Is This the New Marble?

Design by Kelly Wrestler | Photo by The Ingalls | via Yellowtrace

In today’s edition of “Arlyn, I think *this* is a thing now” and Arlyn giving me a kind but deliberate “prove it” look,” I am talking about… travertine. Now, for some reason when I hear that word, I instantly think, “nope. Not for me.” Maybe it’s because it was so overused in the early to mid-2000s? Maybe it’s too beige (and historically not the good kind)? Regardless, I didn’t have a clear enough reason for why I felt this way. In an effort to help me figure out my personal dislike of the material, I took it to the streets. And by streets, I mean, the office. I took a poll at work and asked what was the first thing that came to mind when I said travertine. Words like suburban, McMansion and faux rustic summed up all of the responses. And that was exactly it. So many homes have used it an effort to look “expensive” or to make their new build feel like a “Tuscan villa.” It felt showy and not special…until now. Example A (shown above): The dining table in the new Kelly Wearstler-designed Proper Hotel in Santa Monica, California. Hi beautiful.