We put rainforest green marble tile in our office bathroom. I don't usually use it to put on makeup,and don't happen to drink coffee in the bathroom either, but I'm pretty messy. I was afraid the tile would be too "busy", with the pattern going all different ways, but that hasn't really been the case as we see it, and we enjoy it very much. Got RFG knobs also to match. No stains at all so far, although with such a busy pattern it might be hard to tell. We put RFG insets into the shower also. Ignore the pink hospital glass!

wi-sailorgirl,

We went with soapstone as I was also concerned with upkeep of stone surfaces...on the wetroom walls, on the floors and as our vanity slab. While it is "soft" (scratches easily), it also gets that charming worn patina. If the scratches bother you, you can simply sand them away occasionally, which I have done a couple of times and found it to be easy. We opted to not oil ours and our understanding is that it will naturally darken over time and usage. The great benefit to us is that it's so dense it will not absorb stains (it's commonly used for chemical lab workstation tops). It's available in a wide variety of grays and greens, with or without a lot of movement (veining).

Food for thought...

wi-sailorgirl,
Have you looked at quartzites? They're often described as a cross between marble and granite, though I think they are physically far closer to marble, but harder and more difficult to etch/stain. There are lots of threads about it over on kitchens... did you see firsthousemp's gorgeous counters? The counter we just put in my daughter's bath is quartzite... I took a chunk home and tested it with the usual suspects: red wine, vinegar, lemon juice as well as nail polish, polish remover, and DD's salicitic acid acne face creams. The sample (which wasn't even sealed) fared quite well, only getting mildly etched by the zit cream. It definitely fared better than the various (white) marble pieces I tested during the kitchen reno... It also has enough variation and movement that I felt that any staining, etc wouldn't be terribly noticeable. I found a remnant at a stone yard, so I did not have to buy a whole slab -though it was still by far the biggest splurge in the bathroom :)

I'll try to get a pic and post it for you.

Stacey

Here are some pics of our Vermont White Quartzite counter:

I installed marble in a recent main/guest bathroom remodel. But, we're babying it so I can't say for certain how it will hold up to indelicate handling. We use pH neutral soap and marble cleaner and do not bring food in there. I would recommend picking up a sample of marble and either testing it with products you normally spill or at least setting it on your current countertop to see how it holds up to use. I also recently picked up an antique sideboard with a marble top. The marble has a few stains and etches and is quite old (maybe even 100+ years according to the previous owner - but I'm not an antique expert). However, even with the stains, after a quick cleaning, the marble looks fantastic. If you will be bothered by stains and etches and are not careful with your countertop, you may not be happy with the material. However, if you accept that it will possibly stain, scratch, and etch, maybe you will love it anyway.

I have a carrarra marble washstand from Restoration Hardware. The tub surround is also carrara, as is the floor -- carrarra hex tiles. All honed. I have not found that the marble is a challenge but I am careful. The biggest challenge is keeping the grout on the floor clean.

I plan on using a marble top and floor in our master bathroom and plan on using a good sealer (something "500" is mentioned a lot in the kitchen forum, so I will go with that).

hth

I just put a 2 inch thick carrera marble countertop on my master bath vanity - it's 9 feet long. It was a remnant piece of marble and already has some small etching on it. I don't think I'd be brave enough to use this marble in my kitchen, but it absolutely makes this bathroom and the tiny etching is hardly noticable and really just looks like part of the stone. If you love the look you should get it!

We've had Crema Marfil (White) marble bathroom countertop and tub deck for over a year with no problems. No special treatment but spills cleaned up promptly. Based on our experience go for it.

I do not have marble in my new master bath, which I had planned to install, because the marble/granite supplier and installer absolutely advised against it in a bath that would be used daily. Too many products used in the bathroom will stain it or at least I was strongly advised of this. We went with granite. However, I plan to look at marble for our powder room

We've got white marble on our master bathroom vanity, and we don't do a thing for it. I feel a little sorry for it, but so far it looks great. BTW, we got ours cut by a local granite company from a remnant they had. I believe they came out to do the template, but we picked it up once it was cut and installed it ourselves. Saved tons of money that way, and they don't seem to mind the small job so much.

I have a polished slab under my sink called Travertino Romano. There seems to be some discord on whether it's a marble or travertine, but I think it IS a marble. It's beige with various brown and cream lines running through. Either way, three years later, it looks great. If you look at a certain angle, you may see some slight water rings, but nothing really noticeable.