living with marble

A sweet reader, Heather, wrote in with this question:

…I love your kitchen and was wondering how your marble is holding up? The husband and I are in the middle of starting a remodel, and we’re at odds with which countertop to choose. He wants granite, and I’m just over granite. I think I really want a combination of soapstone and marble just like your kitchen. He’s heard some stories about marble and he is torn. I want to do it. Any tips on the marble that can ease our minds about choosing a natural stone?…

A question we’ve been getting pretty often these days is: How’s that marble holding up? Or: Is it hard to care for?

We’ve had a few months to fall into our routine, and just shared this post on all things soapstone, and we thought it would be fun to spill all the goods on all things marble.

So without further ado, we’re diving into living with marble.

Marble isn’t hard to care for. At all.

I have my preferences for where I like to use it in the home, but countertops via the kitchen is easy peasy rice and cheesy. Or a piece of cake. Whatever other metaphor I can use a-la all things food and the kitchen, here.

I must admit in the beginning, we were a little skittish about it.

We moved in and we were finally home, and then fear had us a little frozen when it came to the countertops. Any time we spilled coffee on the surface, we cringed. I held my breath and braced myself any time I had to wipe something up. Would this be the moment I ruined my marble? Why had we chosen “fancy” countertops?

Or friends came over who had no idea that you’re supposed to tip toe around someone’s brand new kitchen and were super casual. They would scrape plates across the surface and ding with forks. I tried to play it cool but I was twitching in the corner. Didn’t they know they are supposed to be nervous around our countertops, too? DUH.

So as you can see, at first, we revered our countertops like the holy most sanctity of the third realm. Or something else super important that sounds scary and untouchable and alien. I’m pretty sure if I stared at the patterns long enough, I was going to see Mary’s face or something. I wouldn’t let Jamin cook bacon on the stove top because GREASE! And not my precious marble! I tip toed around the soapstone, but the marble was even more dainty in my book.

The thing is, we knew that marble isn’t high maintenance going in. I did my research and I have no idea why I was behaving so irrationally. It felt counter intuitive – there’s something about a major investment in your home. You tend to tiptoe at first. It’s what we like to call the brand new period, we think it’s totally normal to behave this way if you tend to take care of your house, and this total irrationality can last for a few months.

Then, it happened.

We spilled coffee on the countertops, and it sat there without us noticing.

Our beautiful, perfect marble had been defaced. OH THE AGONY!

Or had it? Because I totally wiped it up, and it was fine. WHAT?!?!?!

I’m happy to say, we eventually relaxed because we love our countertops, and they’re not high maintenance at all. {Much unlike us}. I cover marble and what it is, in more depth via this post here. But here’s a few things we’d like to share when it comes to living with marble on our countertops in our kitchen.

1. The most valuable thing you can do for yourself, is educate yourself on every choice and change you make for your house.

I said it in my initial post on marble {linked above} and I’ll say it again: I’m simply blown away with how many people are left with impressions of something, having never even dealt with it on their own before. We’re guilty of this until we become conscious of the fact. But a lot of people are basing their their bias on what they thought they read somewhere about something else. They think it works well for a magazine shoot, but not real life. All of this based on what their mother’s sister’s cousin’s neighbor’s plumber’s contractor said.

We tend to lean our bias based on small inferences all the time, without really looking into it. We do this also with people. Psychology 101.

Let’s break down what marble is:

The Material – Let’s break it down easy- Marble, according to wikipedia:

Marble is a metamorphic rock that may be foliated or non-foliated, composed of recrystallized carbonate minerals, most commonly calcite or dolomite. Geologists use the term “marble” to refer to metamorphosed limestone; {basically a relative of limestone} however, stonemasons use the term more broadly to encompass unmetamorphosed limestone.^[1] Marble is commonly used for sculpture and as a building material.

I investigated and decided to use it in our house. No regrets, it’s one of the best decisions we made for our kitchen. It just wouldn’t look the same without this all natural, gloriously beautiful piece.

2. What did you choose for your kitchen? 

Marble is different according to where it’s mined.

We chose Polycor’s White Georgia marble, and we had it honed. Because we love that it was mined locally, and that it has such a beautiful look and feel.

We say order all the samples. Try all the things. Smear them with ketchup and coffee and wine. Try them out before you make the commitment. Know how the materials will behave and know what you’re getting into. You’ll still be nervous {see above} at first because investments make people nervous. It’s like a life rule or something until you grow comfortable with it. But they’re living, organic, beautiful stones and well worth your time, consideration, and investment. {Again, more on the ups and downs, ins and outs of specifics when it comes to marble, here.}

For what it’s worth, we say it’s easier to clean based on the finish of the marble that you choose. We go more into possible finishes of the marble, here.

3. How do you recommend caring for your marble countertops?

This is so simple, it’s quite un-impressive. I guess because our marble really is that low maintenance. We use soap and water and a paper towel to clean it up. We should be fancier, but that alone does the trick with our countertops. Bonus: No scrubbing with harsh chemicals that leave you feeling woozy. It’s also what most manufacturers recommend. When we feel that it needs an extra buff, we use a sealant to polish it off. It’s really that simple.

To see more cleaning tips from Polycor themselves, be sure to check out their in depth cleaning guide and more for specific stains. Though we have yet to have that problem with anything, it’s definitely great to have it right at your fingertips!
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We hope this answers a few of the basic questions people tend to ask… but we say it’s one of the best decisions if you’re leaning in that direction… a timeless option that you just can’t go wrong with! We have adored our countertops – both choices of stone – in our kitchen.

Again, be sure to check out:

• Our in-depth look at marble in the home and as a whole, here.

• Living with soapstone, here.

• Our entire kitchen tour {with all the fun befores and afters!} here + our entire portfolio here!
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We’re excited to say we’ll be visiting Polycor’s actual mine in Georgia in a month. We find it all so fascinating! Stay tuned because we’re total nerds and can’t wait to share all the things!

Have an inspired day!