I will be watching the honest replies on your question. I have a normal family that actually uses their kitchen as the hub of their home for everything from baking holiday cookies to doing school projects to entertaining a house full of people. We are remodeling our kitchen, would love marble on our island but every kitchen expert I talk to says "no way" to marble. Look for quartz or granite to take a beating. Let's see if you get some honest answers.

I have marble in my kitchen and would advise against it. Acidic citrus fruits like lemon and orange will etch the surface and leave marks all over your counter, not stains, but spots where the acid has eaten away at the marble. I have 2 kids and my son left a peeled orange on the counter where there is now a circle etched into the marble. You can have the marble refinished every few years, but the maintenance gets costly. I say go for a light color honed granite instead or Cesarstone. Good luck!

i would love granit but read about radon gases and lung cancer from it . i do not know what to believe. can someone please help me .sherry

The marble institute of america has conducted extensive studies as well as the Florida Department of Health to assure home owners that the "risk to the homeowner from radioactivity or radon gas emitted from a granite countertop or tiles is practically non-existant." (radoninfo@marble-institute.com)
Unfortunately, granite is not usually white in color if you are trying to emulate the material in the photo. For durability, engineered stone is by far the best option.

We installed beautiful white marble in our kitchen. It was stunning on day 1 but I would NEVER do it again. Everything etched the stone - pickle juice, wine, fresh fruit, you name it. I ended up having it buffed and resealed within 4 months and ultimately had it replaced because it looked so bad.

thank you i will check out the web site you sent .i just want to be safe in my home . thanks sherry

WENT TO THE WEB SITE . LOOKS LIKE GRANIT IS AS SAFE AS HAVING A TV IN YOUR HOME . SHERRY

Was the marble in your home honed or polished? I'm still debating, but there's just nothing out there that really looks like marble in a man-made product. The are trying, though. I know the more polished the marble, the more unsightly the etches will be. I am considering honed marble so it would be less noticeable. Just wondering what those of you who had it, and recommend against it, had in your home.

If you were to consider marble, honing would be the best way to escape the perpetual maintenance polished marble would require. You would still have to be diligent about maintaining the sealer and watch out for scorching or burning the marble. (We would still never recommend marble for a kitchen but we understand the desire to have that look.)

I have since had the marble in my kitchen honed and it does make the etching less noticeable, however, if you have a choice, don't choose marble. Hands down, go with granite. I would recommend choosing a lighter shade of granite to achieve a similar look to marble. Good luck!

Bless you! That's what I wanted to hear! I can't really afford Imperial, but am looking for a less colorful Mountain White slab. I think it won't be as impervious as Imperial, but I can definitely handle the etching. I live in an old farmhouse with NOTHING new. I think I will love it. I have not seen any granite that looks like marble. Thanks for the input.

You are welcome. I have pics posted of my counters on houzz under the lake house. We are doing the imperial dandy again in our other house on the backsplash up to the ceiling , island and counters. I have honed carrera in my bathrooms due to the cost and it is a liitle more grey and shows the etching slightly more but still love it.

Honed marble sounds perfect for a farmhouse , I wish I lived in one. You will love it. Using marble is about a mood and character that appreciates natural beauty, age and it's imperfections something I appreciate more as I grow older.

Gorgeous marble, gorgeous home! Nothing like it IF you love marble. Thanks, again. And sorry if I hijacked the link.

I have honed marble and love it. I do have some scratches and a few dull spots where vinegar has splashed. I seal it myself twice a year which is very easy and takes very little time. We are about to build a house and I will have nothing else. I have Alabama White, 3 inches thick. It looks like a cloud. Beautiful!

decided to go with silstone . thanks for your comment

I heard danby marble performs much better... and doesn't stain as easily. Is this true? What about quartzite?

