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alakatharine

Purple Marble - too crazy?

5 years ago

I saw this slab of purple marble and thought it was so pretty. It's super unique, but also a little wild. Is it too weird? I was thinking of using it in the kitchen, but also realize it is probably way way too much since most people like a white kitchen.



Comments (59)

  • 5 years ago

    Beth, those mock up idea combos are gorgeous.

  • 5 years ago

    F white kitchens, I just did walnut cabinets with snowfall granite. Do what makes you happy!

  • 5 years ago

    I saw your title and instantly thought "Yes!! Do it!!"

    OMG is that a pretty stone. Pretty please buy it and then show pics after it is installed.

  • 5 years ago

    I am going to be honest, rather than saying “go for it”, cause cheering you on is not how I feel. I likely will be flamed for it. If I had that stone as my kitchen counter, it would look to me all the time like something had spilled on it. Not just the purple parts, but the brown parts too. Keep in mind that when stone is viewed horizontally once it is installed, it will look different than the view vertically you are seeing in the pic. I’d constantly want to be wiping it.

  • 5 years ago

    That is so beautiful I love purple and I like blue and green but purple's my favorite and I would pick that and it's not weird to have you kitchen

  • 5 years ago

    Do it ...your house have what you like ! ...every one is living in the looking to sell ..no one seems to live in the here and now and having what the want !

  • 5 years ago

    Go for it , it's gorgeous and unusual , just design a totally white kitchen around it and put gold handles and knobs on all cabinets to compliment the goldfish/brown spots in the marble ! That way it all makes sense !

  • PRO
    5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    So, we sell and install a ton of white and near black stone. Great stuff, neutral, and certainly has not faded in popularity. But what makes us so happy is when a client comes in and goes with a more exotic material color or pattern. It's certainly not for everyone, but who cares. If you love it, follow your heart. I will agree with others here that if you plan on flipping this home, go white. But if you'll be in the house, even a few years, have fun and be you. If you decide to go with this material, absolutely make sure you see the layout on the slab before your fabricator starts cutting it. You'll want to make sure to keep the areas you're in love with and avoid (when possible) or minimize the areas that don't do it for you. Have fun, and best of luck!

  • 5 years ago

    I’ll just echo what everyone has said. If you’re staying in that house a while, get the stone you love. Beth basically set up the whole design for you. There is nothing like waking up, turning on the coffee maker and smiling at your kitchen in the morning. Go for it. But only if you PROMISE to share photos with us.

  • 5 years ago

    Fun for now, but as for me, I would tire of it in time.

  • 5 years ago

    Good points on how this will be fabricated. I like the purple but not the blotches of brown

  • 5 years ago

    I’ve done 2 safe kitchens and, what I call, a happy kitchen. The neutral kitchens were fine...the happy kitchen was great. The happy kitchen had stone w a huge orange/rust vein running through the island. That is not a color I normally love but in context w the rest of the kitchen it always was interesting. It made me smile. It’s your kitchen make yourself happy.

  • 5 years ago

    If it didn't have those two big brown spots....

  • 5 years ago

    I like it. I like unique, different. Is it truly marble and do you want marble (with its issues)? If so, go for it!

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Sorry, but the brown splotches kill it for me. If they can be templated out and you only need one slab, maybe. But not with purple backsplash. if you want the marble to be the star of your kitchen, benign backsplash to highlight the countertop.

  • 5 years ago

    To me it is earthy and I really like it and if you really like it get it

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Beth nailed it with the purple subway.. that would look amazing.

  • 5 years ago

    I agree that it is gorgeous and you should go for it. With Beth's suggestions it will be stunning, and I tend to think when you go to sell it (if you do) it will attract buyers who would never have chosen something like that but fall in love with it. Try to minimize the brown but even if that is part of the design it is a breathtaking stone.

  • 5 years ago

    Katharine, this is my crazy counter with a huge black area. Even the fabricator said that most people would cut around it, as it looks like a mistake. But I chose to embrace it, Mother nature doesn't make mistakes...just unique beauty marks.



  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    ...I would listen to June about the color, and the possiblity of having it change/fade. Mine is part of the stone, I posted the slab pictures last year and Karin_mt explained to me what happened when this stone "was made".

  • 5 years ago

    lucky- love your slab. It's a piece of art and I would spend every day looking at it and finding something new and interesting going on with it.


    Katherine- need more info as far as what is going on with the cabinets, flooring and is the kitchen part of an open concept and if so, will this fit in with everything else you have?

  • 5 years ago

    Not worth the risk with the good chance this is DYE that will fade. Then the brown spots will look even more like the cat left a surprise.

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    I’ve been asking about purple marble here on Houzz for months (for my bathroom). I wish Beth would offer ME some ideas! 😉 Go for it.


  • 5 years ago

    shmoo,,,,I already did!

  • 5 years ago

    We went with an an exceptional and unique granite that came out of a riverbed in South America. It turned out to be difficult to work with in regards to all our other choices and we ended up with a kitchen we would not have gone with. Eventually its beauty didn’t make up for the overall feel of the kitchen.

