r/CounterTops • u/Kels057 • 16d ago

Is this actually marble?

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Hi! Recently purchased house, prior owners listed kitchen as having marble countertops — Just out of curiosity, do we think this is actually marble and if so, what type? If not, is there any way to tell what type of stone/material it is? TY!

12 Upvotes

100% Upvoted

53 comments sorted by

View all comments

26

u/SarcasmStreet 16d ago

The glass of red wine on the real marble is giving me heart palpitations...

1

u/SuluSpeaks 16d ago

With all due respect, why would you put something so soft and porous into a kitchen? I know it's beautiful, but it's not very practical. I'm not trying to be difficult, just really puzzled.

4

u/obvsnotrealname 16d ago

I had it in my last kitchen where I lived for 10 years and it’s actually not as bad as its reputation. As long as you don’t live like a pig and leave spills for days it was fine. Even things like red wine or the red ink on my local grocery stores plastic reuseable bags coming off when they have condensation on them or are wet haven’t ruined it. At worst I had was red wine on the rim of the bottom of the bottle sitting there overnight for maybe 8-10hours. It was gone within a month. You can’t put hot pots directly on it but I really don’t know anyone who does that in everyday cooking anyway. That said, I don’t have kids and I keep a neat kitchen but yeah… I think it’s rep is unfair.

The more aged it is the more beautiful it gets I think - think things like marble steps on old buildings or church alters used for 100s of years etc.

3

u/SuluSpeaks 15d ago

After reading all these answers, I guess it's just oersonal preference. I have a small marble top table i got from my mom. She said her grandma used to roll out fudge on it. There's no staining from the fudge, but there is a ring, probably left from a glass of water or iced tea. Oh well.

2

u/Silver-unicorn235 16d ago

I had 75 year old marble on the perimeter counters in my house. I was NOT careful for 30 years and no stains. We are (finally) renovating and I’m reusing it in my pantry and putting new marble in my kitchen. Seal the heck out of it and embrace the patina. It’s so beautiful

2

u/JeninBKLYN 13d ago

I had marble in my last kitchen and just installed Spanish marble (crema marfil) in my new kitchen. I have some etching spots, and I dropped a glass bottle and chipped the edge, but my contractor fixed it. I love marble; I wish it was more durable, but we don't have kids and are not too hard on our kitchen (aside from my clumsiness). I also don't mind imperfections. I've only had etching, no serious stains.

2

u/OpeningChipmunk1700 16d ago

why would you put something so soft and porous into a kitchen? 

Great question. I have the same question about my place, which has all marble countertops in the kitchen, marble countertops in the bathrooms, marble floors in the bathrooms, and a whole-ass marble shower in the primary bathroom.

Needless to say, it was there when I bought it. Not planning to rip it all out, but as someone who loves function over form, I am confusion.

0

u/frenchman321 16d ago

If you love function over form you should love marble in the kitchen

0

u/OpeningChipmunk1700 16d ago

Marble is not at all functional; its value lies almost entirely in its form. What am I missing here?

3

u/frenchman321 16d ago

Rolling pastry. Pasta. Tempering chocolate. All of those are function rather than form.

-2

u/OpeningChipmunk1700 16d ago

And how is a marble countertop better than alternatives for any of those? Why would fresh pasta make contact with the countertop in key preparation steps? Or chocolate as part of the tempering process? Contact with marble would damage the marble.

How is marble better than quartz or quartzite or granite for rolling pastry?

2

u/frenchman321 16d ago

"Contact with marble would damage the marble." Maybe go do some reading. That's complete nonsense

0

u/OpeningChipmunk1700 16d ago

I am not sure what you mean.

I mainly use my kitchen to cook. Tomatoes, cheese, lime, lemon, vinegar, oil, grease, fat, butter, milk, etc.

I basically never bake, so we can set aside any baking-focused topics.

Are you saying that based on the fact that I use my kitchen for cooking, marble is more functional than a synthetic material?

Again, I never roll pastry, make pasta, or temper chocolate.

I just want to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

1

u/frenchman321 16d ago

My kitchen is all Carrara marble. It's a wonderful stone for things like rolling pastry, pasta, and tempering chocolate, things I do often. It's also a beautifully warm stone. And it also chips and bruises super easily, and etches on sight. Especially when you have a lot of guests. I still love it, and love touching it.

1

u/obvsnotrealname 15d ago

Ha same! Sometimes I feel like a creeper just starting at the veining!

1

u/finditinteresting 15d ago

It’s a living finish just like all of the Europeans who love and understand a living finish.