Anyone have marble bathroom countertops?

[karasue91]

Hi all, we are renovating our bathrooms and I absolutely love carrera marble for the countertops. Hubby isn''t crazy about it because he says it stains.

Does anyone have marble counters/floors in their bathroom? Especially those with kids? It will be at least a couple years before we are ready for kids, but we plan to be in this house for at least the next 5 years....

So, do you love them or hate them?

Thanks for your help!

 

[FrekeChild]

I have marble tile countertops. And I have stained them. With both regular ol'' makeup and hair dye. Luckily it was all brown stuff and the marble is a cream with light brown streaks, so it''s not totally blatant that they are stains instead of the natural striations of the stone.

 

[crystalheart1]

We just put marble in our house and it is very fragile - cracks.. and I also heard it does stain easily.

Marble is better for show than durability. There are some Granite stones that look like marble.

Marble is very beautiful.. we have an a Marble Medallion in our Foyer

 

[MichelleCarmen]

A while back on a home renovation show, a couple (with kids) had picked out a countertop finish they loved and the decorator gave them a 2'' X 3'' or so size slab to take home and test out. The couple banged pots on it, took forks and scratched at the surface, banged cups on it, spilled water, etc., and after a week, the finish was completely destroyed! I cannot recall what the finish was, but after their learning experience, they ended up going with a synthetic. Is there any way you can get a small slab of marble to test out at home before deciding?

Oh, and at one point DH and I considered putting marble tiles in our entry way (a few houses back), and many people told me that when it gets wet, it''s super slippery. With a bathroom, seems like a marble floor would be a risky venture since the floor is always wet!

 

[karasue91]

Thanks so much for your responses.

Freke - so, what kind of makeup was it? Like a liquid foundation? Or could powder possibly stain too? We would be getting bianco carrera which is white with gray streaks, so there would definitely be no hiding brown marks. Are your countertops polished (smooth, shiny finish) or honed (more of a dull matte finish)? For some reason I feel like the polished finish would be more stain-resistant? Or am I just fooling myself?

crystalheart - where did you put your marble? on your countertops or on your floors?

MC - i could definitely see going with a synthetic or granite for kitchen countertops, which it sounds like is what that couple was going for. I don''t think there would be that much stuff banging on the bathroom countertop, would there? And I definitely wouldn''t be putting the polished marble on the floor, first of all because my splurge in the bathroom was going to be the marble countertop...and if I were to put it on the floor I would be sure to put the honed (matte) finish, which would be much less slippery....

Thanks again!!

 

[FrekeChild]

It''s polished, and it was powder! I was shocked that it stained like that! I went and looked at it closer and there are little pink specks in this one area where I had flecked hot pink eye shadow, and they didn''t come off completely either apparently. Also, where FI puts his contact case when he''s putting his contacts in, the polish on the stone has worn away in some spots. I should mention that this marble is two years old. Meh.

One thing (that I hate) that is something to consider is that any natural stone needs to be sealed at least once a year, which I''m totally slacking on. What sucks is that we have some travertine floors, and then marble and granite. That''s a lot of sealing...

 

[iluvcarats]

Honed would be more susceptible to stains, because there would be nothing protecting it. When we were doing our bathroom they told us that marble is better to use in a less used bathroom, such as a guest bathroom. I think you are asking for trouble putting white marble in a master bath or a kids bath IMO.
We put slate in our master bath, it''s been sealed, and have had all sorts of trouble with it. I wouldn''t recommend slate either. Everything stains it, and saline solution leaves marks. It is a pain! If we ever redo the counter, i will choose granite because it is so easy and forgiving.

 

[Tacori E-ring]

Kara, I totally love carrera marble too! In fact we just put carrera marble subway tiles (mixed with glass) as our kitchen back splash. I have a *dream* of having an all white marble master bath (seen at the tile showroom and it was SO drool worthy) but would be worry about the staining. Have you ever been on Garden web? They have kitchens that shows a white granite that looks SO much like carrera. That''s probably what I would do.