    Be really sure you like the choices that have to work as well, as it’s the entire kitchen that comes into play. Hope this helps.

  • 5 years ago

    Beth, you did indeed, how did I miss it?!? You had some nice ideas for me, thank you.

  • 5 years ago

    I love SHMOO tile

  • 5 years ago

    On the purple slab I think it's earthy and the Brown ghost with cabinets would have to be Brown or white

  • 5 years ago

    Can those commenting that this is a dyed slab that will fade, please explain how you know this for sure? Would this stone yard (if reputable) be of any help? Can the OP test it? I am ignorant of this matter.

  • 5 years ago

    Lucky998877. Please explain Mother Nature. Who? What?

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    mama.,,,she's saying nothing in mother nature is 'ugly'. or there are no mistakes when nature creates something. you either like it or you don't, but because it's naturally created, there is no 'mistake'.


    btw, to see if something has been dyed, you could use a marble safe solvent and wipe over the color portion to see if it comes off on the rag. I know you do this with Absolute Black. they dye the cheap stuff from China using a black dye. if you use acetone on a rag and wipe it over the surface, the dye will show up on the rag and you know you have a faux AB on your hands.

  • 5 years ago

    I think it’s gorgeous! and could make for a really beautiful kitchen! I also have a busy stone that people told me not to get, and I haven’t regretted it for a moment.

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Would you mind providing the name of the slab and the material? Quartzite, marble, etc? From there we can let you know if this is natural or dyed. Also, the fabricator will tell you the country of origin. We get many slabs with similar, vibrant colors in our showroom all the time. Just FYI, there is no such material as true absolute black. Any material that is labeled as such is dyed. It was created in response to consumers wanting pure black, with no movement or flecks. It just does not exist in nature.

  • 5 years ago

    Very interesting comments and I’m always learning something new on this forum. Granite is beautiful and I love Beth’s choices for backsplash especially the tile to the right of the lilac Penny tile. The last pic by Beth of neutral tile is beautiful too if calming things down.

  • 5 years ago

    I found it in the discount pile and according to the store owner the defect was because it was purple, but I actually thought it was beautiful because it was purple! The seller said it was marble (most likely Grigio Fantasy) all other slabs in the store were white.

  • 5 years ago

    I love that marble! Beats white just about any day.

  • 5 years ago

    for alms reason my replies aren’t showing up?? Trying again. Sorry if a double post if later the first one shows up.


    for your floors i think ivory vein cut travertine or a good porcelain look alike would be beautiful with the slab



  • 5 years ago

    following

  • 5 years ago
    last modified: 5 years ago

    Unlacquered brass hardware would be so pretty on your cabs. Just finished our master bath Reno and did all polished nickel plumbing with unlacquered brass hardware. The light fixtures are antique brass (as close as i could get to real unlacquered brass)





    Our slab has a little lavender mauve in it. Not as much as i wanted though. I actually wanted a blush pink slab.



    Using artwork and accessories with mauve and lavender since i couldn’t find a slab with a lot of blush or lavender. I have a set of these watercolor i found for a steal at an estate sale



  • 5 years ago

    bridget helm - Your bathroom is gorgeous! Where did you use your Cremone latches?

  • PRO
    5 years ago

    Katherine, you are right, It does look like Grigio Fantasy marble, which usually comes from Italy We've worked with this marble before and it's beautiful. While not seeing it in person, I doubt there is a dye in this slab.

  • 5 years ago

    It’s beautiful . If you love it go for it...I installed a quartzite with lots of purple (when my original plan was to go with the white on white look) — and I have never second guessed the decision.

  • 5 years ago

    So nice to see something that really is timeless!

  • 5 years ago

    What about using it behind the hob on the wall, if I could have found a striking piece like yours I would have used it

  • 5 years ago

    Two people have showed you how to use an unusual purple stone. Without going “too purple” their rooms are classy and timeless. Yours will be too. I vote for getting the stone you love.

  • 5 years ago

    Hi Katherine-

    You said, "way too much since most people like a white kitchen."

    Are you designing this for yourself, or is for a spec house that some one else, an unknown stranger will be living in?

    If you will be living in it, and you like it, then that is all that matters, isn't it?

    Life is just too short to not get what is going to make you feel good every time you walk into that kitchen.

    And really, people are just so particular these days, you could do an "all white kitchen," and the buyer of your house when you decide to sell might think,

    "Oh no, all-white, heaven forbid, and go get black soapstone, or all wood butcher block."

    So just get what makes you happy and what you can afford.

    An earlier commenter mentioned it might be dyed and the color will change.

    I don't know anything about that, but I do think you should find out about it because you don't want to buy one thing and end up with something entirely different.

    That won't make you happy at all.


  • 5 years ago

    If your gut instinct says go for it, then listen to it. Unless your gut tells you to put pineapple on a pizza, if that’s the case, never listen to it.

  • 5 years ago

    Beth H, I always love to see your recommendations. You come up with the best combinations! Thank you for sharing your talent with all of us!

  • 5 years ago

    Stunning!

  • 5 years ago

    I love the purple slab, and I say go for it! (assuming it is not dyed). @scouzens, I love your kitchen and quartzite.