What about engineered quartz, i.e., Silestone or Caesarstone? They have options that basically look exactly like marble, but will hold up better. Worth a look....

Interesting. To make that decision, I'd want to see what a marble counter really looks like after 5 years of use, 10 years, etc.

@Margaret_M me too! If anyone has photos and wants to send them in I'd love to post them!

I have marble counters and love them. However, they are scratched and chipped and etched. Staining really isn't an issue (mine have yet to stain) - it's the etching. Wine, juices, vegetables & fruits, vinegars, etc. all have enough acid to etch your marble if left for more than a couple of hours. Sealing helps, but nothing will prevent this but keeping acids off your counters.

The scratching and chipping are also common. For example, opening a bottle of wine without putting a towel under it can leave a circular scratch on your counters. Chipping around sink edges where large pots come in contact with the edges can also be an issue.

Guests have done the most damage to my counters. Drops of wine/juice left on counters during parties, etc. make up the majority of the marks on my counters.

The softness does have its advantages - marble can be honed/polished in place to remove minor issues. Harder surfaces do not have this option.

I feel that the patina matches my older home, but most people that visit do not appreciate the look. They love the counters until they get close enough to see the etching, chips and scratches. It is worth trying to find older (5-10 years) marble countertops to see if you don’t mind the patina.

There are some lovely alternatives if you want pristine looking counters:

http://roomology.wordpress.com/2011/10/09/alternatives-to-white-marble-countertops/

i installed a marble counter in my bathroom a few years ago. love the look, but am constantly frustrated with how easily it stains! (even from water!)

had considered marble for kitchen, but ended up with granite since it is much easier to maintain.

related, i put down marble and slate floors in my bathroom and kitchen. while beautiful, i do find them labor intensive to keep clean.

good luck!

I once cater-waitered at the home of a very particular couple with marble countertops. They gave VERY strict instructions not to allow any guest to put a drink on the counter, so I was constantly slipping coasters under people's drinks and giving apologetic smiles. One guest said to me, "You must be a friend of [host]'s." If you are anti-water ring, I'd say save yourself some hassle.

Ditto @A-A-Svensson. We've only had our marble counters 2 years, but they are stained and marked. Go for granite if you want hardwearing and easy to clean counters.

We've had marble countertops for five years - they are a pink marble from Georgia, quarried decades ago and used as shower stalls at a local university. When the university remodeled and was going to throw away the walls, we salvaged them, had them cleaned up and finished, and voila - beautiful counters. They are similar to the Tennessee Dark Rose at this link: http://www.tnmarble.com/tennesseemarblequarry.aspx

Sorry, I just have to tell that story. I love it.

As far as the actual use of them, we have had no problems with chipping and very little with scratching. Much more with etching. I don't mind the spots though. Yes, they were beautiful the first day we moved in, and I tried as hard as I could to keep them that way at first, but we have 4 kids, so after a while, I learned to live and let go. I love being able to see the fossils and striations. I also do love the pink - we have white cabs and white subway tile, with a white porcelain farm sink.

Faith, you're reading my mind! Our kitchen renovation is still a pipe dream (five years into owning this house) but marble has always been on my WANT list despite its finicky nature. Looking up the honed version now....

I wanted marble for my kitchen and I was talked out of it. But I did get some of the marble for a window seat and you know what? First week after it was installed someone spilled a glass of red wine on it. I cleaned it up, but you could totally see a stain. Over time though and not very long, the stain completely faded and you can't see it at all now. I think because it's porous the stuff moves through (that's my theory anyway). The seat is where tons of kids play and it's been water colored and painted and sharpies and it cleans up. I totally regret not getting the marble and if ever I do my kitchen again I am totally getting it. Cross your fingers for the lottery to come my way!

I think that it totally depends on your personal preference. If you're someone who likes things that show wear or patina over time then it might work for you. I personally notice every scratch and mark so it would drive me crazy.

