There's no shortage of options when it comes to natural stone. Walk into any supplier and you'll be hit with travertine, limestone, sandstone, marble, crazy paving, wall cladding…the works.
It's a lot. And making the wrong call can be an expensive lesson.
In our guide we’ll help you pick the right stone for the right spot. So whether you're doing up the backyard, sorting out the pool area, or finally getting around to that feature wall, you’ll be ready.
First things first: where is it going?
Before you even think about which stone looks good, figure out where it's going.
Inside (floors, walls, bathrooms, splashbacks) you've got more flexibility. The stone doesn't have to deal with full sun, rain or pool chemicals. Natural stone floor tiles in bigger formats look amazing inside, and natural stone benchtops in marble or limestone are hard to beat in a kitchen or bathroom.
Outside (alfresco, pool surrounds, garden paths, driveways) the rules change. You need natural stone pavers that won't burn your feet in summer, won't get slippery when wet, and won't fall apart in a few years. Western Sydney summers are no joke. Dark-coloured pavers in full sun can push past 60 degrees on a bad day.
Get this part right first. Everything else follows.
Popular stones that cover most projects
Travertine tiles
Featured: Silver Travertine Tile & Pavers
Travertine tiles are having a massive moment right now and honestly, it makes sense.
This isn't one of those trends that's going to look embarrassing in five years. People have been using this stuff in major buildings for thousands of years. The warm cream, ivory, honey and beige tones go with timber, with render, with pretty much anything you throw at it.
Outside, travertine tiles stay cooler underfoot than most options because the lighter colour throws the heat back rather than soaking it up. That matters a lot when you're running barefoot from the back door to the pool in the middle of January.
In a honed or tumbled finish, travertine tiles outdoor hold grip when things get wet too, which is exactly what you want around a pool.
Inside, travertine tiles on a bathroom floor or kitchen wall give you that warm, textured look that honestly every renovation account on Instagram is trying to recreate right now. Natural stone benchtops in travertine work well in a kitchen or bathroom vanity too. Warm without being over the top.
If you don’t know where to start here are two solid options:
-
Classic Travertine Tile & Paver. Warm beige and honey tones. Works as tiles, crazy paving, French pattern or wall cladding. Super flexible.
- Silver Travertine Tile & Paver. Cooler, greyer tones. Certified P5 slip resistance rating. Good pick for pool surrounds and outdoor wet areas. (And it’s what we’ve used for the pool paver project pictured above.)
If you're doing a feature wall or exterior cladding as well, there’s also the Toscana Travertine Wall Random Cladding ($127.99/m²) and Troy Travertine Wall Random Cladding ($128.79/m²) are both bestsellers.
Toscana is a cooler-tone travertine tile. Troy is richer and warmer, great for homes with a heritage or Mediterranean feel.
Easy maintenance to keep your travertine clean
Keeping travertine clean is pretty easy once it's sealed. pH-neutral cleaner, nothing with vinegar or bleach, sweep it regularly so grit doesn't scratch the finish, and mop with warm water and a stone-safe detergent. The natural stone sealer Stone Oasis recommends for travertine is the Aqua Mix Sealers Choice Gold Rapid Cure. More on that below.
Limestone pavers
Featured: Tundra Grey Natural Stone Pavers
Limestone pavers don't get the same hype as travertine right now, but ask any pool builder or landscaper in Sydney what they keep going back to and limestone comes up every single time.
Outdoor limestone pavers handle Sydney weather really well. The pale colour reflects heat so the surface doesn't get as hot underfoot.
In a brushed or antiqued finish it's got good grip. It holds up against pool chemicals and salt air near the coast without breaking down. And the tones, cream, ivory, soft grey, warm white, just sit nicely in the background and make everything around them look better without trying to steal the show.
The difference between travertine tiles versus limestone pavers comes down to feel. Travertine has more texture and natural variation. Limestone is cleaner and more uniform.
Neither one here is the wrong choice.
It just depends on what vibe you're going for.
Limestone crazy pavers are a solid pick for garden paths and more relaxed outdoor areas where you want something that looks naturally laid out rather than perfectly uniform. Like sandstone crazy pavers, they use odd-shaped pieces fitted together without a grid. Limestone crazy pavers are cooler in colour, sandstone crazy pavers are earthier and warmer.
Stone Oasis's Exclusive Damas Ivory Limestone Pavers are worth checking out. Creamy ivory tones, warm beige undertones, fine-grain texture. The same type of material you find in old buildings across the Mediterranean.
