MARBLE KITCHEN WORKTOPS
Well known for it’s timeless beauty, Marble has always been a very popular choice for stone worktops. But is the high-maintenance nature of this material suitable for your needs? This blog will look into the pros and cons of marble kitchen worktops in order to help you decide if they are the right choice for you.
THE PROS
DAZZLING BEAUTY
Perhaps the main reason marble remains in heavy demand as a worktop material is due to it’s unrivalled elegance and beauty. The igneous stone comes in a spectacular display of colours and patterns ranging from deep hues of solid white, black, rose, yellow, grey and greens. It’s beauty is versatile enough for use around the home, and for this reason marble is an extremely popular choice for bathrooms, fireplace surrounds and flooring.
HEAT RESISTANT
As a naturally cool material marble is very heat resistant. It is able to easily withstand hot pots and pans in the kitchen, and can tolerate the odd spark on its surface making it a popular choice for fireplace surrounds.
COST
Whilst some rarer type of marble can be very expensive, more common types such as Carrara marble are some of the least expensive natural stone worktop materials. Also, unlike other quartz stones, marble is widely available in a range of different colours and unique patterns.
EASY TO MAINTAIN
The superb smooth finish of Marble is also easy to clean and maintain. Any stains or spills can simply be wiped up with ease. Whats more as one of only two authorised dealers of Dry-Treat sealant in the South West, all of our worktops are sealed with a Dry-Treat world leading permanent impregnating sealer, for premium stain protection. We also provide you with our leading stone care product to keep your kitchen worktops or bathroom vanities looking beautiful and full of colour. It is a very low maintenance material.
DRAWBACKS OF MARBLE
Whilst the beautifully smooth and classic finish of marble can be extremely appealing for a kitchen worktop material, there are a number of drawbacks that are worth considering before choosing Marble for your kitchen worktop material.
SCRATCHING
As a softer stone than other natural stones such as granite, marble is much more susceptible to staining. Sharp knives can easily scratch the surface, and heavy pots or mugs places on a marble counter can end up chipping the marble surface.
STAINING
Due to its porous nature, marble will naturally absorb more liquids. Because of this it is more susceptible to staining, especially from acidic liquids, red wine and oils used in the kitchen. This is one reason why marble is often favoured for lower traffic areas such as a bathroom.
REGULAR MAINTENANCE
Because it is prone to scratching and staining, regular maintenance and cleaning of marble worktops is advised. Therefore, it is important to be cautious with any spills, especially from any acidic foods or liquids. When preparing food, make sure to use a chopping board in order to avoid potential scratching or staining on your marble worktop.
REPAIRS
Generally marble tiles can be removed and replaced at a modest cost. However, if your worktop is made from one slab of marble, the repairs are much more difficult and can be rather costly.
IS MARBLE THE RIGHT CHOICE FOR YOU?
Whether or not marble is the right choice for your kitchen worktops is down to your needs and how much maintenance you are willing to give your marble worktops. The sublime beauty of marble worktops comes at a price; you will have to be prepared to care for, and maintain, your marble worktops on a very regular basis, or be willing to accept the odd scratch or stain here and there that can occur from normal household use. However, if you would prefer beautiful, glossy worktops all year round, then other stone choices such as granite or quartz might be a better option. If you love the look and character of marble, but don’t want to spend time each day caring for your worktops, then we would recommend installing marble in other low traffic areas of the household, especially as it is commonly used as for bathrooms, offices and fireplace surrounds.
If you have any questions, get in touch with us today and speak to an expert.