We remodeled our kitchen about 18 months ago. Despite some misgivings about using marble for our kitchen countertops, we just could not resist them when we saw the slabs on display at Keystone Marble and Granite. We opted for marble countertops in a honed finish, and it looked fantastic in our kitchen. Nevertheless, I was still anxious about making that decision and the consequences down the road. I am not the most conscientious of housekeepers, and I frequently had guests coming over. I was afraid that staining and etching were going to be an issue.
Cut to the chase
The fact is, my marble countertops still look amazing after all this time. I found that it makes a great work surface and was a breeze to keep clean. I do not regret getting marble countertops one iota.
Carrara charisma
After looking through all the marble slabs, we decided to hedge our bets and settle on Carrara marble. It was beautifully elegant, and it was the cheapest of the slabs available. Carrara marble, at least the one we chose, had liberal streaks of gray against a bright white background. The light striking the white in between those gray veins made the countertops look almost luminous; it just glowed in the most attractive way.
Don’t get me wrong. We did consider granite and quartz for the kitchen countertops, and we saw some beautiful ones. However, we could not find any white granite, and the quartz was much more expensive.
The Carrara marble was not cheap by most standards, and it would be unreasonable to expect dirt cheap for solid stone countertops. We paid about $60 per square foot for fabricating, installing, and sealing our countertops and backsplash, and I thought that was a bargain considering how elegant it made my kitchen look.
That said, I did have my moments of panic, especially in the first few months. I did get some etches and scratches, and it was traumatizing. Let me tell you all about it.
First stains
We remodeled the kitchen in preparation to moving in, but when day 0 came around, the installers were still putting the finishing touches to the countertops and had not yet sealed them. I was putting away the kitchen stuff when I spilled some cinnamon on the countertop. I was so busy I didn’t notice it until later, and by then it had stained. I could not get it out.
A couple of day later and before the installer could come back to seal the surfaces, I placed a baking pan on another part of the countertop that had a bit of rust in the corner. That produced another stain that would simply not come out no matter how much I scrubbed.
The good news is, the installer came the next day to seal the kitchen countertops, and we haven’t had any more major stains since. I do make a point of wiping off any liquids and stain-causing stuff from the countertops as soon as I can, so that was an important lesson learned.
First etch marks
Just as I was settling down the possibility of stains on my countertops and chilling about it, I got my first etch. Some lemon juice spilled, and I could literally see the etch forming in the puddle it made. Fortunately, it was a small one, and you could not really see it from most angles. I knew it was there of course, but it sorts of blended into the background after a while.
We got a couple of small etch marks all over the kitchen countertops over time. However, because they were white, they were hardly visible at all. I did still obsess over wiping up every little spill for a few weeks after that first etch, but I learned to relax after a bit.
I had questioned whether we made a big mistake in choosing marble countertops for the kitchen at the start. I felt I had to be extra careful with them, and I did not like that. However, seeing how great my kitchen looks and how much I loved working on its cool surfaces convinced me we had done the right thing. I just eventually learned not to sweat the small stuff and relax about a few stains and etches.
I also learned to do something about the stains. I searched the Keystone site for suggestions and found this: “Stain Removal Tips for Marble Countertops.” The poultice was particularly helpful. I also found that over time, most of the stains just faded away even without doing anything about them. Nature at work? We’ll never know.
Conclusion
It has been more than a year and more than a few incidents with my marble countertops, and I have gone through one republishing to remove the worst of the etch marks. However, nothing major has happened that would lead me to regret choosing them for my kitchen. I love the look and feel of marble for my kitchen countertops, and I truly believe I am over the worst of my unfounded anxieties over them.
It helped that my countertop supplier was always around to answer my questions and give me some great advice with my marble countertops. Keystone Marble and Granite can help you go through your options as they did with ours and make recommendations based on your preferences. We appreciated how well they handled our project before, during, and after execution.
If you are looking for a reputable company for your kitchen countertops in the areas of Columbus, Ohio, Delaware cities, Lancaster and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, you should consider Keystone Marble and Granite. They have showrooms in Lancaster and Horsham, Pennsylvania as well as New Castle, Delaware and Columbus, Ohio. They offer natural stones for your consideration. We will walk you through each granite and marble slab to explain how each can benefit you in your kitchen or bathroom remodel. They also carry the top brands of quartz countertops in the market, including Cambria, Caesarstone, Silestone, and MSI. They all come with manufacturer warranties.
Once you have chosen your countertops, they will provide free professional design consultation and quotes, so you know exactly where you are before committing. They work very quickly and are experts at fabricating and installing engineered stone and granite countertops. You can be confident that you will get the very best in product and service quality.
Give them a call and find out for yourself!