I agree with what others have said above, engineered quartz would be a great alternative for the counters. However, I couldn't agree with your pro's more and marble in a bathroom is just stunning. Your backsplash is going to get much less wear and tear than the counters so what about including it there?

I have vermont danby marble in my kitchen and love it. we had it installed about 2 years ago.
I had it sealed, when it was installed, and I'm probably due to have that done again. It does etch, but I can 'scrub' those out with a comet/water scrub. yes, Comet. There have been some chips, but nothing major. I don't have any stains, but I'm also very careful to wipe up spills.
Its beautiful, and as a baker, its wonderful.
good luck making your decision

I feel like it's also worth taking into consideration where your marble is being quarried - most white marbles in the US come from Colorado, Alabama, and Vermont (though that seems to lean more towards dense grey and green streaking than a pure white).

Five years ago, we went against all the warnings and installed a lot of white marble in our kitchen and butler's pantry. Like 7 full slabs worth. It was nervewracking because we were taking a very costly risk. I cook almost every day and I'm really messy and clumsy. We also have kids so I think our marble has been really put to the test. Here's what we found (sorry so long).

Ours is honed (not shiny). I think honed marble hides etching more.

The biggest key to keeping marble looking nice is to seal it a few times a year with a good sealer. It's not hard (wipe on, wipe off). I do it myself and takes about an hour for the whole kitchen. We use Akemi Nano Sealer and it's been amazing. Any liquid beads up on well sealed marble.

We haven't gotten a single stain, even from wine. I don't even worry about it anymore, it's been so long. However.....

It will etch (leave clear marks). I have had no problems with water etching at all, but that's probably because of the sealing. The only things that have etched are some acids and oil that was not wiped up quickly. With honed marble, the etching is difficult to pinpoint at a glance. With polished marble, you'll see it clearer because the etching will take away the shine and leave a dull spot.

We've had some scratching from dragging a huge flower arrangement across the island but surprisingly it's not visible unless you put your eye a few inches above it.

I've banged up the edges of the marble many times with heavy pots, hard enough where I wince and get ready to look for a huge chip. However we've not had any issues. I don't know if some marble is harder than others (I've read that it is so). Ours is a type of Carrera Oro.

We don't use any coasters and my children's friends would probably not use them anyway. But I do keep a large, glass cutting boards near the fridge and sink, so the kids can pour their drinks and I can set down dirty spoons and such.

As time has passed, I've been less and less careful with my marble. And surprisingly it's held up almost perfectly. It even covers our entire backsplash and I deep fry! I'm so glad we put it in and my heart sings every time I look at it. It is, by far, my favorite feature of my house. There's a great post out there from a marble owner who took the time to stain pieces of marble to show differences. I'll try and find it and post it. If you do choose marble, consider honed and remember to seal seal seal! Hope this helps.

Here's that post where a homeowner subjected sample blocks of his marble to wine, limes, tomato paste and knife chipping. Good luck!

http://petchhouse.blogspot.com/2006/03/sealing-marble-acid-test.html

OK. Now I'm lusting after marble kitchen countertops! Marble seems to have a lot of personality much like my hardwood floors.

My wife and I just bought salvaged marble for our new countertops. I have no illusions about keeping the marble stain free but that is one of the beauties of marble. Given enough time the edges can wear and there will be stories about the great merlot deluge of 2015. Marble it is so nice to look at and touch an bake on. Also a softer stone which is why this is a DIY c-top.

When I studied abroad in Greece the counters and sink were both marble. This was a student apartment with 6 people cooking and making messes, and I remember it looking just fine--though everything around including sidewalks was marble, so perhaps we were just used to it. It certainly wasn't shiny and smooth, but I liked that it wasn't as hard feeling as granite.

I am at the tail end of a kitchen renovation and I really was considering marble for the island but I knew it would make me nuts. I have a friend who has it and she is not happy with the spots and stains so I went with a light colored granite instead. I am getting carrara marble subway tiles for the backsplash along with a fancy picture frame with diamond cut tiles over the cooktop so at least I'll get some pretty marble there. Here's the link for pics and progress if you want a peek. thehouseofy.blogspot.com.

