they only have 2 slabs? are all the slabs from this same 'color group' ?

you're right to be concerned. You'd have to template out your countertops to see where the cuts would be made. With a U shape, that darker piece is going to be used. talk to a fabricator to see how he'd cut it. maybe the darker side could be used where the stove is. most of it would be cut away. like I said, it all depends on how they lay out the template.

I don't think it's that great of a slab. I'd wait.

this was a honed carrara slab at my stone/tile place. only $800 too!

have you asked the managers when their next shipment is? could they put a few slabs on hold for you as soon as it comes in?

Thank you so much Beth!!! I really respect your opinion as you are beyond helpful to so many people. My gut is saying to wait as well but I am just worried that I won't have any options as I have already been looking for six weeks. Three places aren't getting containers until the end of January...

So grateful to you both for your thoughts! You helped me to listen to my heart and I just sent an email to the marble place releasing the slabs. I feel so much better now! PHEW!! Happy Holidays :-)

There's a reason these slabs are available and others aren't. I wouldn't use marble in a kitchen, but that's just me.

Wait, or you’ll be back here asking if it looks ok!

Lol to the above. Totally agree. Do not use!! You’ll be hemming and hawing after install if it looks ok and some people will say it’s fine add some things to the counter to draw your eye away....
there’s a reason this piece was available. I’m sure others saw it and passed on it too. It has a huge variation...

IMO honed marble just multiplies the issues you will have with staining get a polished stone and if you are even a bit anal about keeping stuff perfect I would suggest going white polished granite instead. BTW natural stone is natural with all kinds of “imperfections” .

You will be looking at your counters for many years, so get slabs which are evenly colored and
sequentially numbered.

Funny the uneven coloring seems like an asset to me, you are buying real stone and the beauty of real stone is that it has variation. If you want it perfectly even get engineered quartz. I’ve had Carrara counters and they are beautiful as long as you are happy with a living finish. My new house does not have marble...

you can live w/plywood countertops in order to get what you want. I had to live with them for a good month since they screwed up the fabrication of my slab.

that leftover slab you posted a pic of is kind of ugly. (do you know what the price of that is? carrara isn't that expensive)

as for marble, if you really don't mind it getting 'scarred' by all means,,use it. Just don't expect it to stay perfect looking.

I got a calacatta slab for my island. even has a factory sealer on it which does block staining and most etching. but it still gets scratches and other mars that I never had w/granite. It's fine because I love to look at it.

Have you looked at other options that look similar? Danby marble (mined in Vermont) is very similar, but holds up way, way better than carrara.

Bianco Avion too.

These may be more expensive, maybe a little more difficult to find, but if you ask a good stone supplier, maybe they can import one in for you? If you're redoing your kitchen, countertops are the main focus and will last the longest. if you have to pay a few extra thousand to get what you want, it's totally worth it.

or, you can look at porcelain slabs that look like marble.

Have you been able to find polished slabs you like? I've done that and then have the fabricator hone them for me. Could be an option.

Huge thanks to everyone. I reached out to the stoneyard and they sent me this photo of Calcutta Gold honed. What do you guys think about this slab? The have 5 slabs in this lot and I need 2. Thank you!

There is still so much I need to learn…

We visited a stone yard for the first time a week ago. It was AWESOME! I found a Calcutta Classico I could have purchased on the spot and been happy with forever. The good news is it was not one of the top end slabs, so yea for me! The salesman showed us a Calcutta Classico for over double the price and I didn’t like it as much – so Ignorance has its rewards! :-D

The Carrara we saw were very boring (IMO), no veining at all. We liked the shade of white, but we want more than just a white stone. Beth, the Carrara you show above is beautiful! Where is that yard?

The Super White Quartzite was not white at all! LOL! Are they ever white? They were varying shades of gray. They *were* very pretty and had the “clean” color I have come to prefer (does that make sense?), but they were only gray.

The salesman said there was a new product that really could prevent etching and staining in marble. He said it cost $100 per square foot. It involved covering the stone with some sort of liquid and then curing it under some type of light. Sounds like my gel nails! :-D

And I need to research honed vs polished too…

It's Calacatta, and prob 2-3X the cost of the Carrara, no?

make sure you see the other slab, and ask them how they would cut it to fit your U.

if you're paying the price for real Calacatta Gold, then you better be assured of a good slab. It's an expensive marble.

These are premium.

I have a Calacatta on my island (but not the gold version) but I do have the gold calacatta for my tile splash.

Jeri, my marble has azerocare from Antolini. it's their factory sealer. yes, it does work. But it already came w/the slab. it does scratch and if you leave anything hot on it (like a crock pot) it has a rough feeling in that spot.

however, no stains!

honed won't show etching as badly as it does on polished. that's about it. sometimes polished stone offers a bit more resistance, but if you're not quick to wipe up, it doesn't really matter.