 

[karasue91]

hmm well the more i google, the more im leaning towards the marble

Found a couple articles, this one was really interesting, it shows sealed vs unsealed marble and how it held up under stains...http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/cleaning/marble-countertop-tests-at-the-petch-house-073559

and then this is the next day after letting the red wine, lime, and tomato paste sit on it overnight...http://petchhouse.blogspot.com/2006/03/sealing-marble-more-marble-weirdness.html

And another article with tons of comments at the bottom with lots of good tips actually...http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-why-not-do-white-marble-kitchen-countertops-008987

Freke, they say that oxiclean worked on a tea stain...but it sounds like the honed finish can be cleaned with bleach and then waxed and comes out perfectly. Of course, the polished just look sooo much nicer!! Also, it said there are spray sealers out there, so maybe dab a little bleach on those spots and spray the sealer on?

iluvcarats - yeah i read slate wouldn''t be the greatest in a bathroom....i wish i liked granite!! i just cant ever find one that i like...my bathrooms are both so small, and if i could find a granite that was nice and white i would probably go with that, but i haven''t seen one like that...i do have a couple more showrooms to visit though...
r
tacori - oh my goodness i can''t even tell you how much i love that carrara marble, i can picture your blackplash and i know i would absolutely love it, the marble subway tiles look so fantastic. i''m doing plain white subway tiles on the walls of the shower and about 2/3 up the walls around the rest of the bathroom. still debating on the flooring but i found a light gray tile that i really liked, but wasnt sure if maybe i should just stick to white tile on the floors too...its a double sink so the marble counter will be pretty big, and the cabinet is an espresso stained maple, floating about 12" off the floor...basically copying a photo i saw in a magazine. hopefully it comes together as nicely as in the magazine!!

off to gardenweb...

 

[pennquaker09]

I LOVE Carrera marble. It''s one of my absolute favorite natural stones. And the subway tiles are so freaking awesome.

My sister in law has a Christopher Peacock kitchen and she has a Carrera. I probably won''t get a Christopher Peacock kitchen in my next home, mainly because I can do it myself without spending as much, but they are absolutely beautiful.

 

[April20]

I have carrera marble on my master bathroom sink top. I love how it looks but now you guys have me thinking I should do something so I don''t stain it. We''ve had it all of about one week and if anyone will figure out how to stain it big, it''s me. It never even occurred to me to think about it before this, so thank you!

 

[iluvcarats]

Date: 1/28/2009 2:25:13 AM
Author: karasue91
hmm well the more i google, the more im leaning towards the marble


Found a couple articles, this one was really interesting, it shows sealed vs unsealed marble and how it held up under stains...http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/sf/cleaning/marble-countertop-tests-at-the-petch-house-073559


and then this is the next day after letting the red wine, lime, and tomato paste sit on it overnight...http://petchhouse.blogspot.com/2006/03/sealing-marble-more-marble-weirdness.html


And another article with tons of comments at the bottom with lots of good tips actually...http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/good-questions/good-questions-why-not-do-white-marble-kitchen-countertops-008987


Freke, they say that oxiclean worked on a tea stain...but it sounds like the honed finish can be cleaned with bleach and then waxed and comes out perfectly. Of course, the polished just look sooo much nicer!! Also, it said there are spray sealers out there, so maybe dab a little bleach on those spots and spray the sealer on?


iluvcarats - yeah i read slate wouldn''t be the greatest in a bathroom....i wish i liked granite!! i just cant ever find one that i like...my bathrooms are both so small, and if i could find a granite that was nice and white i would probably go with that, but i haven''t seen one like that...i do have a couple more showrooms to visit though...

r

tacori - oh my goodness i can''t even tell you how much i love that carrara marble, i can picture your blackplash and i know i would absolutely love it, the marble subway tiles look so fantastic. i''m doing plain white subway tiles on the walls of the shower and about 2/3 up the walls around the rest of the bathroom. still debating on the flooring but i found a light gray tile that i really liked, but wasnt sure if maybe i should just stick to white tile on the floors too...its a double sink so the marble counter will be pretty big, and the cabinet is an espresso stained maple, floating about 12'' off the floor...basically copying a photo i saw in a magazine. hopefully it comes together as nicely as in the magazine!!


off to gardenweb...

