Tuscan travertine look tiles: a warm porcelain in beige, grey and white
This collection holds one range, Tuscan, a travertine look glazed porcelain in three colours: beige, grey and white. It comes in 300 x 600mm, 600 x 600mm and 600 x 1200mm, in matte and grip finishes, with a ribbed feature tile for walls. All the tiles are rectified and print the same V3 appearance line, moderate variation from tile to tile.
The sections below explain what Tuscan means for a tile, how the range is built, what each listing prints for slip, wear and area, and how to lay it. For the wider topic of travertine look porcelain, see the travertine look tiles collection. For a lighter ivory travertine look, see the Avorio travertine look tiles collection.
What Tuscan means on a tile
Tuscan names a place and a style. An Italian tile maker describes Tuscan style as uniquely warm and welcoming, an atmosphere between traditional farmhouse charm and modern furnishing, with vintage, country appeal, mixed materials and colours and a warm palette of earthy tones contrasted with bolder shades. It calls terracotta the signature of Tuscan living, and says the series can be laid in vertical or horizontal rows or in a herringbone pattern.
A German tile maker uses the name for a stone. It describes Tuscan travertine as the travertine used in many places in Rome, and says its Tuscan Traces tiles carry that stone look onto wall and floor tiles with harmonious grains and soft colour tones. So a Tuscan travertine look tile is a porcelain that borrows the grain and warmth of a stone long used in that region. That is the sense of the name here.
Porcelain, not stone
The Tuscan range is glazed porcelain, and the listings say so. The German maker states the practical difference: a porcelain stoneware travertine look is, in contrast to real travertine, insensitive to acidic or alkaline cleaning agents, which cannot harm the ceramic. An Australian retailer adds that porcelain travertine look tiles are high-fired to a non-porous surface, so they offer consistent colour and finish, while real travertine needs sealing and regular resealing.
An Australian stone supplier's bathroom guide says the same from the stone side: porcelain is usually the easier material day to day, and travertine asks for stone-safe cleaners, periodic resealing and faster attention to staining products. The listings here print Maintenance as Easy to clean and maintain on every tile. For the stone itself, see the natural stone tiles collection.
The formats
The 300 x 600mm tile is 9.5mm thick, matte, and prints P3, with Application Suitable for walls and floors indoors and covered outdoor areas. The 600 x 600mm tile is also 9.5mm, in matte with the same P3 line and in an External version with a grip finish and a P5 line. The 600 x 1200mm tile is 11mm thick, matte, with P3 and the same walls and floors application.
Box lines differ with the size. The 300 x 600mm box holds 8 pieces covering 1.44 square metres, the 600 x 600mm box holds 4 pieces for the same coverage, and the 600 x 1200mm box holds 2 pieces. Each tile in the box is a larger share of the floor, so plan the cuts. For these sizes in other ranges, see the 600mm x 600mm tiles collection and the 600mm x 1200mm tiles collection.
Matte and grip, P3 and P5
AS 4586 classifies the slip resistance of new pedestrian surface materials, and its wet pendulum test uses ratings from P0 to P5. The rating applies to floors people walk on, not to feature walls. The matte Tuscan tiles print P3, described on the listing as moderate slip risk. The External 600 x 600mm tiles print P5, described as very low slip risk, with a grip finish and Application Suitable for floors in outdoor areas.
That split is the one to read first. The matte tiles suit indoor floors and walls, and covered outdoor areas where the Area line allows. The External grip tile is the one for an outdoor floor, a pool surround or a step that gets wet. No single rating suits every wet area, so confirm with your builder or tiler what the exact surface needs. The outdoor tiles collection and the floor tiles collection explain the lines in more detail.
Wear
Every listing prints a Wear Rating of 4. On the matte tiles the line is described as suitable for floors in normal use areas with a low risk of scratching. On the External grip tile and the feature tile the same rating is described as suited to wall and floor surfaces exposed to heavy duty wear by regular traffic with normal footwear. Read the Application line next to it, because the feature tile carries Recommended for walls only despite the wear description.
