5 Things to Think About If You Plan on Having Marble in Your Kitchen

In October 2018, an article published by The New York Times provided an interesting glimpse of modern interior design trends. The focus of the article was a Manhattan penthouse that Instagram "influencers" can rent for the purpose of taking photographs and producing videos featuring the products they promote and endorse. This luxury apartment featured laminate materials, pink tones, feminine touches, and rose gold decorations, but sharp readers made an interesting observation: marble was clearly missing from the kitchen. After decades of granite floors and countertops, American homeowners are ready to welcome marble into their kitchens. Before you start looking for marble slabs and tiles for your kitchen, here are a few things to consider. 1. Marble Is a Metamorphic Rock The marble you install today won’t look the same in a few years, which is a natural property of this type of stone, but this doesn’t mean its gorgeous appearance cannot be maintained. If you take good care of the marble in your kitchen and don’t let it become etched or stained, the surface change will be aesthetic as the stone turns slightly darker. 2. Marble Requires a Maintenance Commitment To preserve the original look of your marble floor tiles and counters, you need to adhere to a certain cleaning and sealing schedule. If your kitchen gets a lot of foot traffic and food preparation, you should apply a marble and granite cleaner and sealant frequently, particularly after mopping up spills. 3. Marble Is a Soft and Porous Stone There was a time when marble was the preferred material for kitchen countertops. Over time, granite took over as a more durable and less porous option. These days, the nearly indestructible quartz has replaced granite, but Italian trattorias, pizzerias, and bakeries have been using marble as food prep surfaces for decades. Marble can withstand daily cooking, but you may want to choose a honed finish instead of a polished and glossy surface. 4. Marble Goes with Just About Everything Matching your kitchen décor with marble shouldn’t be a problem. The kitchen of the aforementioned Instagram penthouse, for example, would probably look better with a nice Carrara marble countertop than with a quartz surface. Keep in mind marble isn’t limited to white. You can also find creamy beige slabs that look good with wood cabinetry. 5. Marble Flooring Shouldn’t Be Polished If you opt for marble flooring in the kitchen, make sure you don’t polish it. The glossier the finish, the more slippery marble floors turn, which could be risky in a living space that gets a lot of foot traffic. Whether you have marble in your home or another type of natural stone such as granite, slate, or travertine, make sure to purchase a granite polishing kit that comes with many of the products you need to properly care for your stone. If you’d like tips on caring for natural stone, get in touch with Granite Gold® today at 1-800-475-STONE (7866).