This topic couldn't be more timely! I am in the process of selling my NYC condo and buying a Loudoun County new construction home. To start with, the condo had marble baths - vanities, floors, shower tiles, wall tiles - the whole thing. I hated it! Looking back, I now know why I hated it. I hated it because I always knew that condo was not my forever home. I was always trying to keep it looking fresh and clean and pristine for "when we sell". That meant that I was always wiping up water from the vanities. If we had guests, I would take every opportunity to go into the second bathroom to wipe up whatever water was sitting on the vanity. This was a constant issue and stress for me and my poor husband who was an innocent bystander to my obsession. One day my cat peed on the bath mat on the floor and the etching in front of the tub freaked me out and I couldn't look at it without worrying about a potential buyer's complaints. One night I put my contact case on the vanity without drying it off and to this day there is an outline of a contact case on that vanity. All this being said, the first person who looked at my condo made me a full price offer with no mention of the barthroom marble! Now that we are building our dream home, I have decided to put in 150 feet of Carrara marble kitchen counters and am plotting for that day In the future when I can afford to redo the builder 4x4 ceramic tiles in the master bathroom our budget requires we get now with Carrara marble tiles and vanities. Long story short, now that I know that this is "my" house and whatever I do with it only has to please me and not some future buyer, I am doing exactly what I want. The thing is that I am a relaxed person who enjoys things that feel warm and homey and used but have an underlying elegance. Marble is perfect for me! I can't wait to have it and enjoy it and appreciate it's characteristics rather than fighting them. Marble boils down to this, if you are going to fight every mark and indication of use - DON'T GET IT it is not for you. Stick with granite or something else that will look brand new in 20 years. If you appreciate a patina and signs of use, then get it and love it.

I am convinced now that it's a mindset thing. If you are the type where crumbs on the counter, water rings on a table, etc will bug you to distraction, then you may be susceptible to a problem with marble. But your attitude can change. Admittedly I was more high strung as a parent of small children. I learned to let go a bit as a parent of older kids and teenagers. I realize that certain things are not "on my radar" and other things are what catches my attention--things just change. People come to this realization at different times in their life. I came upon it earlier after being diagnosed with cancer. Many things just don't bug me anymore. They just can't have high priority. Yet, I have a friend who everything bugs her--that's fine. She can't have anything out of place--just her style. She wouldn't have marble, but since I don't care if there is etching, I will. Kids can co-habitate with marble--thousands of Italian families can attest to this. Yet, there will be some who it just won't work for--totally OK :) Once upon a time, I couldn't have anyone throw a jacket on the floor...it would make me start screaming at one of my children. Now I just walk right by those same jackets crumpled into a ball in the entry....it mystifies even me. It's like I somehow got immunity to those things like a peanut-allergy patient who has been clinically de-sensitized to peanuts! Marble is a real choice in my future for the first time in 20 years!

Thank you all! I'm glad to hear that the extra hole shouldn't be a problem in situ. The backsplash for the sink run will also be carrara marble. The backsplash for the range run will be white heath ceramic tile I found in the seconds/overstock--the only way I could afford it. Two faucets so people can wash hands and get drinks while I am also working at the sink. I couldn't get a prep sink to fit in my layout to my satisfaction so I went with the huge kohler stages 45 and two faucets. (The faucets will be on the sides because the sink run is shallower than standard (old house) and after a lot of going in circles I decided this was the best solution. )

Marble is a softer delicate stone. It chips and scratches readily. (It also stains and etches.). It’s possible that the tiles suffered transport damage if they weren't packed back correctly and then shifted during transport. Packed correctly would be as noted, back to back and front to front, with no tiles missing from a box. Missing tiles in boxes allows for movement. The boxes themselves shifting or sliding in the transportation also could cause some damage issues as well. The most secure is shrink wrapped on a pallet. If the warehouse owners are the ones that repacked the tile, I’d approach them about the damage. I wouldn’t necessarily expect them to offer new tile, but it never hurts to ask nicely!