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When I was doing my kitchen, I considered marble for about 5 seconds, because I love how it looks. But I didn't want to have to worry and obsess about it. I also know that I'm not meticulous enough to keep it pristine. I ended up with a quartz that I love too and it looks just as beautiful as the day it was put in (about a year and a half ago).
Look up what marble looks like with a patina. If you are OK with that, marble is gorgeous in a kitchen. I am not OK with it on my counters. I do have marble floors in my entry and my master bath...floors and walls...is all marble except the countertops, which are quartzite. After a year the marble still looks perfect. I have 3 sons and 3 dogs running around. I spill sometimes around my sink but it would be odd for me to spill anything on my floor in the bathroom. If I did, I would clean quickly. Only marble cleaner is used on it. My shower floor obviously has plenty of soap, shampoo, lotion in it. The showe floor is small herringbone tile. I probably wouldn't notice minor imperfections with it.
I tend to poo-poo the "wonders" of man made quartz & composite type countertops but when it comes to bathrooms where there is the potential for VERY hard to remove stains from cosmetics, drugs, and cleaners it makes quite of bit of sense to get something that is as impervious as possible.
Sadly the OP is correct that marble, especially the lighter varieties such as Carrara, is a poor choice for bathrooms and kitchens. I have seen several bathrooms that are less than five years old, that were used exclusively by otherwise tidy home owners, where the staining is far more than a mere "patina" and the result is a home that despite very costly "upgrades" will not be as attractive to buyers as a renovation done with materials that are more durable.
The specifics of why Carrara marble is more structurally prone to chipping and such is due to the specific minerals that crystallize in different ways in the stone. You can literally see the effects of super-hard and very translucent minerals like quartz and florite contributing to different properties in some slabs such being more suited to the harsher environments -- RTA spending more than $670,000 on spin control Unfortunately it is almost impossible to get any countertop sized slab that contains none of the more brittle minerals such as albite and calcite...
You have to ask yourself if you can live with constant etching and staining every time you use your counter tops. Some people like the look that develops over time, but many people don't. You can find people sharing their experiences with marble in their kitchens all over the Internet.
This blogger used River White Granite as an alternative, though it does have garnet specs among the veining. Some slabs have more garnet specs than others. I'm not a huge granite fan, but I love this stuff. Click on the link for better photos.
Hi OP - I've had cararra marble counters in my kitchen for 3 years. The etching doesn't bother me (you have to look at the counter just right - usually turning your head sideways - to see it), and no stains (I've heard they 'move through' ultimately anyway - faster if you use a poultice). And, it was less than 50% the cost of any white quartz then available to me (at the 2 shops I was considering). And it is beautiful - I got a great stone with really good gray veins.
The reason I won't use it again is the chipping. It can't be repaired, although I heard there are fillers (you'd still see the spot, though). Examples: I dropped a fork from about 10". That left a (permanent) ding (i.e., you can feel the indent, or crack). Ditto a small (1"x2") glass salt shaker. And I'm a super careful person.
Are you fine with 'door dings' (tiny dents - not just paint chipped off, which can be easily fixed via paint touch ups) on your new car? If so, maybe marble is for you. Otherwise, get granite (not white granite - I hear it acts like, or is, marble) or quartz. HTH.
I know more about marble because my dad worked for Vermont Marble for years. I was able to visit the quarry in Danbury, Vermont. And my brother installed a marble tile floor in one bathroom and sure enough one of the tiles cracked. I don't know if it was weight on the tile or the installation wasn't level.
I wouldn't have marble in my home. Too many other selections out there that are more interesting.
I know is it isn't the most durable surface. But how "fragile" is it really? A ton of people use it. I was told it scratches easily , stains easily, will be eaten away at by anything citrus and edges can chip easily. That seems extreme considering how many people use it.
Kitchens and bathroom use is what I'm interested in.
Marble in a kitchen is gorgeous, but I wouldn't have it. It WILL etch, and it WILL scratch, and stain. I prefer a surface that is as carefree as possible, and marble is definitely NOT that. In a bathroom? Well, maybe. But you are still going to have etching to deal with.
Otherwise, get granite (not white granite - I hear it acts like, or is, marble) or quartz. HTH.
No. There really is no "white granite". The granite that is in the above post, IS granite, and that's about as close to white as you will get. Frankly that slab in that picture is lighter than any of that color that I have seen, and I have looked at a LOT. Maybe you are thinking about quartzite. Many light quartzites contain enough calcite and dolomite to be considered more of a marble than a quartzite.
We ended up putting quartz in our kitchen and bathrooms for counter tops. I wanted light countertops because we put in espresso cabinets. I don't like the busy patterns granite has and after living with marble floors for 3 years there was no way I was going to put it on my counters. I live in the kitchen and need something I don't need to worry about ruining when I'm cooking and baking. We used Soprano in the kitchen, mudroom, guest bath & master bath and Cotton White in all the other bathrooms.
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Maybe you are thinking about quartzite. Many light quartzites contain enough calcite and dolomite to be considered more of a marble than a quartzite.
