SWO Top Sellers: Peruvian Travertine Tile

Welcome back to our brand new blog series, Stone Wood Outlet Top Sellers. This week we're taking a look at one of the highest quality tile products available: natural stone Peruvian travertine!

Travertine tile is a type of sedimentary stone that is formed when limestone is put under extreme pressure for thousands of years. Limestone, travertine, and marble are all made of the same calcium carbonate deposits, with the difference being the amount of time the stone is exposed to pressure.

Travertine has a medium hardness rating - about 4-5 on the ten-point MOHS hardness scale. This makes it perfect for many high-traffic areas of the home, including hallways, kitchens, bathrooms, and more. However, travertine is a porous stone material, so the material should be sealed with a penetrating sealer to prevent stains and water from seeping into the stone and damaging it.

Travertine tile has a number of useful applications, including:

• Flooring
• Walls
• Shower surrounds
• Fireplaces
• Vanities
• Exterior applications
• ...and much more!

Visit one of our three Portland-area locations today to view our large selection of travertine tile products, or call our professionals today at 503-222-9663.

This travertine tile dining room is just application of the versatile natural stone product.

Floor-to-Ceiling Tile: A Trend That Will Last?

Tile has been used as a functional and stylish building material for hundreds of years. From porcelain tile flooring to glass mosaics, tile is one of the most popular building and interior design materials available. It's easy to see why: tile flooring, counter tops, and back-splashes marry style and usability in a versatile, long-lasting way. They are also pretty easy to clean - take a damp sponge to most any tiling and it wipes clean.

This combination of style, function, durability, and ease of maintenance has led to a hot new design trend for today's modern kitchens: floor-to-ceiling tile. Used by such designers as Christina Murphy and Lauren Liess and featured in such design mags as Elle Decor and House Beautiful, floor-to-ceiling tile projects are all the rage recently. With cabinets, cupboards, and appliances taking up so much room in most kitchens, little wall space is left for decoration. Floor-to-ceiling tiling adds a dramatic focal point in a room that is often overlooked when it comes to design.

There are some drawbacks, of course. Like tile flooring or counter tops, a floor-to-ceiling tile project is a major investment. Tile is one of the longest-lasting building and design materials you can use, so if you're considering a floor-to-ceiling project you will want to make sure you absolutely love the look. You will want to make sure you have the budget for it, too - even the most affordable tile can start to add up when you cover large areas such as walls.

What do you think of floor-to-ceiling tile in the kitchen? Would you ever consider such a project? Where else would you think to use this design technique? Leave us your answers in the comments section below!

Image courtesy of House Beautiful Magazine