Do some searching here. There have been many, many threads here on this exact subject! Many posters here have marble of various kinds and love it. I'm not sure I've seen many who regretted the choice, but you have to know going into it that it will not be a pristine, perfect surface. It will etch. Lots of folks with marble cook/bake a lot. I've got some gorgeous slabs of 4cm Carrara on hold. I also cook a lot with all the acidic stuff that etches. I generally like things to look new. If I do marble, then I'm gonna do it, live with it, and never look back. I have no time or desire with my young family to baby a counter.

One idea a few of us are exploring is to purposely etch the honed marble at the beginning and let it age naturally from there. If you search the threads, I started one called something about "purposely etching marble" or something similar. Someone, sorry I can't remember who, did just that and loves it. Search around!

Agree with breezy. Below is a good thread to start you off. Make sure you search in google ("site:ths.gardenweb.com marble etching"). The search function within this site is terrible and it doesn't pull up anything beyond page 67.

Here is a link that might be useful: Marble: they're not kidding about the etching!

I'm no expert, but can't you rehone a marble surface, when you're getting ready to sell your house? I thought I saw that somewhere, on one of the other posts.

I believe that white princess granite and white fantasy granite are similar, but not as gray. They might be worth checking out, too :)

You might want to check out dianalo's Rain Cloud (I think) Corian, in the sneak peak she just provided. It looks amazing.

Here is a link that might be useful: dianalo's scrumptious counters

I was concerned about the etching but once I saw the marble I'm getting, there was no turning back. I would not be happy with anything else, or rather, nothing else would look as right in the kitchen we are building as this particular material. I think you need to feel it "grab" you and you need to feel certain you want it, and nothing else. Otherwise why put up with the worry?

Since you are on the east coast, take a look at White Pearl/White Princess granite. It's more white than grey, has the design feel of marble, and is bulletproof. It's not marble, but it's worth looking at.

I got mine in Telford, PA at CH Briggs (it's White Pearl Granite there).

My kitchen

Firsthouse_mp's kitchen

Good luck!

You can have your marble rehoned in place. I have about 145 sq ft in my kitchen. I had to be rehoned after installation because the original fabricator did a lousy honing job. it's a wet process, but the crew taped and tarped everything up. they cleaned up very, very well...you couldn't tell it was done. I have a lot of marble...I think the cost to rehone was about $2,500. So...I say, get it live in it and forget about it. The etching won't ever really bother you unless you dump a whole bottle of vinegar on the counter. If you feel you must do something to sell your house at a later date, then have the marble rehoned. Not a big deal.

I have had my marble for six years, beginning when my four kids were 4-10 years old. We all LIVE in the kitchen. I have a few etch marks, but not anything anyone else would notice. I love my marble and would easily do it again.

I have one chip where DH tossed his car keys onto the counter. Very small. I have deep ogee edges (the easiest to chip) and I don't have any issues on my edges or around my sink.

Good luck with your process!

Three kids here, although one is just a baby. I am a rough cook. Love the marble. You can have it re-honed...just like Martha Stewart! Also, chips can be epoxied.

For myself, I have come to think of marble as a "living surface." That term is usually reserved for metals that react with the air, but with my marble, it seems appropriate. I love it.

I am going through the same agony, love marble but unsure about its durability. I'm going out again this weekend to see what my options are, I've been to 3 stone yards and none had marble to look at. Everyone on this site has been so helpful, best suggestion so far is to just get what you want because if you settle for less you will probably regret it!

momqs: I'm in PA! Would you share how much your White Pearl Granite was? $/SF? Its beautiful!!

I cannot thank you all enough for all your help, advice, words. It has been so helpful! I am sorry I am just responding to this. For some reason I was not able to access this thread through my computer till this morning. I have tried every day and finally just shut my computer down and restarted and it worked! We are actually in PA too!! Thanks for that tip. We only live about 20 min. from CH Briggs! My husband went by the other day to look at the White Pearl and didn't love it as much as marble (he is the one really pushing for marble). I am going to stop in later today to take a look myself:o). If it is not quite right, we have decided on a soapstone perimeter (through Bucks County Soapstone--who is absolutely wonderful to deal with if anyone in the PA area is interested) and a marble island. Wish me luck and I will keep you updated on progress with before and after pics:o). Best, Caroline

BTW to redwood--not sure where you are in PA but K2 in Lower Moreland (K-2 International 2381 Philmont Ave, Huntingdon Valley, PA 19006 http://www.k2graniteandmarble.com) or Suburban Marble and Granite (1010 Pulinski Road
Warminster, PA 18974-1522 (215) 734-9100) both have lots of marble. Suburban is expensive. K2 is only a distributer but you can go look and find a fabricator that they work with to give you a price. I have been dealing with Istanbul (315 E Street Road Warminster, PA Phone:(215) 444-9773). Their prices seem pretty reasonable compared to Suburban's prices. We also like dealing with Let's Get Stoned in Warrington, PA. We also went to a yard in Cranbury, NJ that had lots of marble. Good Luck!

Thanks! I'm coming down that way tomorrow, we live between Allentown and Reading. I will check out those places! Good luck to you too!

Hi Redwood15

Our quartzite was $110 / sq ft installed but we really negotiated on the price. I had quotes of $130 installed. CH Briggs was the distributor and we bought it through our fabricator, so there is a lot of variance in that also.

Check out Colonial Marble in King of Prussia also - they had a beautiful quartzite that we considered - it had some blues and pinks in it, so it was a bit warmer than the cool grey tones.

Also - Tropical Stone in Malvern has Bianca Quartzite which is the same as Luna di Luca (search for Sochi's kitchen).

Reading on gardenweb how hard quartzite is to find, I feel lucky to be in PA - there are several places that have it.

Wow I am going to Colonial Marble tomorrow after my stop at Ikea! Yes we are lucky to live in a PA, its a good thing when it comes to shopping for countertops!

Thanks for your help!