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honed marble counters w/polished marble back splash?

14 years ago

what do you all think of this? i always thought since my counters would be honed i'd have honed, 3x6 subway tiles but now i'm not so sure. although it wasn't marble, i recently saw a pic of a polished back splash w/ honed counters and thought it might add something to it. anyone come across this? typically the counters seem to match the BS. TIA for any opinions!

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Comments (9)

lascatx
14 years ago
I think having a contrast is fine -- I have honed marble with glossy ceramic tile subways, but I wouldn't do polished marble. I know I get splatters of tomato sauces, fruit juices (especially lemons) and such on my splash, adn I wouldn't want the etching where the undercounter lights could really accentuate them. That's the only issue I would have with it.
mindimoo
14 years ago
Hi Kateskouros,

I think it's a lovely idea as the honed tends to lose some of it's drama of the veining and the backsplash would be a great place to show it off! I think I saw early pics of your slabs and they are beautiful!

One thing to think about, our polished countertops have been in now for 5 months and still look fabulous, even have stood up to spills that I thought it wouldn't. Now, we have an etch or two, but they are small and nearly impossible to find.

We used a polished marble backsplash tile - Thassos and I put a different sealer on it than is on the counters. Remember, on the backsplash, you can use something that is more durable and not necessarily food safe because you aren't going to prepare your food right on it. The sealer we used sits a bit on the surface, I would not have liked on the counters because it takes away a bit of the glorious marble feel. I don't care on the backsplash a bit and it makes everything wipe off beautifully!

As for stains or etching on the backsplash, we don't have either.

Good luck! I can't wait to see your end result because so far your selections sound lovely!
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Yay - there you are! You're absolutely right, I didn't mean to write white countertop - I meant stainless (I noticed they don't offer an edit option either!). Thank you. Yes I'd like to pick a nice punchy color for the walls/ceiling since there's no molding to separate them from each other and since there isn't enough wall space either way. I've also considered painting the West wall cupbaords (floor to ceiling, over the ENTIRE wall, and yes original) something different - like an accent wall. But that's where my imagination ends. I don't know what color would be appropriate and then it would also depend on what I did color-wise to the walls/ceiling elsewhere I suppose. I think though that I'll just keep all those cabinets white and just do something crazy for the little paintable space there is, like a deep rose color or a midnight blue or maybe a really deep warm rusty orangy color! Ooooh I'm outa control now! But I agree that if I feel the counter/backsplash area is too bland, I should stir things up a bit. I'll look further into the polished nickel issues just cause i know there have been some complaints, but if I don't find there are too many issues I'll probably go for it. It's so beautiful and I think it would bring a lot of warmth and class to that cold stainless without clashing. There's another faucet by the same company that has just the one lever/handle (?) instead of two so that might be simpler. I like it cause it still looks "period" which is a look I'm going for due to having SO much original stuff going on in the house, including the kitchen. Translate: it's easy for me to keep things the way they are since I don't have the time/energy/creativity/imagination/confidence to throw in more modern pieces I don't think! That's part of what I love about your kitchen - that you brought in these different elements in such a nice way. Here's a link to the more simpler faucet, although I wouldn't get it in this color of course: http://www.rohlhome.com/pdf/U4702.pdf I prefer a separate sprayer, just from my own experience. These Perrin & Rowe faucets cost a LOT of money - more than I've ever spent on any faucets I've ever bought, put together (!) but I found one place that charges quite a bit less, and I have a history of having lots of problems with faucets. When I tested this one in the store (the first one) it felt so sturdy and sleek and tight and just QUALITY so I decided to go for it. It's probably the first and last time I ever get away with doing something like this. I'm no princess, much as I like to pretend I am! Do you have any opinions on dishwashers? Yikes - sorry I wrote so much!!
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Most marble slabs CAN be honed by a competent (sp?) fab-ri-mi-cator... I know, because I am one (competent - that is... HA!) With the right equipment, a guy can hone down marble in a flash - marble in most cases - like yours - is way easy to hone !!! You can also go to Stone Inspections.com for an opinion if you need some serious backup for your position in switching fabricators... below is a link to a calacatta oro job I honed a few months ago - I honed the polish down to a 220 grit with Tenax Ager applied, we then cut the sink opening out (in place due to the stone being ca-ca to work with) it turned out pretty nice hth kevin Here is a link that might be useful: Big Island - Honed in Place
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gglks
14 years ago
mindimoo.....do you know the name of the sealer you used on your backsplash?
mindimoo
14 years ago
Hi gglks -

It's a CUSTOM brand called Marble Shine and Seal. I wouldn't recommend it on anything but a polished surface because it is somewhat shiny....

We used it because we had it sitting around from another project and I did a test on my original Calacatta slabs and it was pretty spill proof. But, like I mentioned, it really takes the feel of the marble away...makes a slght surface coating on it rather than being a fully penetrating sealer that you don't feel after it's on and I WOULD NEVER use it on a kitchen countertop surface. Not sure if it would be considered food safe anyway...
gglks
14 years ago
mindimoo,

thanks for the info.....we have a polished marble mosaic backsplash behind our cooktop (which i've only used a few times) and i've noticed tomato sauce splatters and felt like i had to clean it right away. i don't want to have to feel like that with my backsplash so i may look for this sealer....

kateskouros....totally OT but my pendants are hung (the ones you sent out in a post) and they are a showstopper!!!!!!!!! i will take some "finished kitchen" pics this weekend and send out. thanks for the input into my totally awesome new kitchen!!!!!!
blumster4734
7 years ago
We did! We have honed calcatta countertops and a polished marble subway tile on the backsplash- at first I thought they should be the same but now, I love the contrast! There is a bit of shimmer in the backsplash that gives wonderful texture to the kitchen
kpcogs
7 years ago
We did polished calacatta backsplash with honed counters and it definitely goes. It actually make sense because the polished is actually good for stains not scratches and the honed is the reverse.
blumster4734
6 years ago
Gorgeous!!! Love it KPcogs!
aries61
6 years ago
KPcogs, curious who makes your light fixtures ?

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