Yes! My sister went thru the same process and decided on the marble... Her new kitchen is stunning! See the pics here: http://jennysteffens.blogspot.com/2012/03/jills-kitchen-white-marble-stained.html

Jenny Steffens

We have marble in our bathrooms and we did not realize how careful you have to be - even water can stain them! We have dark dots all over from soap as well. If you are ok with it looking a dingy after a couple of years, go for it, it is beautiful but you must be very very careful. I just do not like to worry in the kitchen. Maybe a solution is to have a small slab of carrera for baking that does not get a lot of other use.

We have marble counter top at my childhood home, and though it's not white (more like light brown with specks of white), it still looks the same way it did when we first got it. I'm not sure about scratches, but ours managed to survive a 7ft flood, so it can't be too bad. As for stains, my mom made us wipe any spill as soon as they happened, so they never really had the chance to set. Her routine was basically wipe any spill as soon as it happened and a quick (as in less than 2 minute) wipe down every day. Oh, and my mom says that our marble is also sealed.

Having studied geology I would never buy marble counter tops. Marble is composed of calcium carbonate, as as such will react with any acid placed on it. I wouldn't want to be worried about wine, vinegar or juice spilling every time I used the kitchen.

We used white glacier granite in our kitchen remodel. It's not as clean looking as marble would have been, but the look is similar and we know it's indestructible.

The key is to get it in a honed and not polished. I owned polished in my last kitchen and it was really annoying. Water spots stuck out like a sore thumb. We have honed Carrerra in our kitchen and love the look. It does leave an etch mark if you leave water sit for 20-30 mins and things like lime/lemon juice can etch it very fast (almost immediately), but when it's honed you don't see it that much. Ours has been installed for a few months and I only notice the marks in certain lights - usually at night. Natural light during the day I don't notice it all that much if at all. Still can't beat the way it looks! We considered various quartz options, but weren't as happy with the look as we were with real marble. You can always get it rehoned to take away the wear if you want. I've actually been curious as to what the finish would look like if I rubbed lemons all over it. Not willing to try, but curious if it would hide everything.

Check out our blog for pics!

I think it is a strictly personal preference - if you like the look and don't mind the issues surrounding the product - as so many good people have pointed out in the comments - go for it!

I have a kitchen table from Craigslist that has a marble top on it. I bake and cook on it quite a bit so it's got some darkened spots (they look kind of wet) from oil where it's absorbed into the marble and some etched spots where acid ate away the finish. There's also a big scratch on the top from before I got it. That said, I really love it. It's pretty and it lends an ice cream parlour feel to my dining room. I'll try to remember to take pictures tomorrow and post them somewhere.

Yes, in answer to your question, you are crazy to consider white marble for a kitchen where real cooking goes on. Every splash of lemon juice or vinegar that you missed wiping up immediately will etch permanently. Every pan or heavy dish that you accidentally dropped on it or hit against the edge will permanently change the crystal structure to an opaque blotch. Oils will stain, red wine, too. Honed marble is hardly more "friendly", as it is even more porous and scratchable. And don't plan on using your marble tops for pastry unless you are sure non-toxic sealants have been used from the get-go.

For anyone who simply must have marble, I would suggest having two counter materials and using the more durable one where the bulk of the prep work happens. Mixed counter materials look more modern anyway.

I put marble in my kitchen 3 years ago. Although it is beautiful and I always wanted marble some days I wonder why in the world anyone would put a new countertop that would endure chips and etching. I love to cook and I honestly thought I could be careful so as not to etch it (i.e vinegar, etc) but anything will etch it from wine to apple juice to yogurt. No matter how quickly you wipe it up. I still love my marble and I think it looks pretty but I wish I was better informed. If I could do it over again I would go to a marble warehouse buy a remnant in the finish I would choose (honed, polished, etc) and use it on my countertop to see how I feel about the effects food has on it. Good luck. PS white quartz it very pretty too.

