We recently renovated our kitchen and put in A LOT of marble. 6 slabs of gorgeous Calacatta Gold to be exact. I had this grand vision due of course to house and home magazines and Pinterest. I researched blog after blog talking about the different types of marble, how they wear and what to expect. Armed with this and photos of the look I was going for, I found a local supplier.

      

My vision was something like this.                                    And we ended up here.

Primarily because of price and availability.

Prepare to be gobsmacked when quoted on how much marble will cost, at least the type you are seeing in magazines. My husband and I had a wager as to how much a full height marble backsplash would cost, I lost in a huge way (he’s still gloating about it) and we had to make some concessions on other projects we had planned in order to accommodate the extra costs involved. It was worth it in my opinion; full wall height marble is a showstopper.

We laboured long and hard over the type of marble to use as Calacatta marble is much more expensive than other varieties. If you want that cleaner white look with that crisp grey veining – it’s the way to go. We went with the gold variety to add some warmth to our kitchen since our cabinetry is also white. I absolutely love the splashes of golden imperfectness in the stone.

We have been enjoying our new counters for about six-months and I do have some tips on care and maintenance for anyone considering putting something similar in their kitchen.

1. Don’t obsess about the etching.  They will etch, it’s unavoidable. That first one though … really hurts. You are allowed to cry a little over spilt orange juice in this instance. Eventually you’ll get to the point where the etching just add to the ‘character’ of the stone and over time you won’t think about it – but obsessing over everything placed on the counter will drive you to drink.
2. Use a cleaner made for marble … or just plain (not acidic) soap and water. I like the Method stone cleaner but I know there are tons on the market.
3. Honed vs. Polished. We went with honed, although it did cost an extra $800. I like look and feel of honed marble and the etching shows much less than with polished marble.

Next time (and if you’ve read my ‘Confessions of a Serial Mover‘ post we know there will be a next time, I think I would consider doing the full wall/backsplash and going with a more economical marble for the counters (more basic perhaps) just to reduce the overall cost.

Want to talk marble? I’m all ears. Let’s connect!