I forgot to say that we do have carrera marble in the kids bathrooms on the floor. The black and white checkerboard. It does get a little slippery, like someone else mentioned,(it would help if the kids kept the water IN the tub) but there are enough striations in the tile, and they are small squares so you don''t notice any stains. I don''t think a floor would be problematic. I wish I had read that article on slate. I really resent having to be careful in my master bath

Your idea sounds beautiful, so whatever you decide, please come back with pics!

 

[Italiahaircolor]

I have marble...and I don''t have any issue with staining...

 

[skimmy]

we have marble countertops and shower...and absolutely HATE it.

when we bought the apartment, we didn''t know that it wasn''t sealed and managed to get rust
stains and random rings (like coffee mug rings but with bathroom water and personal items) all
over the top. and even though the marble is sealed now, some parts of the marble didn''t take
and still aren''t really protected.

with all the pretty synthetics that look like marble, i don''t think we''ll ever do it again.
it just isn''t worth the hassle to us.

 

[crystalheart1]

Our Marble is on the floor - we have a medallion with porcelian tile surronding it.

Marble cracks very easily. When we were shopping for our kitchen counters, my husband really liked the look of some of the marbles . We were told by almost Everyone not to get marble, it is too pourus and stains

I would try to look into granite, there are a couple types that look like marble. There is a white one, sometimes called Casa Blanca.. that might be something of interest

Good luck

 

[canuk-gal]

HI:

No trouble with staining--but we have dropped a few glass bottles that have chipped the edges....apparently they are easily fixed I have never gotten around to it.

cheers--Sharon

 

[Pandora II]

I'm about to put marble work-tops and tiles into a new kitchen - so thanks for the links!

I don't know if you can get it in the US, but I use a product range called Litho-fin and it was fantastic on our travetine and granite in the last house.

 

[bebe]

Ex-Home builder chiming in here ...

yes, marble will stain. But many people like the fact it stains, the stains adding character I don''t subscribe to that camp though. Granite too will stain, but not likely to show as much. Marble will chip and granite will chip if it is knocked hard enough. I would hesitate to put marble in children''s bathrooms but I have used many marbles in Master Baths.


I have marble and granite all over my house. I absolutely hate my master bath shower. The walls are 12" sq. polished taupe veined marble (forgot the name),
the floors are 4" tumbled marbled. The shower floor requires a lot of upkeep. We dry the shower after each use (and it''s huge!) just to keep the spotting down. Living
in Texas, humidity is a huge issue, so we have to watch for mildew. Once a year, we seal it.

I steered my clients away from the tumbled marble for shower floors, but some insisted. It looks great and works well with many tiles and stones, but the upkeep is horrid.
My kitchen backsplash is tumbled marble, but I have near zero problems there.

 

[karasue91]

Thanks everyone for your input!!! I''m still torn, but planning to head into the showroom to look at a few more things so we''ll see what they have.

I''m becoming torn on the decorating aspect. The main bath has dark gray towels that will look great with the marble, but the ensuite has creamy vanilla-colored towels, and I want to tile the entire bathroom - walls, floor, shower - and I don''t know that the creamy towels would look right next to a gray tile...which is what I thought would look best next to the carrera countertop. Would LOVE to put carrera tile on the walls and floor too but that''s a bit out of the budget....if anyone has any ideas I would love to hear them!

 

[Allisonfaye]

I just skimmed the replies so I don''t know if anyone has mentioned this problem yet but we have marble in our master bathroom (floor). We have a cleaning service and I can''t tell you how many times they have damaged the floor with cleaners. They put buckets on the floor and they must have something on the bottom and it makes an imprint on the floor. It goes from being shiny to kind of matte and it happens over and over again. I don''t what those ladies are putting on that floor. I have told them over and over they can''t even use any cleansers near that floor but it keeps happening. We had a service out to buff it once but it just happens again.

