TRAVERTINE - THE UNIQUE AND BEAUTIFUL ITALIAN TRADITIONAL STONE
Travertine is a stunningly beautiful, very dependable type of stone. You’ve probably seen it before and not quite been sure what it was. This stone is one of the classic Italian building materials. It was used for the Colosseum in Rome. It’s a calcium carbonate stone like limestone, easy to work, with fabulous soft colours. Travertine is one of the most popular of all interior stone tiles.
Travertine- a modern classic stone
Travertine’s character is one of its major recommendations as an interior stone. It’s graceful, soft, and has a range of colours which are perfect for any home, from a subtle cream to a warm rose, and even a chocolate colour. This colour range works well as a lighting surface, producing a softened reflection.
One of the extraordinary features of travertine is its ability to go with any environment. It’s been used in the Sacré Coeur Basilica in Paris, and the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, as well as the Colosseum. Those are rather different environments by any standard, from the ancient to the ultra-modern and in between. That’s a good description of the versatility of travertine.
Travertine interior design
Travertine is also unique in its ability to work with any interior design. It can work with antique motifs and the latest thing in modern kitchens with ease. That’s partly because travertine’s neutral tones are very good with light. The travertine will faithfully reflect the overall motif of interior designs, and blend in, rather than produce harsh contrasts.
That’s a real blessing for designers and homeowners alike, because it actually increases the range of design possibilities. Travertine has the ability to create a design palette, using its colour range, and being stone, has the dependability of a stone surface as an added bonus.
A bit of research will also indicate another of travertine’s very high design capabilities: It also has many different textures and colour variations that make it a design feature in its own right. It can be used for anything, as a design option. Travertine is subtle, with beautiful colour mixes, the perfectly understated mix of class and elegance.
Care and maintenance
Travertine flooring needs some special care and maintenance, but not much. Being calcite, a type of stone like limestone, it’s sensitive to acids. That means that the travertine has to use a good sealer to prevent penetration and staining.
This isn’t really at all difficult. When laid, best practice is two thin layers of sealant to provide protection. The sealant acts as a barrier to liquid penetration and will also assist in cleaning the stone.
The sealer is also very efficient in preventing any effects from staining. In some cases the sealer will prevent any penetration at all. The stone remains unaffected. Scratches and scrapes may damage the sealer, but these are only small areas, and the damage is easily fixed.
Travertine is one of the great design materials. If you’re looking for a real classic, travertine is exactly what you need.