I have Calacatta basketweave tiles on my shower floor and a very large marble inset on the shower walls from Artistic Tile.

My grout is a light gray and so it blends into the marble.

I haven't had any issues with the marble at all and it has been installed for about 2.5 years. I use common sense in terms of my shower - I don't dye my hair in the shower; I use liquid soap and I have cleaning products that are recommended for marble. FWIW, ALL of the cleaning products in my home are safe for marble including the toilet cleaner so that prevents any mistakes.

I love my marble - none of the manmade stuff was appealing to me but that's part of my aesthetics which is personal to everyone. The tiles in my bathroom and kitchen are hand fired and have a lot of irregularity in the glazing because of it - which also appealed to me.

Marble is beautiful... but after seeing all of the issues that folks have had ( not the ones with bad installations or improper adhesives ) - I would probably not do it for a shower floor. I think it would be ok everywhere else...

most pro tilers will recommend you not using it. Marble is soft. sealing does NOT make tile waterproof. grout is not waterproof. a shower that gets used a lot, by multiple people, is going to stay wet. you want a tile with low absorption and ease of cleaning if that fits your description (if it's just you, no big deal)

cleaning is a pain. I don't think you realize how much of a pain. I have a black marble shower floor. regular tiles on wall. I can't use any decent cleaner on the walls because it will wash down and etch the marble. (already been down that road and had to have the marble refinished)

Do you dye your hair? it will stain the marble. even if it's sealed. (since mine is black, it doesn't show)

no bleach products, no regular cleaners.

you have to use stone cleaners. frequently. otherwise the pink mold stuff shows up on the grout. very difficult to get rid of it with stone safe cleaners.

what I would suggest if you must have marble, have it for the wall only.

the shower floor, make it porcelain with a good stain resistant grout. floors get more grimy than walls so you'll be able to use stronger cleaners on the floor.

I have marble on the floor outside the bathroom. honed carrara. it etches just from water droplets. if that's fine with you, have at it.

the other must, is quality of marble you buy. don't buy cheap marble from floor and decor or home depot. it's not a true Carrara. (which is mined only in Italy) . June mentioned the discoloration. it can happen with cheaper marble. marble also turns dark when it absorbs water.

Try looking at tilebar.com Simply White. Its a thassos glass combo that is pretty much indestructible. We loved the look of marble but were hesitant about the upkeep, used the Simply White instead. It has been great.

If a foam pan system (newer technology) is being used, the research suggests the potential of problems. Mud pan system, properly installed however, has been used for centuries with marble and without problems. So I will disagree with the statement that "most tile pros will recommend you not using it". It often depends on what pan systems they are trained to use and their experience level.

Dragonfly,,,I meant "marble tile". most tile pros recommend not putting marble tile your shower. I listed the reasons why. Go look at John Bridge. ALL of those guys have thumbs down for marble in the shower. all of them.

maybe your take on it is because you don't clean showers as often or as well as your female counterparts. my husband has cleaned the shower maybe, 3 times, in 20 years. He doesn't know the diff between marble or porcelain, nor does he care. he'd scrub it with bleach and be happy to do so. Since most tile pros are men maybe they're not considering the other end.

As for pan systems, wasn't even talking about that. I'm merely saying marble is a nightmare for cleaning and keeping it looking good. period.

If OP is willing to take the extra steps, then by all means, install the marble. I'm not trying to talk her out of it, only to make sure she knows what she's getting in to.

@Beth H. :Maintenance is certainly an important consideration and good of you to point that out. Well aware of what is being said in the industry about marble in showers.

ok, NP. I merely was pointing out that you disagreed with my comment. I figured you thought I was referring to the pan system. wanted to clarify.

(I myself have a mud pan and my marble is perfectly fine)

@Beth H. : We will continue to install marble in showers as will many other experienced tile craftspeople. JuneKnew linked to an early article by Pavlo (updated since but the premise is the same). Marble is here to stay as it has been for centuries, and the client understands the maintenance, and the tile installer is skilled in the best installation methods for the material and application. Our clients will continue to request it. Highly recommend studying everything Pavlo has published.

