Carrera marble kitchen counters

[elegantlion]

We moving and redoing our new kitchen soon. I'm considering using Carrera marble tiles for the countertops. Dh is a carpenter so the installation isn't an issue. However I wonder about the wear and maintenance.

 

If you have/had Carrera in your kitchen would you do it again? What kind of maintenance is involved? Do they stain easily? Our biggest stain issue would probably be coffee.

 

If lieu of that what other marble or granite would you suggest? The cabinets are going to be medium maple color and the walls a milk chocolate color. The kitchen is small, floor is a light maple laminate that will be replaced at some point. Appliances will be white. We have one original cabinet we hope to save that we will paint a very light whitish turquoise.

[lea1]

We are getting ready to start building a new house so I have been researching this kind of thing myself. I absolutely love the look of the carrera marble and that would be my first choice except that I have read it does stain and etch easily. Many of the websites I have read have said it is not recommended for counter tops because of this, although there are people who know this and choose to have it and take that risk.

 

I just found this:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/ny/best-advice-white-marble-counter-tops-pros-cons-110818

 

and it has some very interesting comments and pictures. It is making me reconsider:lol:.

[MotherMayI]

I don't have Carrera but my dh sells a variety of counter products. When we redo our counters he insists we use quartz. It comes in a wide color pallette and does not stain like granite/marble. That's all I've got:tongue_smilie: best wishes on your choice and your new kitchen!

[Sugarfoot]

Our kitchen counters are granite-I think the color is called Moon River. It's beautiful, but I'm careful with it. The main thing that's stained ours is oil. It's so strange. Anything oily will leave a saturated-looking stain, like oil on fabric. The granite actually gets darker where the stain is, but over time it goes away. The key to natural countertops is to wipe up spills and things quickly.;) The kids have stained the upstairs counter (same color) with something blue, I'm assuming paint.:glare:

 

In our old house, we had Corian. It was fabulous. DD spilled red food coloring on it, and DH panicked. I wiped it up, it was better, but still stained. I squirted some liquid Comet with bleach on it, and within 3 seconds, the stain disappeared completely.

[elegantlion]

Thanks for the info. I'll probably look adding into a few more options and decide from there.

[plansrme]

There is a lot of information on the kitchen forum at GardenWeb about marble countertops. Some people love 'em and point out, correctly, that they have been used as flooring for hundreds of years. Others point out, also correctly, that they etch and are subject to staining.

 

Terri

[elegantlion]

There is a lot of information on the kitchen forum at GardenWeb about marble countertops. Some people love 'em and point out, correctly, that they have been used as flooring for hundreds of years. Others point out, also correctly, that they etch and are subject to staining.

 

Terri

 

The comments in the link from Lea were varied and helpful. I know *I* would love the way a countertop would attain the character. I'm not sure how dh would feel about it.

 

It would truly fit the house as it is a 20s bungalow with many original features. We've also considered doing butcher block on one side of counters, the one near the stove.

[Tammyla]

I think marble is gorgeous. My sister lived in Italy and had the most beautiful floors and counters.

 

Congratulations on your new home and kitchen.:001_smile:

[kilo90]

We just moved back to the states from Italy. All our floors were Carrera marble and we had no issues. I don't know if the finish on counters would be different from floors, but they still looked great, easy to keep, and the house was 50 or so years old. In the city of Carrera, many of the curbs in parking lots are actually marble . It was very nifty and beautiful. I don't think you would find anything more durable. Again, the marble in Italy may be thicker/finished differently. Good luck with your remodeling. It's a pain while you're doing it but so worth it in the end! :)

[elegantlion]

I think marble is gorgeous. My sister lived in Italy and had the most beautiful floors and counters.

 

Congratulations on your new home and kitchen.:001_smile:

 

Thank you. I just love the look of marble.

 

We just moved back to the states from Italy. All our floors were Carrera marble and we had no issues. I don't know if the finish on counters would be different from floors, but they still looked great, easy to keep, and the house was 50 or so years old. In the city of Carrera, many of the curbs in parking lots are actually marble . It was very nifty and beautiful. I don't think you would find anything more durable. Again, the marble in Italy may be thicker/finished differently. Good luck with your remodeling. It's a pain while you're doing it but so worth it in the end! :)

 

A curb of marble, how wonderful! Thanks for the well wishes. I've been married almost 18 years and we've been remodeling something ever since. If we were ever done I'd probably get a little antsy. :lol:

[Teachin'Mine]

Marble makes a stunning countertop, but it does stain. Because of this, I'd recommend granite tiles instead. If you really want the marble, use it as the backsplash. Not only does it stain, but it gets damaged from citrus and other acidic foods. Since your husband is doing the installation work, maybe you could custom make the counter with a solid piece of marble inset into a section of the counter to be used for baking and such. Couple that with a marble rolling pin in a wood stand, and it would be functional and beautiful. :)

[Guest An72]

I hope to see a photo of your kitchen so we can have a nice judgment on it. Anyway, :iagree: on using Carrera Marble. It has been used as a surface for thousands of years. It has unique properties to it that make it desirable & no matter what designers say, people still use it all the time, especially in the high end. I've been using it too. :)

Edited December 22, 2010 by An72

[elegantlion]

I hope to see a photo of your kitchen so we can have a nice judgment on it. Anyway, :iagree: on using Carrera Marble. It has been used as a surface for thousands of years. It has unique properties to it that make it desirable & no matter what designers say, people still use it all the time, especially in the high end. I've been using it too. :)

 

Kitchen is not quite done yet. :D Since we're doing basically the whole house we've opted to use a standard white laminate for now (they were free from a friend). Free is hard to pass up when you're 100 other things. I'm still trying to decide if I want the upkeep of Carrera.

 

We went a different way with the cabinets and bought unfinished which dh is going to paint light blue, like the walls in this photo.

[Perry]

Because of this' date=' I'd recommend granite tiles instead.[/quote']

When we redid our countertops a few years ago, we did granite tile instead of a slab, and I've regretted it ever since. I love the granite, but I wish we would have just sucked up the extra expense and gone with the the slab.

[Guest An72]

Kitchen is not quite done yet. :D Since we're doing basically the whole house we've opted to use a standard white laminate for now (they were free from a friend). Free is hard to pass up when you're 100 other things. I'm still trying to decide if I want the upkeep of Carrera.

 

We went a different way with the cabinets and bought unfinished which dh is going to paint light blue, like the walls in this photo.

 

 

That one really look great! :) It looks so calm and relaxing.

[Truscifi]

I don't know much about marble, we have granite. But whatever you get, get the slab if you can. The grout lines from the tile are terrible to keep clean in the kitchen.

 

Also, if you decide on granite see if there is a wholesaler near you. There is one about an hour from us and we were able to drive down and pick out the exact slab we wanted. It was really fun, and we didn't have to stick with standard colors or worry about a lot of variation. Actually, I would try to do that if you pick the marble as well.