You def have to like the look of vintage-y, worn kitchens--think the great old kitchens of Europe or French bakery countertops. Both my husband and I are big, serious cooks. We installed a Carrera marble countertop, honed and unsealed three years ago and I still ADORE it. It's beauty is beyond measure and there is absolutely no substitute for the look, feel and “life” of real marble. It has become a bit pitted and scratched here and there, with tiny chips around the kitchen sink. But to my eye it's just gained a beautiful patina that will weather with age and honestly you have to look really close to see any of the imperfections. A couple of things that make it work:
1) I’m a clean counter keeper and a compulsive user of cutting boards. We use a huge wooden board and the minute I do anything, including making sandwiches for lunch, out that big board comes. I also have a clean handiwipe at the ready and we’ve yet to get a stain or burn.
2) The kitchen is small and no guest hangs around it (no room!) to place drinks down and spill. On the other hand, I myself place my drink down all the time and if I've gotten watermarks, I can't see them.
One drawback no one told me about – drop a glass or plate, even just an inch from the marble, and it shatters baby! No hope of bouncing!

We already had an IKEA kitchen when we bought our house but we wanted to upgrade the laminate counter tops & vinyl floor. I have always loved the classic Carrara marble but my husband did warn me it would stain and I do like my red wine. So we we went with a dark marble on the main counter tops & Carrara marble on the island. I like the contrast a lot but the etching drives me crazy! I have yet to stain the marble but as another person posted, the etching happens even from a few seconds on the surfaces. Even water seems to cause it. So my advice would be if you have a sunny kitchen don't go with marble. Every time the sun hits the surfaces you see all the imperfections glaring at you. I wish I had been more informed as well. At least we got the counter tops at wholesale prices.

I am so glad to see this post. We are in the final stages of planning a major kitchen overhaul, and this was one of the last design elements: the counter tops. I want white marble, preferably in the honed finish. I don't mind if it shows it's age after a while, especially since one of the things I dislike about granite is that it always seems to look showroom perfect.

A question that has always been on my mind - if marble is such a nightmare to maintain, then why is it used for transoms (divider section on the floors of doorways?

Somehow those seem to hold up. Wonder why?

I'd say that if your kitchen is open to the dining or living room and you want marble precisely because it's "dressier," than you probably SHOULD NOT go with marble. Over time, it's going to look dingy and not so dressy anymore, which might be fine for a farmhouse kitchen, but you might not want to be looking at that all the time from the dining or living room. I would consider something like caeserstone or silestone instead.

I'm really surprised to hear people have told you white quartz stains worse than marble. I have never heard this. Engineered quartz is impermeable, at least in theory, and that's certainly been my experience. Get a sample and then beat the hell out of it. Leave wine or lemon juice on it overnight and see what it looks like. Do your own testing.

White marble counters might be ok for country-farmhouse style kitchens. Otherwise, I think they are a bad idea. (Even then, for any home of mine.) I think kitchen counters should be smooth (not tile with grout), sanitary (not porous like marble -- think of the germs embedded in porous materials if, say, raw chicken hit the surface, even by accident), easy to clean, and relatively impervious to chipping, staining, and other kitchen disasters. So I chose granite with quartz another possibility. A kitchen is a room where pragmatic concerns should outweigh the purely aesthetic.

Also, I think a lot of uses of marble from yesteryear predated the wear and tear concerns when marble was "classy" (a la Michelangelo) and cheap. Cheaper than granite, especially exotic granite imported from Brazil! So it may not suggest durability was an objective back then. (Unsealed marble is supposed to be good as a "heat sink" for making fudge and some baked goods...)

I registered just to say this: Lemon and lime juice can etch polished marble in a matter of minutes. Mine is polished and sealed and it takes very, very little time for the acids of citrus to make blotches. Now, even after discovering this (the hard way) and with an option to have the island with the splotches swapped out for another material (long dumb story), are having them repolished and keeping them, because they are really beautiful.

