CAN I HAVE REAL MARBLE WORKTOPS IN MY KITCHEN?

The simple answer is – of course you can have marble worktops in your kitchen! Real marble has been used in kitchens for hundreds of years. It has many advantages:

• it is relatively easy to quarry and work
• it is often intensely beautiful
• it can initially be brought to an extremely high shine
• it has a natural coolness which makes it an especially good surface for pastry and dough work

Marble worktops are absolutely classic, and it is not surprising that with the continued strength of traditional look designs, and an interest in traditional technologies, skills and materials, marble has even made something of a come-back in British kitchens over recent years.

We have had a number of classic marbles through the warehouse in recent weeks, most of them for a specific project in London. Here you can see, in sequence: Statuary Extra, Calacatta Macchia Vecchia (including one shot of two slabs to demonstrate bookmatching) and Calacatta Oro – the marble which is the basis for Silestone Eternal Calactta Gold, Classic Quartz Calacatta Gold and other quartz copies. 

Some years ago we wrote a blog about the reasons for creating quartz copies of marble. As the demand for marble worktops increases, so does the argument for using really good quartz copies.

The key problems with marble worktops are:

• it is physically very soft, and prone to physical wear and tear and erosion. You have probably seen marble steps with deeply curved indentations – that happens with knives and general usage too.
• it is chemically relatively weak, being easily attacked by the kind of acids which are constantly present in kitchens – wine, vinegar, lemon and other juices etc. The basic ingredients will etch and damage the marble – quickly and visibly

The decision may boil down to how much a kitchen is going to be used. If the worktops are for show, then marble is amazing. If the kitchen is going to work hard, then be prepared for deterioration in the look of the tops – and marble-look quartz would avoid that!

The same goes for coloured stains – which are even harder to live with over the long haul. Marble can stain more easily than granite or quartz.

On the other hand, accepting the “lived in look” for your worktops may suit you. I liked this article which argues for “acid etching” to be embraced as part and parcel of the “story” of your stone. I get that, although I’m not sure I would be so cool about stains.