Q: I just purchased an extremely light colored travertine slate for my front room, but would like a richer, darker color for the slate. Since it has not yet been sealed, can the slate be "colored" or "stained" before it is installed?

A: Travertine can be darkened, but I would not recommend darkening the slate before installation. You may want to darken one sample tile to see if it's the finish you desire.The rest of the tiles can be color enhanced once installation has been completed. Always make sure your stone surfaces are cleaned thoroughly with stone safe cleaners (no acidic products! stick with products formulated for your stone) before ever applying any type of stone sealer. Not having a clean slate will trap dirt resulting in a poorly sealed stone and unsightly appearance.The product you need is called a color enhancer or color enhancing sealer and can be found at stonecarecentral.com. They also have the stone cleaner that you will require for this type of work.