That one slab I posted is in Anaheim Cal.

That's called MORE ANTI ETCH - Who knows if it works. At $100 sf, you could probably replace your counters for the cost of the application. Etches (which will happen), are less noticeable when your marble is honed. I also prefer the feel of honed stone. Staining isn't much of an issue IF you put the right sealer on, and don't let things sit for a long time.

You are probably talking about Antolini Azerocare slab treatment. Some hate the product and some love the product. Do your research and don't take the word of a salesperson!

Saw a slab treated with Azerocare at a yard recently and the owner pointed to a defect in the finish and said it was being sent back to Antolini.

chispa, I just commented on that . I have azerocare on my island. (and I believe Antolini has the patent on that) it does work. they had issues cutting it (needs to be cut w/fresh, running water) so my original one had to be replaced during fabrication. (which antolini failed to cover. in Calif they recycle water in those shops and that's why the first one was ruined. I guess Antonlini failed to mention that caveat but my fabricators had to eat the price of that slab!)

they only had the sealer on a few diff slabs.

salesguy demonstrated w/5 diff stain products w/and w/o the sealer on a sample piece.

but after a year, no staining or etching. i've had lemons, juice, pomegranate, tomato sauce, you name it, it's been left on it. I hold my breath as I wipe it off, so far, so good.

it does scratch. but you can't see it unless you look at sideways w/the light shining!

and you can't leave hot appliances on top of it. toaster, crockpot, as it does react w/the sealer and make it rough to the touch.

All that aside, I do love it. to me it's worth it to have marble. if and when the time ever comes that it fails, I can have the finish completely sanded off and have pure marble again.

The MORE ANTI ETCH is not the same product as the Azerocare. The anti etch is applied in your home after installation.

never heard of the More anti etch. But after reading about it, It's a coating that is set w/UV light. Makes sense, because when they were cutting mine w/contaminated water, the sealer reacted with it and caused an iridescent oil slick color that would not wash away.

https://www.houzz.com/discussions/5609402/more-antietch-sealer-for-marble-countertops

However, at $100 buck a sq foot??? that seems excessive. My marble slab wasn't that expensive! seems like to do the coating after the fact would cost more than my entire factory treated slab!

Beautiful kitchen @Beth H. : are your appliances black? the color seems unique.

ourdoodle-

I don't care for those three islands of gray discoloration in the slab of Calacatta Gold you just showed us. Of course other slabs may have the same sort of thing, that may be characteristic of the stone. It's up to you if you can stand to look at it every day. I couldn't.

loobab-thank you for your response. Do u min sharing what you are referring to as "three islands"? I see the big blob in the middle but not the other two. I really want to be educated in what I should be looking for with my slab. Any detailed help is super appreciated.

Ourdoodle-

There is the larger triangular shaped one in the middle, due south of that towards the bottom of the slab is a horizontally oriented oval shaped greyish -brownish spot. The third one is located towards the right end of the slab one-eight of the way down and is a grayish-brown curved splat, the smallest of the three.

None of them are awful, awful, but depending on how the slab is cut for your kitchen they may be in very conspicuous areas.

And I am an admitted nitpicker.

loolab,

Thank you very much for your detailed response!

@ourdoodle - That Calacutta Gold slab doesn't look great to me, I've seen some gorgeous ones - that isn't one of them and they are usually significantly more that carrara. Where are you located? How may stone yards have you visited. I've driven all over the state (and sometimes into another one) for just the right slab.

ourdoodle-

You know, I just had a thought.

When you go to pick to out your slabs, can you bring someone with you who is not emotionally invested in this, someone who is brutally honest to give you another opinion?

54ndy,,,yes. matte black from GE Cafe. better shot of them. micro is GE profile, so a slightly diff black.

You guys are the bomb!!! I have read 1,000s of posts on Houzz over the years and this has been my first time ever posting. Your help has been invaluable! loobab, my daughter has agreed to go with me and be the "voice of reason" as she has no emotional connection to my choice. She has a great eye for design and totally gets me. I live in the Raleigh, NC area I have been to 8 yards multiple times over the last 6 weeks but I told my husband this evening that I will not settle and that we will use plywood counter tops if need be (thank you Beth). Thank you all for taking the your time over the holiday to guide me!!! I hope to share my "perfect slab" in the week (months) to come :-)

Good luck! You will find one and then love the results for years to come!

Good luck ourdoodle finding your "perfect slab."

One thing though-

Maybe slabs of natural stone are like people-

None are perfect and all have imperfections.

It's a question of how prominent are the imperfections to your eye and can you live with them.