I know that I couldn't have a counter surface in my kitchen that I didn't LOVE to touch and WANT to touch. I run my fingers along the edges when I am walking by, lean on it when I am talking, caress it when I am alone and pondering the dinner menu and in general touch it all the time. I can't imagine being in my kitchen and not wanting to touch and "feel" my counters.

We have honed marble on our island which has been installed for about 2 months. It is etched all over the place already. You can see it when the light is just right, but it is a "veiny" marble and is definitely not a pristine white. I do believe that etching on polished marble would be much more noticeable and then you would have two issues -- not liking how it felt or looked.

I understand your sensitivity, though. Our middle son has sensory integration challenges and there are certain textures that are absolutely intolerable to him - tags in clothing, toothpaste foaming in his mouth, socks and shoes are tough, etc. Forcing the issue just doesn't work, believe me I've tried. What seems so insignificant to us can leave him in tears -- it is how his body responds to things and we have learned to work around and with it.

That being said, I would look for a counter surface that is not going to bother you in either a tactile or visual way. While there are small details about my kitchen that I don't LOVE, the counters are not one of them. They are too big an element for me. There are lots of choices out there -- I certainly get that it might be hard to let go of the "ideal". but I would look for something that you love to touch and feel and look at.

That's funny. I feel that way about corian - complete with the back-of-the-neck chills and spasms. I love my honed marble table, though, as well as my polished granite counters - love them both.

That is funny - you with honed marble and me with corian. Both are surfaces that people who love them do so for their tactile characteristics above all and yet, that very element sends us screaming for the cliff's edge.

That's so funny! But you absolutely can't get honed marble if it does that to you! Cardboard does it to me, especiallly the kind of cardboard box that you have to bend into shape and assemble. Just typing this is making me practically levitate out of my seat...

Yes, I hear you. We have honed marble in 2 of our bathrooms in our current house. I didn't think twice about it when we chose it, but now that we've lived with it, I am keenly aware of the nails on the chalk board thing. When I go to pick up a comb or toothbrush that is lying on the counter, if my nails hit it, which is pretty hard to avoid even with short nails, they just scratch it in a way that rubs and gives you that nails on the chalkboard feel. Although I love the look, I can't do it again. I find that limestone has a similar non-shiny look and doesn't do the same thing (we have a creamy marble).

There are people who can't touch cotton.

They have to use tweezers to get it out of the top of the aspirin bottle, or have someone else do it.

Perfectly normal people who just can't stand touching soft, fluffy cotton.

Can you learn to live with imperfections? Are you that kind of person? Look around at your house and your life and assess.

I actually like marble better when it's lived-in. I have it on several antique furniture tops. But then, I have soapstone counters, so I'm very comfortable with patina.

Good luck with making your choice!

Well, don't get it if it does that to you -- BUT before you rule it out, play with a sample piece and some fine sandpaper and emory cloth. See if a different grade of polishing on it works for you. Mine doesn't bother me, but perhaps if it was a slightly coarser polish, it might. See if making your sample a little smoother (or a little coarser) takes it out of that zone for you. If not -- keep looking.

That is funny! I agree with Alice's advice about getting a countertop you can love. You'll be dragging too many dishes across it to have the shivers every time your hand comes into contact. Would you consider one of the white granites in a polished finish or a pebbled finish (flamed?) that has more texture than honed?

Smiling about cardboard and cotton as other creeps-inducing surfaces. My personal pet peeve is styrofoam packing - not peanuts but the big squares which are packed around breakables like electronics. Since they are packed in tight, they make a horrible squeal when you go to lift them out of the box. We're ordering a lot of lighting fixtures now, and every box that is delivered, my husband has to open and sssssslide the horrible styrofoam-packed light out of the cardboard while I'm screeching "aaaaaauuuuuuggghhhhh" from two floors away, because I can still hear it.

