I will start by saying that a travertine is the perfect compliment to a beach house as far as the easthetic of colour and texture goes, however natural stones are not ideal as work surfaces because of their porosity. You are able to prep and seal them at an expense, although there are alternative to natural stone that can provide similar colour tones, without the need to do so. Composite quartz bench tops, and reconstituted stone Benchtops which are manmade have a 92-98% resin impregnated during their manufacture process and this effectively prevents absorption of moisture, hence stains. Essastone currently has the highest resin composition, making it the most durable. However, the beauty at natural stone evokes is unmatched. Because travertine is not only porous, but pitted, a normal sealant would not prepare the surface for Bench tops as these pits would collect all sorts of muck. A glass coat sealer or a self leveling resin could be applied by your stonemason to fill these pits. You can also purchase filled travertine in the form of tiles, so perhaps speak to a stonemason and ask what finish options are available in slabs. For my suggestion, look into quartz in your sand palette to avoid the cost and effort associated with using the travertine. Good luck.

Can't help you with the granite/bluestone sorry, but I'm trying to visualise the finished result. To me having this type of combination would have your benches fighting for attention. I would be inclined to have the timber as the star attraction and keep the back bench in the background with a plain and simple material that will compliment your timber.

Hi I just thought I would leave a comment about the visibility of joins in reconstituted stone such as Caesarstone tops on islands longer than 3 metres. From a patern point of view; by selecting a style that has a fine grain certainly helps with reducing the visibility of a join. As for the join itself, the technology and tooling used to make such joints has come a long way in the last 10 years; therefore if you use a Kitchen Manufacturer who uses up-to-date stone fabrication methods, then such joins can be next to near invisible. Below is a kitchen we made with an Island that is over 4.3 metres long and has a join through the centre; where the join actually has to be pointed out to be seen. We have seen Kitchen Manufactures use the two height method but you really don't have to do this to achieve a long island. If you would like a long island, then you should not be put off by having to have a join; careful selection of your material, manufacturer and planning can achieve great results. Hope this helps anyone reading this article and the comments above.

Ok, so we don't need engineered stone in our kitchen, as we have it there already, but we just had more of the same stone installed in our new powder room & ensuite to match the kitchen's earthy colour scheme. We do, however, need to choose a natural granite for our alfresco kitchen as engineered stones are not covered by manufactures' warranty in our situation. So, I stick with engineered and natural stones for the long term bench top of choice.