Marble dining table - yes or no?

[nutellaontoastgirl]

So we're currently in the market for a dining table.

I'm leaning towards a marble one, partly because I love it, and partly because I thought it would be easier to maintain than a wooden one with three young children - but google would disagree ! Apparently stains don't come out if left for longer than 0.5 seconds?! Ok maybe I'm exaggerating abit but stains are part of life with three young ones so I'm feeling on edge already!

Or are the new marble dining tables made in a such a way that stains DO come out easily ? (Please say yes).

It will be used for eating on (obvs) and homework, crafting, colouring, all that kind of stuff.

I wouldn't because it will weigh a ton and be difficult to move.

No, marble is a nightmare. Scratches and stains really easily.

I wouldn't. If you're worried about keeping a wooden table looking presentable then cover it with a wipe clean oil cloth for every day use and only take it off for "best".

We did the opposite when our kids were small - bought a really cheap.melamine topped table from IKEA and only covered it up with a posh cloth when people came to dinner!

A marble table top will weigh a ton, plus if it breaks you cant really repair it.

god, no! Unless you're living it an Italian palazzo, but even then I'd relegate it to a side table.

Why can't you just have a wooden table with an oilcloth?

Aah nooooo I cant have an oilcloth. I just can't !

😩

I would cover it with an oilcloth for craft days/painting or colouring that kind of thing, but not every day.

How about quartz then?

Cold on elbows

No

@HumptyNumptyNooNoo It will help to keep elbows off table then

You can get water resistant table cloths that aren't oil cloths! They look like normal table cloths, and with a protector underneath it will look fine. We have some and they also keep dc1 entertained when he drips water on it as it beads on the surface and he can push it around.

Sounds like you are convinced you need one. Hope it lives up to your expectations! :-)

I’m not a fan of tablecloths so we had a piece of glass cut to put on top of our wooden table. Easy to wipe down!

@humpty I was until I read online and now on here that it stains and scratches easily .. and that's put me off now 😩

I do want a stone table though.

Can anyone reccomend a stone that will be easy to maintain but also look good? The weight of it doesn't matter as I won't be moving it around once it's in place.

@Kescilly that's a brilliant idea! Although do the smear marks on the glass not drive you over the edge ?

We have a ceramic one that looks like marble...really impressed with it so far!

www.greatfurnituretradingco.co.uk/antonia-130cm-white-spanish-ceramic-dining-table

Definitely no! It's a nightmare. I used to have one and after not even a month there were stains impossible to remove - even though it was coated with a stone enhancing sealer. :-(

@notsomumsymum ohhhh I love that! ❤️

It looks on the small side , does it fit 6 comfortably ?

We bought it in the smaller size, but they do bigger sizes...I think the next one up is 170cm which would definitely seat 6 comfortably. It’s matt, so no scratches and seems to be pretty child-proof so far!

Just out of interest. What's the going rate on a marble dining table nowadays?!

I've just ordered a marble coffee table and THAT is costing a bloody fortune and is obviously tiny compared to a dining table!

And now I'm really panicking about stains ARGH

My DM had one, it was built into the extension/dining room floor. There was a 2 foot wide tube embedded into the ground, filled with concrete and the circular marble top was fixed to it.

Obviously it meant it couldn't be moved. It was solid and bloody hurt if you hit any part of your body on it!
It was also a pain to clean as it constantly streaked when wiped.

I wouldn't recommend it

@nutellaontoastgirl we don’t have children yet (expecting our first) so our house is still fairly clean! But I imagine I’ll just wipe it down when I get the chance if it drives me crazy. I like knowing that things won’t stain if I don’t get to it right away.

@Kescilly aah ok fair play

Wow a table built in to the floor, that's fancy !

Still searching !

@kalefire the one I saw was around £1600.

Nono too cold and hard for relaxed dinning.

We've got a beautiful marble coffee table but it's an utter pain - impossible to move and covered in marks, especially cup rings. You'd end up covering it up all the time to avoid damaging it so if would be pointless. Also I think you need to avoid getting anything acidic on it such as lemon so it all seems a bit silly for a dining table! But I do understand why you want one - we spent £1k on our coffee table because it was so lovely, but we do regret it a bit.

Perhaps if you show us the table you like we can suggest alternatives?

@flugelhorn811 argh that sounds really frustrating .. marks and stains really bother me so it's a definite no for me now

Here's the table I saw !

sergeliving.co.uk/product/refectory-marble-dining-table/

It's actually cheaper than £1600, that must have been for another table I saw.