I don't have photos of mine, but after 3 years and plenty of cooking and baking -- chocolate, wine, tomatoes, butter, oil, rolling doughs on the marble -- no regrets. It was sealed well at installation and I've done some little touch ups but don't really worry about that as much now. Nothing has stained it and the etching is not a big deal. Seal it well and you should be fine.

I don't really notice much of anything on the cooking side of my kitchen -- it's the cleanup side where water drips and everything goes sooner or later -- plus there is a door with glass and a window at the sink -- a lot more light to give opportunities to get the right angle on something. Still, it's not a big deal or anything anyone else is likely to notice.

When I decided to go for the marble, I remembered walking staircases in the Library of Congress -- marble on the floors and steps. They were worn down a bit in the center from all the traffic over many years, but they were classic, not stained, ugly or unsightly. If they can take hundreds of thousands of people walking on them, I figured the counters in my kitchen should be good for several lifetimes.

If you love it, enjoy it.

Hello and thank you. Do you know what sealer they used upon installation?.. I have seen a lot of varying recommendations? What kind of marble do you have. Yesterday I put on hold a very white 2 inch carrera.

Mine is 3cm white venetino (not sure that's the right spelling). It has less grey in the overall color than the carrera, but it comes from the same area.

The sealer my installer used was Stonetech. That one seems to get good reviews here, but so does another one that I see mentioned more often here. I would do the Stonetech again without hesitation, but it sounds like either of those would be a good choice.

I have Castle White Canadian marble on either side of my range. It's not the hardest marble and it was absorbing everything before I sealed it. I used Akemi Nano which I highly recommend. Easy to apply, it drieds quickly and liquids bead up. There's additional info and pix that might be helpful in the link -- scroll down.

Here is a link that might be useful: Sealed marble

I was in a 10-year-old kitchen last weekend with Carrara countertops. Around the cooktop the counters were not stained, but there were (to me) very noticeable etches throughout the kitchen, visible in both natural and artificial light. I knew what the etches were, but I thought they made the counter look dirty. If you saw those kinds of marks on Formica you would think the kitchen or bathroom needed a good cleaning. There were a lot of etches around the range from tomato sauce and other acidic splatters and drips, and they were especially visible in the light of the cooktop hood.

Marble owners on this forum love their gorgeous counters, but I think they downplay the etching issue, saying that etches are only visible if you really look for them. I also think etching is tough to capture in a photo. I would try to see an older marble kitchen before you commit, to make sure it is right for you.

I second Morton5's advice. You really need to be able to live with etching to love your marble. We've had our marble baking counter for about 5 weeks. It's the least used counter in the kitchen but it already has 4 glass rings and several spots etched into it and about 5 tiny chips. It's true you can only see the etches in certain light and angles, but I would be very unhappy if my whole kitchen looked like this. (Master bath is polished crema marfil, etched to death and never looks clean....didn't know anything about etching when we picked it).

Baking counter (I think Sprite did this during my daughters New Year's Eve party)

Hi - we are considering Carrera marble for our island. Our fabricator told us that if we honed the marble, it would not show etch marks because honing is like etching the whole thing. He said the issue would then be staining, but that for that, he would apply a sealer. He said there could be staining even with the sealer, though, if the sealer "etches" because then stains can get through to the marble. I was hoping to reseal frequently so I would avoid stains. I am no expert, here, but if anyone on this forum can confirm this, maybe honing the marble is the way to go for you too. I was planning on bringing a sample home this week and subjecting it to wine, soy sauce etc to see what happens. I can report back what I find out, if you are interested.

Honed marble will etch if unsealed. Depending on the sealer it can etch through, which is why there is so much discussion about which sealer to use.

My marble is honed and it is sealed as described above. It etched easily prior to sealing in two places but I haven't noticed any since. I even poured vinegar directly on it and there was no etching.

As for chipping, it happens. Soapstone also chips. This type of wear is part of the patina and some of us like things that age. If that's a problem and someone wants counters that look perfect and new always then marble is not the right choice for that person. The art is getting the right material for the counters that each of us needs. It's too expensive and upsetting to make the wrong choice.

I would only get it if it is honed for sure... I am also getting the 2 inch thick one.. I don't want it to look dirty!. I visited two homes that had it and they cook alot... I thought it looked great.. but I know it is like a 50 50 thing! What to do.. but I cant picture anything else with my white cabinets

The kitchen I visited had honed Carrara in a modern kitchen. I don't know what the family used to seal it. The kitchen was drool-worthy, but from almost any vantage point looked like someone had in fact drooled on the counters. That said, the counters fit in wonderfully with the family's house, which was filled with a mix of modern furniture, art, and antiques.

Rococgirl, that is the first I've heard that sealing helps with etching-- thanks for the info.

morton, I cannot say that for every sealer and one of the stone guys will probably come on and flame me BUT I haven't etching (and believe me I watch for it) since I sealed. As it wears that may change cut I can reseal.