Sandstone pavers
Featured: Australian Sandstone Premium Honed Crazy Paving
Sandstone pavers are probably the most fitting choice for a Sydney home, and that's not just a vibe thing. The Sydney Basin literally sits on Hawkesbury sandstone. It's in the sea cliffs, the old stone walls across the Inner West, the outcrops you see poking through in gardens from the Hills District all the way to the Northern Beaches. Picking sandstone pavers connects your place to this city in a way that no imported material really can.
The warm golden, honey and buff tones are also right where Australian outdoor design is heading in 2025 and 2026. Less grey, more warmth, more of that connection to the natural landscape.
Featured: White Mix Sandstone Random cladding
Sandstone crazy pavers are great for garden paths and garden areas that have been around a while. The pieces fit together in a way that just looks natural, and they actually get better as time goes on because moss and lichen slowly work their way into the joints and it ends up looking like it's always been there.
Sandstone mixed cladding also adds beautiful warmth and rugged texture as featured walls or accents. See how it was used to pull in a comforting point of interest in this bathroom project shown above.
Stone Oasis's Australian Sandstone Premium Honed Paving is our main pick for pool surrounds and garden paving where you want something a bit more structured than crazy paving but still want that warm Australian sandstone look.
Sandstone pavers around a pool? Absolutely. Just make sure you've got a textured finish for grip, seal it on day one, and get a professional in for the base prep and waterproofing. Sealed sandstone pavers handle pool chemicals without a problem.
Marble
Marble is the one people stress about the most, and most of the time the stress isn't really necessary.
Stone Oasis's Kara Marble Wall Random Cladding ($134.89/m²) and Carrara Marble Wall Random Cladding ($137.85/m²) are some of our best-selling marble cladding.
Carrara is white with soft grey veining, the classic look, works really well as a bathroom surface, kitchen splashback or natural stone benchtop.
Kara runs a bit warmer and suits living areas and hallways nicely.
On the maintenance side: marble doesn't love acid. Wine, lemon juice, harsh cleaning products, you want to wipe those up pretty quick. In a bathroom or on a feature wall where none of that stuff is really happening, sealed marble is honestly pretty easy to look after. In a busy kitchen it suits people who are a bit more on top of spills. If that's not really how your household runs, limestone makes a better benchtop option.
Marble outside as paving is a hard no. That's not what it's built for.
Get the finish right
|
Finish |
What it looks like |
Where it works |
|
Polished |
Shiny, reflective |
Low-traffic indoor surfaces only |
|
Honed |
Smooth, matte |
Indoor and covered outdoor areas |
|
Tumbled |
Aged, rounded |
Heritage homes, garden paths, alfresco |
|
Sandblasted / Flamed |
Rough, maximum grip |
Exposed outdoor paving |
Don't put polished stone outdoors or in a wet area. It gets slippery when wet and it will cause problems.
Sealing: do not skip this
A natural stone sealer is not optional. For anything going outside, near a pool, in a bathroom or in a kitchen, sealing is what keeps the stone looking good long-term.
A penetrating natural stone sealer soaks into the stone itself rather than coating the top. So it doesn't change how the stone looks, it doesn't wear off when people walk on it, and it blocks water, oil, chlorine and staining from getting in.
At Stone Oasis, we recommend the Sealers Choice Gold Rapid Cure from Aqua Mix ($120, was $149) across all our natural stone tiles and pavers. Lasts up to 15 years, mould and mildew resistant, won't change the slip resistance, full protection in under four hours. Works on travertine, limestone, sandstone, marble, granite and grout.
Seal it on the day it goes down. Leaving it for later is how unsealed stone ends up with red wine stained into it after the first BBQ.
Before you order
Take samples home before you commit. Stone looks completely different in your actual space compared to a showroom. Natural light, the colour of your walls, what's around it, all of that changes how it reads. Grab a sample, put it down in the actual spot, and look at it in the morning and again in the afternoon before you decide.
And when you go into the showroom, bring photos of your space on your phone. Show us what colour your walls are, what your cabinets look like, what your garden situation is. The team at Stone Oasis can actually help you narrow it down properly when they can see what they're working with.
Stone Oasis is in Bankstown at 59A Canterbury Rd.
Open Monday to Saturday 8am to 5pm and Sunday 10am to 2pm.
You can order samples online before you visit if you want to come in with a shortlist.
Call 1300 378 901 or head to stoneoasis.com.au.
Stone Oasis supplies travertine tiles, limestone pavers, sandstone pavers, natural stone tiles and stone cladding across Sydney. Same-day pickup and delivery available. 59A Canterbury Rd, Bankstown NSW 2200.