I rent a beautiful house with marble countertops, and it's incredibly stressful. We have a dull spot from some lemonade that we cleaned up the second it spilled. We've made massive wooden cutting boards that cover most of the counters. I love how they look. So bright and fresh. But they aren't practical. If you are a messy cook, don't do it. If you are incredibly tidy and don't cook often, then it's a fine choice. They are definitely pretty.

I love marble. I have a marble floor in my hall and bathroom with marble vanity tops. However I have granite in my kitchen! The floors are wearing well but the vanity top, not so well. I have a messy husband and toothpaste drips are driving me crazy! I leave a cloth permanently by the sink but I can still see the stains. For this reason I would not recommend it for a kitchen. The granite is wearing much much better. Also do consider that marble does require maintenance no mater what the sales people tell you. It will scratch and will need to be polished and sealed eery couple of years to keep it looking its best. It is porous so stains wont always be removed by this process and be very careful what you wash it with. Get expert advise. Happy renovating!

We just had our kitchen redone and did our island in unpolished (honed) carrera marble. It wasn't a tough decision for us, and I'm glad that this contributor noted that honed doesn't etch as easily as polished does.

We went back a forth a bit before making our final choice, and along the way someone mentioned that marble has been used all around the world for thousands of years, and some of the most beautiful buildings still have marble steps and furnishings that have stood up for centuries. That was all the confirmation I needed. I didn't want a perfect kitchen, just a beautiful one. Very happy with our choice.

We had Cambria (engineered quartz) in "Torquay" put in about four months ago. The look is similar to marble. So far, they have held up perfectly. We do a lot of cooking and have two kid and every stain has just wiped right off. We're very pleased with our choice!

The previous owners of my MCM house had installed white granite countertops in the kitchen. When I first saw the house, I thought the countertops were marble, but later found out that they were granite. Apparently, the previous owners had to special order the white granite as most of the stone places that deal in granite countertops don't carry white granite.

As for the durability of the white granite, it seems to be OK. I haven't noticed any stains yet, but the granite is sealed and if I spill anything on it, I clean it up ASAP. But the color is gorgeous and it really lightens ups the kitchen.

By now you've probably already put the Marble in. The good thing is there is a product coming out very soon so that you can seal your Marble and then rest much easier. I probably would've gone with a Granite Company that made custom cabinets as well rather than IKEA. As soon as I find out about this new product I will be sure to post it. I work for a granite fabricator so it shouldn't be too long.

As a general rule I don't encourage Marble in the kitchen unless you are used to treating it like a Museum. You can get a very similar look with granite, and no one would've known but you. ;)

Marble can be used in a kitchen if you understand that untreated, they can etch and stain. I agree that having a honed marble is best, as it will not show etch marks from acids like lemon juice and wine.
Protecting marble with a quality stone impregnator is wise, as it will slow down the effects of acids reacting with the marble. A great product is HMK S34 Silicone Impregnator.

Also, using a pH neutral stone soap will preserve the sealer-impregnator and not harm marble.
Of course if you want a material that is much easier to care for, granite is your best choice.

I have had white Thassos marble kitchen counters and sinks for years and used them heavily. They are HONED, never polished. I seal them by pouring melted paraffin on them and rubbing it in thoroughly a couple of times a year. I clean them first with toothpaste and a dish brush, scrubbing thoroughly then rinsing down well. The paraffin does not discolor, inhibits etching and staining, and is food safe. It is the same stuff your grandmother used to seal the home made grape jelly jars.

When you buy your counters, be sure to get the name and number of the guy who will come with his machine and buff out any etching or scratches, and ask how much he charges. I do it about every five years.

Clean up all spills quickly, just as you would on a butcher block. Marble breathes so even if it does spot, the spots gradually disappear. You can also steam clean it, but be sure to do the whole surface, not just a spot. Then reapply the paraffin.

Having said all that, I should note that marble table tops are COLD to the touch and more desirable in hot climates, whereas marble work counters are great anyplace.