We live in a Philly Suburb and our local granite & marble shop charged us I believe $100 or $150 (can't quite remember) to cut and finish 6 marble sills. The cuts and polish were lengthwise of the sill and were used for our shower curb and niche pieces. Our shop would not "warranty" the work...saying that they were cutting into stone that they didn't supply and were not sure where it was sourced from, quality etc. Basically they said that cheaper marbles from china break easily. We got the sills from Lowes so I am sure it was cheap marble from China and we didn't pay too much for the sills and it was lots cheaper than having them make matching calacatta marble sills for us (they supplied our calacatta marble counter...but that cost us $200/sq ft). It was a risk we were willing to take and it turned out perfect. Good luck.

ooh - that's a tough one. she's got hard water, maybe, leaving a calcium deposit (like the watermarks on glasswear) on the black marble. good-quality marble has been factory-sealed for a decade or more... if so,one of the magic erasers should take the light scale off the counter. back in the old days, marble got a coat of butcher's wax to protect it...now, they sell special polishes just for marble. I grew up with unsealed slate counters that got oiled seasonally, and waxed (by hand) twice a year to keep up the water-repellant finish...but it was worth it for the patina they took on over the years : )

I have honed AB in my kitchen and I adore it. It does show water marks, and I wipe it off frequently. If you're willing to do that, you'll love it. (And in a bathroom, it makes sense to wipe off the counters pretty often). It looks really beautiful with marble, by the way! I have cream colored cabinets in my kitchen and it's just beautiful with the AB.

I am going with a similar look and am doing a carrara & nero marble basketweave faux rug for the floor. I will probably have darker bardiglio tiles around the edges of the room and there will be a cararra twisted rope border (and nero liner tiles on each side of the rope) to delineate the "rug". This way, the pattern does not overwhelm the room and it is a very pretty look in and of itself. I wish I had a mock up of it because even dh has not seen what I chose (other than the basketweave middle), lol. Oh... and am using dark gray grout because white would be just plain suicidal in our house. Maybe Bill V has done similar and has a pic?