OMGOSH zeebee, I totally agree with you. I was unpacking our new stereo receiver the other day and my whole body broke out in goose bumps from the screeching styrofoam! I'm always too impatient to wait for DH to get home to unpack stuff for me, so I have to just grit my teeth and bear it.

OMG, the thought of styrofoam screeching against cardboard is practically making me feel faint! lol

There are some good web sites about "Finishes" for Marble and granite. Unfortunately, A honed finish is not a finish that holds up well, and tends to show finger prints---You name it.
Just do a search for Marble or granite finishes---could be well worth your time.

Gary

This is a great topic.

Kitchens should encompass things we love. The 5 senses.
Colors, textures, lighting, feel, smells, sounds
and of course tastes....

If you find Honed to bug you don't put it in. Avoid it.
I happend to love my honed granite. LOVE it!
But Polished black or dark highly glossy polished
surfaces annoy me to work in. The reflective light
on the glossy surface or mirror like finish grates
on me a bit.

I am flat paint kind of girl. I like the soft look
of flat paints and the warmth they give off. A polished
look feels cold to me. As a Honed Finish drives
you insane.

In Italy Polished Marble is common. They do not
worry about etched marks or tomato sause stains. The
kitchens are for cooking. A cultural issue. Go for the
Marble if you love it in the finish you feel good with.
And your kitchen will be a place that makes you happy.

~boxerpups

I'm getting the heebie-jeebies just reading the posts of the different things that causes the nails on chalkboard reaction. Individually I don't think too much about any of them, but collectively my spine is skittering! LOL.

"Unfortunately, A honed finish is not a finish that holds up well, and tends to show finger prints---You name it."

hmmm, my honed countertops don't show fingerprints at all. Where are you getting that information?

Erikanh. Here is a direct quote from this web-site."Honed granite can and is used for kitchen countertops. But, taking the high gloss polish off of your stone will decrease the depth of color and depending on the type of granite, make it more suceptible to surface staining. A color enhancer such as MB-6 Color Enhancer will help to minimize surface staining from things such as fingerprints and oil or grease marks."
There are other web-sites to choose from--if ya don't find this one to your liking. (See URL Below)
I stumbled onto these links when I was searching for Onyx pictures. I put in "Polished Onyx" and came across the info I just posted---but you can search for Marble Finishes, or Granite Finishes etc etc.
Maybe your installer used that MB-6 colour Enhancer?

Gary

Here is a link that might be useful: Honed Granite

hey Gary - the topic of honed vs polished has been discussed at great length on this site (just do a search in the box at the bottom of the page). It comes down to personal preference. Most people here are very knowledgeable about the surface they choose - you'll be pleasantly surprised at the knowledge level here! Welcome to the site.

That site talks only about granite not marble. Honing marble does not make it more susceptible to staining or fingerprints.

Thanks for the Welcome, "november" and the info about stone finishes. Don't really want to get in arguement about Honed finishes, I checked a ton of sites and none of the "Experts" agree on honed marble----so best thing "dreamsalive" can do is search this site as well as others as to Marble or any other stone finishes.I'm sure all of us are happy that Erikanh is happy with her honed marble and has had no problems with it.

Thanks again, "november"

Gary

Gary, she isn't the only one. I can hardly think of anyone who has had problems with honed marble. I haven't had oil, stain or fingerprint issues with mine and there is no enhancer on it -- just an ordinary sealer. The thing most folks will have a problem with if they don't like marble is the etching, which is not very apparent with a honed surface.

I think there is a lot of misinformation about marble and a lot of people (even sales people, designers and fabricators) talk about it without knowing much about it or without having any experience with it. The first folks I talked to about marble said that wasn't for kitchens. It isn't for everyone, but no one surface is. I love mine though.

Gary, I don't want to get into an argument either, but I had to speak up when you posted misinformation. Having a website or being in the countertop business doesn't make one an "expert." There is a lot of inaccurate information being disseminated on the internet and by salespeople. That's why it's so hard to know what/whom to believe.