 

[bebe]

Date: 2/1/2009 7:50:25 PM
Author: Allisonfaye
I just skimmed the replies so I don''t know if anyone has mentioned this problem yet but we have marble in our master bathroom (floor). We have a cleaning service and I can''t tell you how many times they have damaged the floor with cleaners. They put buckets on the floor and they must have something on the bottom and it makes an imprint on the floor. It goes from being shiny to kind of matte and it happens over and over again. I don''t what those ladies are putting on that floor. I have told them over and over they can''t even use any cleansers near that floor but it keeps happening. We had a service out to buff it once but it just happens again.

I wonder if there is vinegar being left on your floor? Vinegar and cleaners with it in it, will etch a marble floor.
It happened to me ages ago at my own home, my housekeeper used it to clean my floors (mixed w/ water)
Hope you get to the bottom of it soon.

 

[miraclesrule]

I wouldn't recommend marble in a high use bathroom either. However, if you mind performing or paying for routine maintenance or stain removal, than it shouldn't be a problem. It can be a pain. I think Granite is a pain.

The designer I am working with right now recommends Ceasarstone for the bathroom. I still have to Google that because I have never heard of it. I was leaning toward Quartz. I think it was Quartz. Oh well, the vendor at Costco sells the leading brand of the Quartz or whatever. I really need to go get my renovation notebook, because I started getting confused after too much information overload.

But it's fun to redo a room after it's all done.

ETA: Hahaha Ceasarstone is Quartz!! Yayayayaya, that means my own research turned out to be accurate...at least as good as this designer is turning out to be.

Quartz all the way. I saw this at a friends house on their kitchen island. I was amazed that it looked perfect and new, but was years old. No maintenance. No chips, scratches, blemishes, nada....

 

[Gailey]

I have had all the dilemas you ladies describe. I even got a piece of unsealed bianco carrera marble and stained it with everything I could think of and then tried to get the stains out. I had varying degrees of success. I came across the name of a product name escapes me right now, but I''ll find it tomorrow and report back. Basically you mix it up like a poultice and cover the stain. I did get some but haven''t used it. I''ll evaluate it and let you know how it works.

There is a restaurant here in town. It''s high-end, and busy. Teatro btw fellow Calgarians. They have bianco carrera marble on both the drinks bar and the long bar that separates the kitchen from the restaurant. I looked closely at it. True it had developed a patina, which I felt added to its beauty (some don''t). There were no glaring stains. I asked the head chef how they took care of it and he said that a professional company comes in once a year and re-seals it.

Certainly anything acid based: Citrus, vinegar etc, will etch un-sealed highly polished marble. That leaves a mark, but not a "stain". I think if the marble is honed to a smooth dull finish, then etching will be much less of a problem.

We put our reno on hold for a while, so I didn''t follow up to find out about the efficacy of the sealing products and process.

It''s a tough call, because there is nothing to compare to bianco carerra marble as far as I am concerned.

Caesar Stone is very popular here too. Expensive, more than granite. I''ve seen it and have a friend who is a builder who uses it a lot. If I had to compromise on the marble, I''d have Caesar Stone before I''d have granite. It''s definitely more elegant than granite as far as I am concerned.

I''ve heard there''s white granite out there, but I haven''t seen any, so can''t comment on that.

I have also seen a beautiful new pattern in Corrian that I was considering. Dark grey with white & lighter grey veining, honed finish. Can''t remember the name of it, but it swayed me in a way that Corrian never had previously. It wasn''t a small sample either. A showroom in town had a large island covered in it.

 

[Gailey]

The stain remover I talked about in my last post is called Poultice Stain Remover

I will try it on the stains I created on my slab of marble, but it will have to wait a bit because the slab is heavy and I can''t lift anything just for a little while longer (only just had surgery).