What I see right away is that your white tile does not match the white of your cabinets. It should.

A travertine floor can look OK with a predominantly white kitchen, but it depends on the color of the stone. Travertine is highly variable, and there’s not enough light in the space for us to tell. You have to see your finishes in your space to know whether it will work.

Consider making lighting a priority in your renovation.

You do have a beautiful kitchen now. I

think all your selections will work EXCEPT I don't think that countertop is in harmony with the floors. I also think maybe the bar backsplash, while really lovely, might be too much?

Maybe it will work. Colorwise I think everything goes but I don't think the counters work with the floor. I am definitely not a pro so maybe someone else will jump in and give a different opinion.

You have a lovely kitchen now

Thank you very much for your feedback. I value your input. I have read mixed reviews about the white kitchens being a fad. I just love the look (along with a navy island) so much. I thought it was possible to mix with my current travertine. I do like (not love) my current kitchen - it is just so BROWN. I keep hearing that the warm tones are coming back but I have not seen that to be reality. I am a real estate agent and every single new construction I see has a white theme and the buyers love it. When I show other homes with warm tone kitchens like mine they say it looks dated (and I agree) :(

Such a dilemma. Here is another angle of my kitchen:

Well, the staggered uppers date your kitchen more than the wood does, so replacing that cabinetry if you can is a good idea. Have you considered using a different wood, like white oak?

This is a tail wagging the dog situation. I get that you are designing around your floors because they are everywhere. As I said before, white might be OK with travertine. It really depends on the white. But that counter and those floors... see them together before you choose anything, and be open to other possibilities, like bringing blue in in other ways.

eam44 thank you...I agree with the staggering uppers. They must go. We will replace them with a Wolf range hood and the cooktop with a Wolf as well. Not a fan of the white oak. The remainder of my house is hardwood floors that tie into the color of the current kitchen cabinets.

I do love seeing your photo suggestions. They look beautiful.

I agree that the staggered uppers look dated and not streamlined. I also think the countertop you like is unlikely to play well with the existing flooring.

Can you use the countertop elsewhere, like in a bathroom, so you can have it somewhere but not competing with the travertine? You could do a navy cabinet or other navy and gold accents in that bathroom, too.

I don’t think there’s anything wrong with a white kitchen. Just need to make sure you are using warm tones, instead of cool ones, to work with the floors.

I think a new backsplash, add some hardware, and switch out the pendants. I think you will be very disappointed if you spend all that money to paint and keep the travertine. It won't play well with navy.

I have travertine floors too and have been working to bring in blue in a bathroom. Navy wasn’t working, but I did find this flatlay that shows blues that do work with travertine. I’ve found that these colors also help bridge the gap between my travertine and white, they just couldn’t get there on their own.

SW, we remodeled our now white kitchen with "pink" floors following the advice of designer, Carla Aston and copied the finishes used in a kitchen by the renowned Studio McGee. So it CAN be done and it CAN look beautiful. Here are some links to check out.

https://www.studio-mcgee.com/studioblog/2014/11/26/san-clemente-kitchen-facelift-beforeafter?rq=white kitchen#mobileNav=

https://carlaaston.com/designed/travertine-floors-learn-how-to-update-their-look

https://carlaaston.com/designed/oh-travertine-what-do-we-do-with-you-now

@Sofia just posted an example from the Carla Aston website I just posted.

Someone posted a pic of their kitchen (done in stages) that had brown travertine floors and white/navy kitchen. I think you could pull it off if you get the right colors.

My "new" kitchen has SW Pearly white cabinets, SW anchors aweigh on the island, venato quartz, white subway (4x12), pearl white isola with mystic gray waterjet marble behind stove. SW Shiitake paint on walls. My floors are hardwood (Provincial stain). It all works together. I have a ton of light in the house.

I love your idea of the navy and white color scheme and I think it could look great, even with your existing floors. I’m not sure about the countertops, they are beautiful for sure but they may be a bit busy. I found this photo for inspiration. The floor color looks similar to yours and I believe the island is Navy. If you find the right whites to use on your cabinets, etc. it could look great.

In kiffkat's kitchen example, it looks as though they brushed a little beige or gold paint into the navy blue paint on the island. That's helping it blend with the floor.

