Why you SHOULD use marble in your antique home

Considering using marble in your antique home kitchen? These are my top three design related reasons you absolutely should.

I know, I know, I know I hear it ALL the time “I don’t want marble because I heard it gets ruined easily." I’m sure you’ve heard that about marble and natural stone many times. But, if you’re here reading this, that means you’re thinking about marble in your antique home kitchen or at least curious about it and that makes me very excited.

I’m not here to try to convince you to do something you don’t want to do, just here to give you a gentle nudge towards using marble or other natural stone in your already unique New England antique home.

Reason I: Marble ages like fine wine (and like historic New England homes)

It’s the patina for me. Like anything natural, marble will show its age and that's OK. I’m sure the reason you love your antique home is because of those perfect imperfections that tell the stories of the home. Well, same thing with those marble countertops, the inevitable blemish that your marble countertops will encounter (pun?) will fit in perfectly with your imperfect pine floors or slanted ceilings, I promise.

Here's the thing, when it comes to antique homes, the things that will get noticed the most (in a bad way) are the things that are in perfect condition and don't have any wear or character like a quartz countertop for example. Something so stark and perfect will look out of place in an older home where nothing is architecturally perfect.

Marble will show its wear with etches and sometimes a scratch or and chip. An etch is usually caused by something acidic that has been left on the stone. I usually recommend a honed marble finish as it makes etches less noticeable. There are products out there that you should use to seal the stone to help prevent etching but again, blemishes are inevitable but they certainly do not take away the beauty of the stone.

Reason II: Marble will never go out of style, and I repeat - NEVER

Have you ever been to Paris or Rome? Most buildings in Rome are covered in marble from floor to ceiling. This is marble that has been in place for centuries and has endured millions of footsteps, and is still classically beautiful, completely imperfect, and one of the most beautiful features of those old buildings. There are cafes in Paris with marble tabletops that thousands of people have used and blemished, and they are still beautiful. If you were sitting at a marble bistro table right now at a sidewalk French cafe with a croissant and latte you would comment on the beautiful stone and the character it boasts and wouldn’t even notice its blemishes individually.

Anyways, what I’m getting at is that marble has been used for thousands of years and was as beautiful then as it is now and as it will be 100 years from now. So, don’t worry about it being trendy.

Marble also fits with all design styles, not just traditional or European styles. There are many different types of marble that have completely different looks. Taking a trip to a natural stone distributor to look at slabs in person is a great way to get familiar with the different types.

Reason III: Each slab is unique

One of the best things about marble and other natural stone is that no two slabs are exactly alike. That means your countertops will be completely unique to your home. Which is perfect because I’m sure one of the reasons you chose an antique home in the first place was because of the uniqueness and to not have a “cookie- cutter” home.

If you're considering a manmade material like quartz countertops you have to remember that those manmade slabs are nearly identical to one another and that there’s really nothing unique about them.

You can also think of the natural stone in your home as natures art. The intricate veining of a Callacatta marble can be absolutely mesmerizing and a complete statement.

Carrara marble is a little more subdued but just as stunning. The softer veins and speckles work with any cabinet color and any decor style.

Those are my extremely convincing arguments for using marble countertops in your antique New England home. My only hope is that you will consider and explore the possibility of marble for your kitchen, I promise you will love it.

- Kati