That's what I'm counting on! I purchased Danby Olympian marble for counter top, but not fabricated yet. Danby touts it as hardest marble, therefore not as absorbent. We shall see. I have done a lot of reading about it on the Garden Web site. If you haven't been there, you must go read the threads on different topis. I learned a lot! Search your topic (go to Kitchen forum) and start reading. Marble etches no matter what sealer you put on it, if exposed to acids. But the good sealers claim it will prevent stains, however, you must reapply. I had never heard of Quartzite until that site, but it should be the hardest of all the stone & w/o the calcite that marble has, it should be bullet proof. The problem is different stone yards consider different things granite, quartzite, & marble. I love the honed marble look so I couldn't convince myself to go with silestone or quartz products. They don't compare to the look of marble for me.

Since Marble doesn't hold up as well, a Super White would be a great alternative. It's a natural stone but it's actually a quartzite so it's even stronger than granite: http://www.houzz.com/projects/56352/Super-White-Granite-Kitchen-in-St--Mary-s-County--MD

i went with siltstone. I love it .easy to clean & beautiful to look at .I did the back splash in the same color . looks very modern & sleek.

I vote for quartzite! I have marble and we are switching all our counters to quartzite because it has the look of marble, but the durability of granite. Good luck.

I love our Calcutta gold honed marble in the kitchen. If possible don't use marble next to the sink area (area with the most marks despite sealants and frequent cleaning). Marble is definitely high maintenance, but gorgeous.

lasvegasstonepros
Good morning folks, I've been restoring natural stone for over 20 years. Until a few monthes ago there was no acceptable product in the world that could be applied to marble countertops that both looked great and prevented 100% of all stains and acid etching. We are currently the only company in the country certified by the manufacturer to apply a brand new revolutionary coating for marble. Yes it is a coating but this product will turn the marble industry upside down. For years people have been afraid to put marble in their kitchens. We have been working to perfect the complicated application process and I have to tell you that the finished product is absolutely beautiful. Upon completion of the application the marble looks like a reflection of crystal clear water while maintaining the depth and beauty of the marble. The best part about this coating is that it will prevent acid etching, stains from any product you can imagine including tomatoe sauce, wine, soda and even hydrochloride acid!! I will be posting pictures if the finished product in a few days. This coating can either be highly polished or honed. I know there will be skeptics. I was until I saw it with my own eyes. It truly is an amazing product.
just now

THAT IS GREAT BUT I PUT IN SILSTONE & I LOVE IT.

Can I put vinegar all over my kitchen counter tops to hone them? I ordered that finish but was shipped a very shiny finish. Now I would like to hone them and put a sealant on

I do not recommend honing the marble yourself because it is not an easy DIY project. I would hire a licensed stone restoration company to come in and take care of it for you. If you still want to proceed on your own, vinegar is definitely not the way to go. Home Depot or lowes carries sandpaper in sheets or for an orbital sander. It will be dusty but start at 120 grit and then finish with a 220 grit. Deep clean let dry then apply your penetrating stone sealer. I recommend bulletproof from DuPont. Just make sure you sand all areas until polish has been removed before you move to the next grit. Do not go back and forth but rather a circular pattern if done by hand. I won't be easy without the proper equipment and supplies but it can be done. Good luck

Just found this site and hope we can get some interesting feedback but see many conflicting views on using dandy marble. We chose Imperial Danby for our counters and have been having a love hate relationship with it since installed in April. Within days of installation we started seeing etching which came from just leaving a water glass or a glass pyrex taken from the refrigerator and put on the counter even for a few minutes. Even a woven place mat left a pattern etched into the surface. We were told by the supplier that the dandy had to be honed but our fabricator did not agree and so we left it with a shiny finish.

We sent it back out to our fabricator and he resanded and sealed the tops as he was puzzled and agreed that the marble was unacceptable. Within hours we had the etching back maybe worse. Even a drop of water left will etch the tops. The fabricator is so upset he wants us to change to a quartzite product. We don't want to give up as we truly love the look and also have heard from people in the business quartzite's may emit a toxic element. He was a reputable fabricator. He stated not all but some are bad and I cannot remember which these were so any help we can get please.

If I have to change it might be Samsung Radienz Diamond White.

Meanwhile our kitchen has not been able to be completed since this all began and can't do the backsplash until this is resolved