Scabos Travertine Split Face Ledger Panel

That difference matters more than it first appears, because a split face normally depends on shadow to be seen. On a monochrome panel the relief is the only information available, so the wall needs light arriving at an angle or it flattens into nothing. Scabos does not have that dependency. Its colour changes from strip to strip regardless of how the light falls, so the surface stays busy and legible even under flat, frontal lighting. Where a lighting position cannot be arranged, this is the panel that still works.

The same property is a warning. A wall that is both strongly textured and strongly multi-coloured is doing two jobs at once, and it will dominate any room it is placed in. It suits a chimney breast, a single alcove or an exterior elevation far better than it suits a whole interior.

The colours come from iron and other minerals in the original spring deposit, so the balance between gold and grey varies between deliveries. Travertine is porous and a split face has a great deal of surface: seal it thoroughly, and keep it to vertical surfaces.