What are Honed Travertine Tile Finishes, Types and Applications
Choosing travertine tile for your kitchen, bathroom, or outdoor project can seem like an easy task. That is…until you run into phrases like honed, tumbled, polished, brushed, filled, and unfilled.
Trying to decide between all those options can make your head spin! Don’t worry, the experts at A&X Masonry are here to help.
Let’s tackle everything you need to know about the most common type of travertine tile you’ll encounter — honed.
What is honed travertine?
Honed travertine products are the most popular type of travertine stone you can find. These tiles have a surface that’s been ground down to a smooth finish. You’ll find honed stone tiles with a look from dull matte to a light sheen. Honed travertine can also be filled or unfilled.
Polished travertine tiles are similar, except that they are almost always filled and have a polished surface with a glossy sheen.
Learn more in our travertine guide.
What are the types of honed travertine?
As you look for honed tiles, you’ll see abbreviations like H/F or H/UF to show whether the tiles are filled or unfilled. So what do those phrases mean?
Filled Honed Travertine
Travertine stone is a natural stone filled with tiny pores or holes. Some of those voids can be large enough to catch dirt and grime or are even large enough that you would feel them while walking on the tiles. That’s why it’s common to fill the holes with a special grout during the honing process. This creates a completely smooth surface.
Unfilled Honed Travertine
Unfilled tiles have a slightly more rustic appearance since the surface voids are left empty. Your installer can leave these voids empty and just grout the joints, or they can fill the joints while grouting. Just keep in mind that if they do this, the filled areas will have a slightly different texture than the rest of the entire surface of the stone.
Common Uses and Applications of Honed Travertines
So where can you use honed travertine tiles? Here are some of the most common uses.
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Interior Travertine Floors
Filled and honed tiles are commonly used as flooring just about anywhere in a home.
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Outdoor Patios
Honed tiles and pavers with a matte finish are a great choice for high-end outdoor spaces like patios.
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Kitchen Backsplashes
Homeowners love the style combination of honed tiles with tumbled inlay pieces.
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Travertine in Showers and Tub Surrounds
Filled travertine works nicely as wall tile in wet areas. The smooth surface is easy to keep clean.
The light cream honed travertine backsplash perfectly complements the honed tile floor, Irish cream wall colors, and bright white cabinets.
Brown Travertine with Dark Glass Inlays
Honed Travertine Maintenance Tips
While honed travertine is relatively maintenance-free, here are a few maintenance tips to keep your tiles looking nice over time.
- Regular cleaning: Don’t allow dirt, dust and grime to accumulate, especially along the grout lines. Sweep your tile floor regularly and clean it from time to time with a mild detergent and water.
- Periodic cleaning with stone cleaner products: Periodically, it’s a good idea to clean your tile floors with a product like Granite Gold Stone & Tile Floor Cleaner. Just mix it with the specified amount of water and it’ll help remove built-up dirt and soap scum while protecting the tile.
- Seal the tile in high-risk areas: For natural travertine tiles in high-traffic areas with lots of spills (like the kitchen), it’s best to seal the honed tile and grout. This will prevent stains over time. Sealing is especially important if your installer has filled surface voids with new grout.
Planning a travertine project? Are you in the Garland, Dallas, Texas area?
Give us a call today at A&X Masonry and get your FREE consultation.
And don’t miss more from our travertine article series:
