To be or not to be - marble worktop!

[outlanderish]

We are getting our kitchen re-done all bespoke and I am in love with voila marble or Calacatta but everyone I've spoken to has told me to not get marble, it'll be a huge huge regret. I cannot find anything that even resembles the marble I want in other materials. Our worktop guy who we've always used (who does us brilliant deals) told us to not get marble. I really want to go against the grain and do it, as we are spending a small fortune on the kitchen as it is and want to make it really special - it will be my favourite room in the house. Attached photo.

If you have marble, please let me know your honest thoughts?

Bump

Hi,

I posted this on a similar thread last year:

“ I have a mixture of marble worktops on an island and dark granite by the sink and cooker. I love our marble worktop, however I did choose to have a Matt finish on it and this hides any etching. I seal it once or twice a year and it remains one of favourite features. I also have the darker worktops for any very messy prep, or staining food. It is well used and still looks great, no wine stains or anything like that.”

It is a now year later and I still have no regrets. I have calacatta marble on the island and love it. It does have a few cup/glass marks if you look at it in certain lights from a side angle but to me it is part of the patina and I would use it again happily. That said I am also happy to have some dark granite worktops and a butchers block for preparing foods that could stain. I could also be better at sealing it and I am overdue this year.

Everyone except the stone merchant told me not to get marble too, but I am glad I did!

Marble is lovely, whether on worktops or floors. But it is hideously expensive and is so very easily damaged. A spill or just a drop or two of wine, lemon juice, vinegar or anything else acidic will mark it, and that mark would have to be polished out. Many common cleaners will also damage it. So these days it's not very practical as a kitchen worktop. I’m old, and I remember when Sainsbury’s had counter service. And that counter was marble. They couldn’t have looked after it that much , and it looked just fine, but most definitely not pristine. If you’re prepared for that and you really want it and can afford it, then I think you should go ahead.

Thank you so much for responding. Everyone has told me not to do it, but yet so many people choose to still have marble. I know wear and tear will happen regardless but I'd like to think I'll be more frugal knowing how fragile it is. We are going to have it everywhere so that's another risk but really appreciate you responding!

I went the other way and opted for granite due to friends’ bad experiences with marble staining and chipping. Like wood, they found it looked lovely to start with but aged very badly and ultimately they were replaced.

Are there any granites or quartzes which give an acceptable colour/pattern (you may need to go to a stone merchant)?

@C8H10N4O2thanks for you response. We actually have a stone merchant who's a dear friend to us and we popped along this morning to ask a few questions. He told us to not go for marble as everyone regrets it, but he showed us some quartz with marble veining and none of them gave us that 'wow' factor. We need to make a decision quite quickly and I know my heart is set on marble, just trying to find a quartz that is similar to - which is almost impossible 🫠

I started out absolutely heart set on wood (more specifically oak worktops which I had seen) and after the umpteenth person described the problems they had (including expensive replacements) I reluctantly decided to look at more robust options.

I ended up with granite with a different look entirely but I actually love it. I think I was so wedded to the lovely oak I’d seen (which was in a worktop showroom…) that until it became necessary I didn’t consider stone.

I was also surprised with the quality of the composites, especially the “fake” stones. I wanted natural materials so stuck with granite but some of the composites did come very close. I agree its difficult to give up something your heart is set on. For me the high maintenance and problems ultimately pushed me to stone but I do remember the conflict