cultured marble looks like plastic - which is what it is really. If you're looking for cheaper options, I think you can do better than cultured marble. Some granites are very reasonably priced. You just have to look around. Or do large format marble tile. Even a nice laminate. Just my opinion, but I'd skip the cultured.

LOL budge as I read the question I started to answer in my head and the first words were "cultured marble looks like plastic" heh heh

fancy, I have marble in my bathroom and absolutely love it. We have crema marfil (color name I guess) and we don't baby it. We don't have time to baby ourself, let alone the marble. I wipe it down (not often enough LOL) with soap and water, or more likely, a baby wipe since we always have those handy. (Kirkland brand baby wipes are great house cleaners...they don't hurt anything!).

But dh leaves his eye cleaner (saline) and soap and toothpaste drops blah blah on the counter. I do clean it, but not the second it drops. And the marble continues to look like new.

Seal it well then use it. If you're wanting elegant, plastic marble isn't going to cut it for you :o)

Okay, I started posting "cultured marble looks like plastic", but then stopped myself because I didn't want to insult all those who own and love cultured marble. I used to have it in my old house, and while I preferred it to the laminate counters I had in the house before that one I would consider it in no way comparable to real marble. So my apologies to those who looooove their cultured marble, but I don't think that there is any comparison to the real thing.

We built our house 19 years ago, and had cultured marble vanity tops and sinks installed in all the bathrooms. The type we have does not at all look like plastic, it looks just like marble. We have a marble topped coffee table that is a perfect match to those bathroom counters. Problem is, our counter tops and basins have to be treated just like the real thing, too. They scratch very, very easily, stain if makeup or colored liquid is dropped on them, and I cannot use any kind of abrasive cleansers on them without it scratching or dulling the finish. The counter top in our foyer bath has a marbled black finish, and shows every dry water spot and speck of dust imaginable.

It may be that the cultured marble products now have more of a plastic look finish, I don't know. I haven't been looking at them. My SIL just installed real marble counter tops in her new kitchen, and it looks just like what I have in my baths, but it, too, has to be treated carefully and is very prone to scratching.

If today's cultured marble product looks like plastic, and you are wanting the look of marble, then I'd advise to go with the real thing and seal it well. While you might safe some $$ with cultured, the maintenance and upkeep is just the same, so why not have the elegance of the real thing?

We have cultured marble in our bathrooms that's original to our 1979 tract home. It definitely does not look like the real thing and it does have scratches and stains in it. They are both slated for replacement (as is much of this house) and it won't be cultured marble. I'm hoping for soapstone in the master bath and granite or marble in the hall bath. All depends on what we can find with our very limited budget.

However, I am toying with possibly using a very subtle/plain cultured marble for our master bath shower/tub wall surround area as I just cannot stand tile. I'd love to do granite slabs there but suspect it will be beyond our budget.

"but I want whatever looks best"......think you have answered your own question -- IMHO, cultured marble today does not look like real stone. That being said, I put it in two bathrooms -- whole house overhaul, busted budget, downturn in ecomony, etc.,has required that we make some compromises and this was one. While I don't love it, it will work for the time being and your contractor is right -- it is cheap.

I have cultured marble because that's what we could afford way back when. Should I do it over, my newfound love is Emperador marble...honed, of course.

I have cultured marble in my house and like stated above it isn't like the real thing at all. I didn't put much thought into the bathrooms honestly. I didn't even price out anything else. I can see fine scratches in mine and while it's not first on my list of things to change I'll be happy when we do.

Oh, uh, yes. I guess my reply is a bit insulting. I meant, of course, that cultured marble is quite nice if that is the look you want. However, if you have your heart set on marble, I don't think you're going to be happy with cultured.

Thank you everyone! I appreciate all of the comments. You helped me realize that I should not settle for second best! I'm so glad I posted for help. Now, what paint colors go well with crema marfil!??