyes here please), we have very old linoleum - it has withstood soooo much over the 40 years...our home has been meticulously restored throughout the years (now FINALLY time for kitchen) that we have been here. It is a beautiful 1938 all brick English Tudor with all original stained woodwork throughout and original but refinished (with some new replacement) oak hardwood floors...small kitchen though. I would LOVE to put hardwood floors in my kitchen, (been advocating for them for couple years now) but hubby just won’t give in - grease and high traffic in our small eat-in kitchen is too much for wood he thinks. We have expensive, classic taste and do things “the right way” with no cutting corners or going cheap....that’s why this decision is so difficult! I truly appreciate all the advice given here! Please keep it coming! BTW..finished a gorgeous basement re-do just 3 years ago using Houzz pics as inspiration - spent WAY too much money but absolutely love it!

OK...so you have a LIGHT floor (weight wise) currently in place. That means the original build PROBABLY had been built to handle a light weight and FLEXIBLE material like sheet product (linoleum or vinyl.) That means you have a 99.9% chance you will need to add more thickness to your subfloor. Ok...now we get into the nitty gritty. Regardless of stone or tile, you will need this beefing up (unless of course to TOTALLY luck and find you have a house that was OVER built and has WAY TOO MUCH subfloor material for the surface it holds = doubtful).

Good. Now look at the transition HEIGHT between the existing sheet product (probably vinyl but could be linoleum). Is it even/level? Is it CLOSE to being even/level? Is it so close you don't notice the slight (4mm or so) height difference?

If I'm right, there will be very little height difference between the floors OUTSIDE the kitchen and the floors INSIDE the kitchen. That's where the problem is going to be...the floor-height transition.

Imagine you have to ADD 1/2" plywood just to get a subfloor that is stiff enough to handle tile (or possibly 3/4" to handle stone). Now imaging a tile/stone floor that is another 3/4" HIGHER than that. The worst case scenario is you have 3/4" plywood + 3/4" stone = 1.5" TALLER than the current kitchen floor.

Now we have issues. Big, nasty, technical issues. Your entire kitchen design is going to centre around the floor height issues. Are you doing a complete gut of the kitchen?

Do you have current photos of your floor heights? Do you have wood joist subfloor system in the kitchen? And with a floor/home this old, have you don't testing for lead/asbestos?

So a style like this might work with your Tudor

I’m putting travertine in my kitchen and in the adjoining dining and living rooms.

its a hoNed and chipped Versailles pattern. It so far looks amazing, feels great and getting lots of compliments though the flooring is far from being finished. I will need to put pads under chairs and not drag furniture over it by I don’t care. I did the fake travertine my current house and though it looks nice, it looks nothing like the real thing. I’ve always wanted a real stone floor and I’m ready to accept the bad with the good

so, if it’s youre dream and it matters to you, go for it.

Lidia, make sure you use a matte sealer on it many times. Also remove any drips from berries, jam, fruit, etc. immediately and make sure you have a stain removal kit ready so you are not searching for products when they are needed.

Also, be careful about what tracks in the bottom of tennis shoes. Any transfer of blacktop from driveways or roads on the travertine is impossible to get out.

BeverltFLADeziner, thank you!!! Will do!

Sorry, I know this is old, but I love the look of the travertine! Price/durability are issues for us so we will need to use a porcelain tile for the shower in the master! @BeverlyFLADeziner can you tell me what the tiles are you showed here above?? They are beautiful!!

I see lots of advice that grout for either must be sealed once a year. One poster said that I must wipe the sealer off the porcelain tile to avoid the tile becoming discolored. Therefore, I need to be down on hands and knees applying sealer with a tiny brush and wiping it off just the tile. Maddening! With stone I seed to seal the whole floor with a mop or something and walk away.

Question for anyone and everyone: must I keep the sealer off the porcelain tile?