I was lucky enough to meet someone whom I came to consider a true marble expert, an elderly Italian man who was born in Carrara, Italy and has worked with marble his entire life. Several times a year he travels to the quarries there to select huge blocks of marble to be shipped back to his warehouse in Massachusetts. He sells marble only, no granite. Here are some things I learned from him:

* In Italy they use mostly polished marble in the kitchens and don't give a second thought to the etching, stains, chips and scratches.

* In the U.S. he sells much more honed because the etching is less visible on the honed surface.

* Polished marble is less absorbent than unsealed honed marble and will slow down staining a little, but not prevent it.

* Marble is much softer and porous than granite so if you don't seal it, it will stain, and it will etch no matter what finish you choose.

* Sealing a honed surface makes it almost impervious to stains. Sealing polished marble is useless because the sealer won't be absorbed.

I have both polished and honed marbles in my home, so I can report on my first-hand experiences with both finishes. I love the gleam of the polished marble in my bathroom, but the etching is very obvious. In my kitchen, the etching is there but hard to find. I've left tomato sauce on my white marble overnight but it didn't stain, because it's sealed so well.

Good luck with your decision, dreamsalive!

Erika

I leave it in your hands Erika, You are truly the expert, You have it, You knew the right ppl, etc. I probably shudda checked around even more than I did, when I posted that--alto I had done soooooo much searchin before I posted that, that my Arthritis "Kicked Up' We all like to hear happy endings, and indeed that is why many of us spend time here, so we learn what works and what does not from "The Real Experts" The "ppl that have been there , done that"---Ya know what I mean?

Gary

WOW, mindimoo, I can see why you look at those countertops in awe. They are breathtaking. I am getting ready to take the plunge with the honed carrara, but mine has quite a bit of veining so I think that will help with the etching. If I ever figure out how to post a picture here, I will show one of the slab I have picked out :)

Well, you all have made me laugh all day! I can't believe I actually am not alone with my honed marble fingernail-scratching paranoia - thanks to gobruno! Those of you with the styrofoam heeby-jeebies (erikanh & november & zeebee) are addressing something I barely even discuss, much less hear live. If you want to witness a woman in distress, strap me in a car on a bumpy country road with two pieces of styrofoam rubbing against each other in the backseat - and then take me to the mental hospital afterwards.

Now you all have to understand that marble is my absolute D-R-E-A-M surface. It exhilarates every sensory response in me EXCEPT that feeling of nails scratching. Although some granite is lovely to look at, marble is perfectly clean, peaceful and calm - everything my house is NOT (4 kids under 9!) If I can experience that clean, peaceful and calm feeling every time I'm in my kitchen (yes, all day, every day), I think I can sacrifice ever having fingernails again. Seriously.

I'm going to look further into the honed vs. polished finish, and will keep you all posted. Thanks for your feedback and support!!!

There are other options for marble finishes, (sorry bout the digression, it was my fault.) There is a finish that is somewhere between Polished and honed---like eggshell for paint,My CRS has cut in(cant remember stuff) but I will search it out on the net for you and maybe Erica can "chime in here too" as to the pro's and con's of this particular finish.

Gary

OK found the name of that finish that is "Claimed to be" midway between Honed and Polished.

A satin surface finish is a middle of the road finish. This is a newer surface finish which has a light or a faint gloss. It is not as shiny as the polished finish nor as matte like as the honed granite finish. It is in between the two.

You of course will hafta find it, and give it the "Screetch Test" ROFLMAO

Just do a search for "Satin Finish Marble" on here or google it!

Gary

Hmmmm.... thanks Gary. That's be great to know!

This is a funny thread!

I have a similar reaction to the really scratchy concrete countertops. The smooth ones are fine, but the scratchy ones really bother me in a creepy sort of way.

Those marble photos are breathtaking.