If you are thinking about doing some tile work in your home then of course you have several options. You can use fired tiles. These are those red brick colored tiles that seem ubiquitous. They work well but they are kind of boring and, really, everybody uses these. Why not try something with more color, texture, and uniqueness.

Travertine floor tiles have actually been used for centuries in some parts of the world but are only now becoming popular in the States. Originally, travertine was a stone that was quarried about 60 miles from down town ancient Rome. Originally this area was called Tibur but through the years and invasions by different peoples it has been corrupted to the name Travertine.

This stone was really a lot more popular than most people realize. In fact, most people think the Roman Coliseum was constructed of marble but reality it is almost 100% travertine. This makes sense because as a building material it is very functional. It is light and easy to maneuver but it still gives good strength characteristics. It must because the Coliseum has been standing for around 2000 years.

In the present day most of the travertine used is in the form of cut tiles. This stone is a sedimentary rock which is formed at the bottom of hot water pools which are heated with water that has traveled through volcanic areas under ground. As the water seeped through these hot areas it picked up stray minerals and brought them to the surface. The water then evaporated leaving the mineral layers on the bottom of the pool. Over the centuries these pools would then be covered with soil and the combination of the heat and the pressure from the ground above would transform them into sedimentary rock.

These minerals are where the travertine gets its fabulous colors from. Although most tiles are based on shades of tan earth tones, the minerals embedded almost any color of the rainbow throughout the stone. This gives a very interesting appearance whether you plan to cover a travertine floor or you would like to hang them on a wall surface.

One thing to remember, though, is since travertine is a sedimentary rock it can tend to have voids and pockets formed by air bubbles. This is not a problem with marble because that dense stone has been transformed into a metamorphic rock by extra pressure and heat.

These voids mean travertine floor tiles must be sealed or any liquid that spills on them could cause staining that would not be removable.