Here’s a couple more photos for inspiration. They have a tile floor (leans a bit more on the gray side) and they kept the counters very simple.

Thank you all! You are all such a wealth of helpful information. I am absorbing every option. It seems the countertops (which started this whole thing) are so beautiful but may be the one thing I have to give up. I've seen many kitchen photos with travertine like these examples and it seems to work for them.

And more inspiration...

Flooring · More Info

Handmade, hand painted kitchen with Ivory Spice Granite · More Info

True North Cabinets · More Info

Kitchen Design & Granite Countertop - Travertine Floor Tiles · More Info

Hello SW, I agree that your beloved countertops may have to change if you want to keep your existing floors. As you can see, the photos you posted have very simple countertops. I wouldn’t give up just yet though. A talented designer may be able to make it all work. Your current kitchen is also beautiful by the way.

You say you are a real estate agent. Are you planning to sell soon? Did you ever think that your average client is probably basing her decision on the styles she has seen trending over the past ten or so years? All white, white with grey, white with navy etc. have already peaked. What would your clients be looking for in 5 years? I agree with live_wire_oak.

Get new lighting and a new backsplash.

Plus, have you ever thought what a pain it will be to keep up those painted cabinets?

Maybe you can just paint your island blue- the “right” blue and change your backsplash. Or get a quieter countertop or warmer one - Taj Mahal?
Change the light fixtures, maybe add a runner, and you’ll have a new kitchen.

If you like white cabinets, go with white cabinets. I personally am not a fan of that brown (says the person who just spent a lot of money on black stained cabinetry). Could you use that lovely quartz as backsplash, then something "plain" for the countertops? I don't know what's in the adjoining room - an eating area? - but you can use rugs to draw attention away from the floor. I have a great runner that I use between sink and range - same layout as yours - that is different and colorful and that's what people see, not the floor. Of course, with the large and very hairy orange cat, that rug is currently "put up" lol.

Edited to say: I mean, if that quartz is your dream countertop (and I really like it!) then I'm sure a good designer can help you tie it all together.

@Sherry I’m not a pro and I’m not knowledgeable about quartz, so I may be way out in left field with what I’m suggesting. :) But I poked around on the Cambria site and found two other designs I would consider if I wanted to make navy work with your floors. I think these would require your cabinets to be cream instead of white.

Travella is described as having navy veins on a creamy background. It’s probably not as WOW as your original choice.

Daron is deep blue with a dusting of gold and platinum...which sounds to me like it would either look amazing or awful, it would have to be seen in person, I think. You’d not want to put this on a navy island, of course, so you’d need to consider how to handle that.

I love the design board @Sofia posted, too. I actually think you could incorporate a lot of cream and blue into your current kitchen without changing anything pricey. You have options, so don’t give up...you just may need to reconfigure your dream a little.

Note that the last two photos you posted are cream colored cabinets not white which works with the travertine much better.

The reason you are seeing the builders putting in white kitchens it's because it is "safe." What you have chosen in materials will look like the other 10 million plus kitchens that have been installed the last 20 yrs. It's a no brainer and that is why the builders are putting them in. What surprises me is that looking at your photos of your kitchen is that you mix things up as far as styles and I really don't see this typical white kitchen being your "thing." I think you will become bored with it. Have you explored painting the cabinets an out of the box color? Or working with the cabinets as they are and going with a more WOW island counter top, plain perimeter counter top and more of a contemporary backsplash and new hardware? And are you aware that the finish on painting them will not wear or hold up as well as the factory finish?

Agree with tedbixby. Find a WOW “warm” quartzite that makes your heart sing and keep backsplash simple. New hardware and lights.

Some mentioned that white cabinets are going out of style, I wasn’t sure so I did a little research. I am not trying to get into a debate on this, I am just relaying the facts according to Houzz. In the top 10 kitchens thus far for 2020, the majority have white cabinets and two of the top 10 feature Navy Blue and White! In the kitchen of the week, for this week, the cabinets are white. In another article on houzz, the most popular kitchen cabinet color for 2020 is...you guessed it - WHITE. So is white really going out of style anytime soon? Not according to Houzz users and Navy and White is also a timeless combo. Just some food for thought.