A stone supplier's guide notes that real travertine is generally easier to live with on walls than on floors, because floors see more direct wear and standing water. The porcelain version relaxes that caution, but the same logic applies to choosing where each Tuscan tile goes: the matte for a living floor or wall, the grip for outdoors, the ribbed feature for a wall.
The ribbed feature tile
The 600 x 1200mm Feature tile is the odd one out. Its Texture line reads Heavy, raised ribbing, its Application line reads Recommended for walls only, and its slip rating is P3. It is a wall tile with relief, and it sits beside the plain 600 x 1200mm tile in the same colour.
The US retailer's Japandi guide says that when the palette is warm and neutral, texture does the work of adding interest, and that a fluted or three dimensional tile adds a tactile element to a wall. The German maker describes a decor with a handcrafted relief of narrow grooves running across the grain, used alone or with the smooth basic tiles to build a three dimensional wall. A ribbed Tuscan feature behind a vanity or a bath, with the plain tile on the rest of the wall, follows the same idea. For other feature tiles, see the feature tiles collection.
Beige, grey and white
The three colours cover the usual travertine range from warm to cool. Beige is the warm, earthy tone closest to the Tuscan palette the Italian maker describes. White is the lighter version, closer to the ivory and cream of limestone. Grey is the cooler option, which suits a scheme with chrome fittings or a concrete benchtop. For single colours across the store, see the beige tiles collection, the grey tiles collection and the white tiles collection.
An Australian retailer's colour guide says warm neutrals such as ivory, sand, limestone, beige and travertine soften visual contrast, and pair with timber vanities, brushed brass tapware and natural stone. The Tuscan tiles in beige or white follow that pattern, and the grey follows a cooler one. Check a sample against the fittings you plan to use, in the light of the room.
Walls and floors
Most of the Tuscan tiles are listed for walls and floors. The tags on the listings run across bathroom walls, bathroom floors, kitchen floors, kitchen and laundry splashbacks, living areas and covered outdoor spaces, and the collection carries a Mediterranean tag. The matte and the External grip tiles can both go on a floor, and the feature tile is for walls only.
For a shower wall or a wet wall, the tile is the visible layer, and the waterproofing behind it is a separate job for a licensed waterproofer. The Paving Supplies bathroom guide for stone says the membrane protects the building and the sealer protects the stone, and that one does not replace the other. A porcelain tile needs no sealer, but the membrane is still required. For rooms, see the bathroom tiles collection.
Edges, joints and layout
Every Tuscan tile is rectified, so tight joints are possible. The listings print no recommended gap, so ask your tiler for the width, and keep it narrow if you want the stone effect to run across the floor without a strong grid. The Italian maker says the Tuscan series can be laid in vertical or horizontal rows or in herringbone, and a long tile such as 300 x 600mm or 600 x 1200mm suits all three. For the layouts, see the herringbone tiles collection and the brick bond tiles collection.
With V3 variation on every tile, a tiler should dry lay a spread of tiles from several boxes before fixing, so the shades blend across the floor. The Queensland retailer's guide to square tiles notes that a flat surface helps with larger tiles, and the 600 x 1200mm tile is the one where preparation matters most. Ask for a floor that is flat and a layout that keeps cuts out of the main sight lines.
What Australian designers say
An Australian tile retailer's guide to travertine look tiles quotes several designers. A Mornington Peninsula bathroom renovator says porcelain travertine look tiles are an excellent alternative to real travertine, giving the same natural look without the downsides of stone, and are fantastic as a low maintenance option for high traffic areas such as kitchens and bathrooms. Another designer says modern porcelain can mimic the beauty, shading and colours of natural travertine, including veins, and does not stain easily.
A third describes real travertine as a design staple that has been around since the Roman Empire and is still widely used for its quiet, unassuming beauty. That is the character the Tuscan range is after. The quotes are the designers' views and not measurements, but they agree with the lines on the listings: a glazed porcelain with easy care and a stone look that varies from tile to tile.
Mediterranean pairing
The Italian maker suggests making the most of existing architectural elements such as wooden ceiling beams, and choosing a warm earthy palette that contrasts with bolder, brighter shades. It names decor tiles that recall majolica patterns in blue, gold and orange as a lively accent for floors and walls. A Tuscan travertine look floor or wall is the quiet base for that kind of accent.
