tannietara- Any stone (bluestone slate), travertine, brick, or concrete will get hot in the sun because of the thermal mass capacity of these dense materials. If you do use these them, you should consider lighter colors as they will reflect more of the solar radiation striking them, rather than absorbing it as will darker colors. Travertine may have the edge here, and by its nature is less dense than bluestone slate. You might also consider separating bluestone pavers with intermediate grids of turf (best), pea gravel, or decomposed granite which will break up the mass of the stone and help allow the stone pavers to cool. Always wanted to see Perth! -Greg

Looks like manly from the pic - great ! also looks like second floor windows with limited access to the problem window ? An external solution maybe very costly . One might say pull the blind but obviously during the day it's more discomforting than good so I'm going to suggest plantation shutters.

Hi mluh You've obviously done your research on these products, so it's most likely going to come down to personal preference. As you've mentioned, a natural stone is going to come with an amount of maintenance but the beauty of Travertine is within its variation. Once sealed with a good quality sealer (I recommend Guard Industry), the maintenance is really quite low and most spills are lost within those natural variations. 99% of spills can be cleaned up without too much trouble. Porcelain, on the other hand, can be quite difficult to clean once it's been marked. That said, the external porcelains have a great non-slip texture and are very hardy when used as paving/tiles. I'm personally not a fan of using them as pool coping, but many people love it. Again, both have their advantages and disadvantages so I would recommend using the product that you're happy looking at for the next 10-20 years. - Jordan

how old are you and your friends, what is the length and width of the room and can you post some photos of the room and your favourite Bracht images and list anything you want to keep