Here’s the article:

https://www.houzz.com/magazine/the-10-most-popular-kitchens-so-far-in-2020-stsetivw-vs~134234235

And here’s the recent kitchen cabinet survey on Houzz:

SW, can you try one thing first? change out your bulbs in your canned lights and pendants to 4000K (or Natural Daylight)

When you've done that, take some new pictures and post it.

I think you'll find the yellowish tones will dissipate and you'll get an idea of your selections will work.

What kind of travertine is on the flooring? I have a Silver Travertine in one of my rooms, and it has enough whites and grays to work w/what you want to do.

as for the white tile backsplash, is that glass or ceramic? glass will be very cool/minty looking. if ceramic, shoot for a larger tile than a 3x6.

this one is pretty generic looking, but it does have the travertine color flooring. the blue is more of a slate or blue/gray.

Also, what color Navy were you thinking of doing? can you paint a sample door of it and hold it next to the flooring (after you get new lighting) and take a pic?

You also could just leave the island as is. If you really want to paint it blue, look for more of a midnight blue.

or, go for more of a black island and try the new Bentley countertop

black, white, and gold look great w/travertine.

Here is a kitchen with travertine floors and blue (not navy) that you may like.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5851862/before-and-after-kitchen#n=61

@anna_682, excellent example of how a beautiful, updated kitchen can be designed with a travertine floor!

I think there is a simple fix to get a brighter, more updated kitchen without going overboard being trendy or spending lots of money.

1) Paint the island and vent hood a lighter version of your wall color, a coordinating white or to match your trim if it is lighter than your wall. It would be lovely to extend the vent hood to the ceiling.

2) Keep floor and counters as they are. They relate to one another based on what I can tell (an orange beige, right?)

3) Replace backsplash (take off granite 3 inch), again with coordinating OFF white basic subway tile. True white will look too stark.

4) Style the kitchen with more blue and white that matches your stools and island. Maybe some blue and white ginger jars? Your blue stools will pop against the new white island.

so, excuse the bad rendering but I wanted to give you an idea of what it might look like.

I had to do the walls in a darker color because any grey or white just looked off.

If you want to paint your kitchen I would suggest changing your floor. You may be able to walk that fine line and make the floors work but if you make a mis-step it could look pretty bad.

My home was built in the 90s. It has travertine floors and a white kitchen. It looks great and has stood the test of time. The difference though is that the kitchen cabinets are painted a creamy white instead of the white you've chosen. If you wish to have a white kitchen, you need to choose a white that's in the travertine. As for the rest of your choices, they are fighting the travertine. If you wish to keep the floors, I recommend you take your choices and lay them on your floor all day to see how they work with the floor and how they work with the light coming in at different times of the day. My floors change throughout the day depending on the light coming in.

Your cabinets are in great shape. Instead of ripping them out, I recommend having them painted a creamy white on the perimeter and another warm color on the island, replacing the backsplash with a neutral handcrafted ceramic tile, and replacing the counter with something that has less movement.

I'm curious. Are the original owner? In other words, did you choose the current kitchen cabinets, flooring, etc.? If so, ask yourself how many years has it been since you grew tired of it? Now suppose you redo the kitchen, how many years will it be before you get tired of it and want to do something else? Just some things to ponder.

@kiffkat Good info. I think white as a cabinet color is timeless and classic. Something can be both classic and trendy at the same time.

I think what's starting to wane is the cookie cutter trend of white shaker cabinets, quartz that mimics marble, brownish/taupe flooring with distinct violet undertones, etc. that results IMO, a drab, void of all color look. I've come to think of the look as "Millennial Blah". I was born in 1964 - the last year for baby boomers - but I tend to feel more apart of Gen X. But it's OK to say "OK, Boomer!" Doesn't bother me one bit. LOL.

Here's an example of a modern, white kitchen with a look that I think has longevity. It's kind of hard to pin point exactly when it was done.

Here's a white kitchen that appeared in the pages of Traditional Home magazine back in March 1993. It was designed by the late designer Billi Springer. I'd say this 27 year old white kitchen design has more than stood the test of time.

@Melissa R can you share how you did the rendering above please? I have been trying to find something exactly like that so that I can see what my kitchen may look like. Thank you!

Sherwin Williams site has the tool :)

Thank you SO much!

What did you end up doing? Any photos? I am in love with Portrush and am also looking at Travella. I’ve also fallen in love with the Bentley feature waterfall island posted in this thread.