Post this in the kitchen forum. Marble etches and stains very easily so don't use unless you like patina because you will get patina if you use it in your kitchen. Anything acid will etch it, e.g., spilled lemon juice, vinegar, etc. I think sealing is supposed to help a little, but not a lot. I don't have marble, but I have read lots of posts about it on the kitchen forum. If you do a search for marble on the kitchen forum, you might find some old threads.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marble care instructions

Tom, did I read you correctly that you already picked marble, and it has been installed? Or were you asking whether we thought one would "do" better than the other?

If you've already decided and picked it and/or installed, good for you. I think there are some marbles that are drop dead gorgeous. There are plenty of kitchens over in the kitchen forum that use marble and they are gorgeous. I have fallen fast in love with a red marble that I want to put in the wine cellar when we finally get around to finishing it.

I would not do well with marble in my kitchen. I have 4 messy kids and a DH who is a wonderful, yet messy cook. I'm not the neatest either, and I would always be worried about etching and pitting. I think people should pick what they love and what works best for their lifestyle. From previous posts I think your children if you have any are grown.

Marble is a great surface for a baking area and I briefly thought about doing that in my kitchen. Then I decided against it, because I always use my roll pat for rolling out cookie dough and pie crusts.

If it has been installed I'd love to see pics!

Amy

Tom, I misread your post and thought you were looking for information on marble countertops in kitchens. Marble is beautiful and I look forward to seeing pictures of your counters too!

Tom, my marble countertops will be installed this Friday, and it's the part of my kitchen remodel that I'm most looking forward to (I'm on pins and needles with excitement, actually!). It was my first choice in material, but that was long before I found the Kitchens forum on GW and all the collective wisdom to be found there. In the beginning - for me - there were so many warnings not to use marble, but that came from ignorant people who had no experience with it. I have since educated myself on the qualities of the stone. I hope you got your marble HONED and hope you've sealed it at least a couple of times. If you keep up with regular sealing every 6-12 months, your marble should not stain. It will etch, but that is what they call "patina" and it's not something that any product can prevent. A recommended sealer is Miracle 511 Porous Plus; not all sealers will give the same results.

There are quite a few very happy marble owners in the kitchens forum. I've linked to one particularly beautiful kitchen, but there are more. When your kitchen is done, I hope you'll post pix in Kitchens, as there are some avid marble fans who'll appreciate it. Enjoy your new kitchen!

Here is a link that might be useful: Momto4kids' kitchen

Good to hear others have used marble. I'll check out the kitchen forum. We have acid stained concrete floors and although we saw lots of beautiful granite none of them really fit into the kitchen "feel" we wanted. We decided that every type of countertop- laminate, granite, marble and engineered stone- has its own strengths and weaknesses. So we didn't spend a lot of time angonizing over the choice. As soon as we saw the marble we knew it was what we wanted. Tom

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Sink and Marble
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I'm glad to see you have installed marble in your kitchen. That marble counter top looks gorgeous! I'm sure you will be getting lots of compliments from those who visit. My husband's profession is fabricating & installing Granite & Marble, business owner.

We are building a home and I fell in love with a marble which I wanted for our kitchen counter tops. Unfortunately, my husband disagrees with putting marble in the kitchen. He told me it's "to soft of a stone"... "will get damaged very easily" .... "Granite is far much stronger less maintenance" etc. etc.

Like skagit, I've seen so many beautiful granite slabs. They just don't appeal to me so much as the marble slabs do. I'm not much of a "careful" cooker & neither is my hubby. We have two children that will also be beating up on our counter tops. With that mentioned, should I listen to my husband and go with granite or listen to the beauty of the marble?

Marble's hardness is measured in a scale. Ours tested as the hardest level for marble. Yes it's still softer than granite. As far as stains go sealing marble is not like granite. You still have to wipe up spills within a reasonable time. But granite won't give you a patina over time nor the soft coloring of marble. As far as not being a careful cooker, both stones can be damaged by improper use. This is one of those hard family decisions that home building brings on to you. Tom

Our kithen granite doesn't need sealing. We're in six years now and it looks like new. It's green -- think the name is something like "Costa Esmerelda".

A long time ago someone posted that her maid had ruined their marble shower walls by using the wrong cleaners on it. There was no "fix". It all had to come out.

There's not a material in the house that someone can't ruin. We have limestone in the shower; soft and reactive. Can't make all decisions based on the "what if". The way some people talk about how granite is care free and indestructable makes it sound like the "new laminate". I think marble and granite are both beautiful and meet different finish/design needs. We have neither a maid or kids at home. Tom

Tom, I can see why you wanted that marble. It is just beautiful and I love the movement in it! I have never seen marble like that. Enjoy!

Amy