@Design Girl How do you know the quality of marble you are ordering? We are considering marble and our builder wants us to use Avalon Tile in NJ. I don’t want to spend a fortune on something that isn’t actually high quality.

@Tanya Shelly I grew up in NJ, but now live in CT. You've got to do your research. Just a quick google of Avalon tile came up with 21 reviews (1 star). Apparently they changed their name to fool people. That would be enough to keep me away. I ALWAYS purchase my own tile, actually I purchase all the pretty stuff, so I know the quality I'm getting. My builder allows me to do that as long as I have the product when the job starts. I use a small tile shop where the owners are Italian and I know the product comes from Italy. Many shops can tell you where the product comes from if you ask them. Stay away from large tile stores like Home Depot, Floor and Decor, Lowes, etc. Instead, look into smaller independent tile stores and fabricators. If you use a store that sells marble slabs, and fabricates, they should be able to tell you where the product comes from.

Thank you everyone for chiming in! I appreciate the honesty and I’m glad to see feedback from both perspectives.

I’m totally fine with imperfections and enjoy the lived-in look (most of the plumbing fixtures for my build are unlacquered brass). And as mentioned, I have no problem with maintenance (sealing) and regular cleaning — I’m one of those people who finds cleaning relaxing. 😂 However, I have seen many horror stories about marble in showers, where some large sections look permanently “wet” and just generally look awful. I’m not sure that’s something I could live with.

I certainly appreciate the confirmation bias from those of you who love your marble in the shower! I have a few more weeks to make a final decision, so I will continue my research to determine if this is a risk I’m willing to take. Thank you again for taking the time to respond!

@Kayla - I think that a properly constructed shower pan with sufficient slope along with a really good fan solves the moisture problem. My shower floor is so sloped that I can even see the grading around the drain.

I have a Panasonic Whisper fan that turns on when the ambient humidity is above a certain level so any residual moisture remaining evaporates fairly quickly.

I haven't had any issues with rust or pink mold in my shower. I did get relatively good tile for the floor and the marble inset was Artistic which is a high quality using excellent sources and there is no rust stains, pink mold or other issues.

Dragonfly, i'm sorry, maybe you misunderstood my comment.

I'm not against it. It's just that most people don't understand the care it takes, and what can happen to it if care isn't taken (or if proper tiling isn't done) I love marble and the way it looks in a bathroom. And I agree. It's not going anywhere.

I know average people and how average people tend to their showers. Perhaps Kayla isn't average. As long as she has a tile person who understands proper waterproofing and laying of marble, and she is aware of it's care, it's all good.

I've had my honed marble shower for 2 years with no issues. And I don't baby it either.

The 'permanent wet' look in a marble tiled shower means the shower wasn't built properly. It has nothing to do with the marble itself. Like watching a horrible thing on your TV...it isn't the TV that is horrible...it's the thing that is being broadcast.

Marble is porous enough to SHOW the bad workmanship. It unto itself is not bad. Of course the QUALITY of marble will show less issue (as mentioned above). A quality marble won't be as likely to rust (iron quantity is very low in high-quality marble).

The 'permanent wet' look in a marble tiled shower means the shower wasn't built properly. It has nothing to do with the marble itself. Like watc$hing a horrible thing on your TV...it isn't the TV that is horrible...it's the thing that is being broadcast.

If you've seen Italian marble being used in a high end shop in Florence (Italy) then you know what they look like. They are chipped (more than 150 years old...they are allowed to be). They are etched. They have chocolate stains on them (chocolatier shop in the same Plaza as the Duomo). And oil stains (chocolate uses +++ oil).

And they glowed with life and essence and smooth cool creaminess. Proud to be in service over 100 years.

You have to love marble to allow it to serve you. It will do it in it's own way with it's own charm. If you don't like how charming marble is then it won't work out between the two of you. Marble is marble. It's physical characteristics do not change. Only the HUMAN'S perspective can change.

Ask yourself how much you LOVE the charm of marble? If you drop pink lipstick on it (weirder things have happened) and it stains violent pink...how will you feel?