Should I use marble in my kitchen?

Marble gets its name from the Ancient Greek μάρμαρον (mármaron) which translates as “crystalline rock, shining stone”, or it could perhaps have come from the verb μαρμαίρω (marmaírō) which means “to flash, sparkle, gleam” and in either sense, it certainly does what it says on the tin.

Marble countertops can be insanely beautiful and truly one of a kind creating the kind of show-stopping kitchens that Pinterest dreams are made of, but, there are some things you need to know…

Let it go

Obviously the downside of using marble as a surface in the kitchen is that it’s porous and high maintenance. If you spill wine, oil, vinegar, spices, lemon juice etc, the marble will stain and it will never go back to how it was before no matter how many DIY poultices you try.

As well as staining easily, the marble is soft so it will nick and scratch easily. But to have marble in your kitchen you have to let all of this go, yes it’s going to mark but that is part of the charm and over time the marble will age and develop a patina – almost like an antique piece of furniture.

So you’re going to need to embrace it.

Choose carefully

Each slab of marble is unique so you’ll need to go the marble and granite yard yourself to pick out the one you like most. This is one of the most fun aspects of a project although it’s not always first time lucky.

Sometimes if we’re searching for something more unusual or a particular size / book-match it can take many months to find the right slabs for a project.

Pricing varies

When it comes to pricing marble, it’s really variable depending on what you’re looking at and the availability. As with most things in life, the more common types like Carrara marble can be relatively inexpensive compared to even some quartz worktops, whereas more veined and less readily available marbles like Calacatta Viola can be a lot more expensive.

Heat Resistant

Marble is resistant to heat because of how it is formed from volcanic and igneous activity. Marble worktops, although prone to marking, are actually really durable when it comes to heat so you never have to worry about putting hot things down.

So, essentially can you use marble in your kitchen? Yes absolutely but be aware of the pros and the cons so you know what you’re taking on. To see some incredible marble worktops available we recommend, Cullifords, the Marble & Granite Centre or NileStone.