The Australian stone supplier's bathroom guide lists the schemes travertine suits. Mediterranean and coastal schemes use warm whites, oak, brushed nickel and textured plaster. Contemporary bathrooms use a matte finish to keep the palette quiet. Hamptons and classic interiors sit stone beside shaker joinery and softer profiles. The Tuscan matte tiles fit all three, because the surface is flat and non-reflective.
Cleaning
The German maker says its porcelain travertine look needs only easy cleaning, with no risk from acidic or alkaline cleaners. The Australian retailer says porcelain travertine look tiles are durable, easy to clean and resistant to scratches, stains and moisture. The listings print Easy to clean and maintain.
The grout is the part to plan for, as on any tiled floor. Joints on a rectified tile are narrow, which keeps the amount of grout low. A tonal grout close to the tile colour hides dirt better than a pale one, and a damp cloth or mop is the usual care, with the grout maker's instructions deciding the grout cleaner.
Outdoors and pool surrounds
The External 600 x 600mm tile is listed for floors in outdoor areas with a P5 line. The national retailer's DIY guide says tiled outdoor areas need movement joints because summer and winter temperatures, direct sun and sudden drops after rain all change the tiles. It recommends joints no more than about 4.5 metres apart, with a minimum 3mm perimeter joint filled with silicone and not grout. It refers to AS 3958.
Ask your tiler to plan those joints, and to check the fall and drainage for any outdoor floor. The Area lines on the matte tiles say Indoors and covered outdoor areas, so the matte tile is for covered spaces, and the External grip tile is for open ones.
Setting out
The national retailer advises assuming the area you are tiling is out of square, setting full tiles at the doorway and putting the cuts at the back of the area, and marking centre lines in both directions on the floor. It says to dry lay a row from the door with spacers, mark where the last tile finishes and check how cuts fall. For a 300 x 600mm tile that decision decides whether the floor ends in a sliver.
The same guide stresses dry laying for tiles with V3 or V4 variation, to blend shades and keep small cuts to a minimum. All the Tuscan tiles are V3, so open every box before fixing, lay a spread across the floor and mix.
Heating and ordering
The listings for the 300 x 600mm tile carry a note recommending the tiles be paired with underfloor heating for a warmer, drier, mould resistant bathroom. A stone supplier notes that real travertine can feel cold underfoot in winter, and that heating can be worth considering in cooler climates, and a porcelain tile does the same job with heating under it. Confirm the system with your installer.
The listings recommend ordering an extra 15 percent over the exact quantity, to cover breaks and offcuts, and say colour, size and texture may vary from batch to batch, so ordering enough in one go lowers the chance of a mismatch. Keep a few spare tiles for future repairs. With a 600 x 1200mm tile at two pieces to the box, a floor may need more boxes than the area suggests once the cuts are counted.
Tuscan beside other travertine looks
The store holds several travertine look ranges, and the Tuscan is one of them. The Avorio range is the ivory colourway in a matte glazed porcelain with a kit kat mosaic, and the parent travertine look tiles collection holds the whole family, including cross cut, vein cut and French pattern tiles. The Tuscan range is the one with a ribbed feature tile and a grip tile in the same colours as the matte.
That makes it a good choice for a project that wants to carry one stone look through several surfaces: a matte floor in the bathroom, a ribbed feature wall behind the vanity, and a grip tile on the terrace in the same beige. The colours and the grain match across formats, which keeps the whole house reading as one material. For the crazy pave and French pattern layouts of travertine, see the French pattern tiles collection.
Choosing a Tuscan tile
Start with where it goes. For a bathroom or living area floor, choose the matte 300 x 600mm or 600 x 600mm tile. For an outdoor floor or a pool surround, choose the External grip tile with the P5 line. For a feature wall, choose the ribbed 600 x 1200mm tile, with the plain tile alongside.
Then choose the colour and the layout, order a sample, and look at it in the room. The tiles collection covers every shape and finish in the store.
