In just a few more weeks, we will celebrate living five years in our home. I just need to say that downsizing and moving from the burbs to downtown was one of the best decisions we have ever made. We were at the perfect time in our lives to get rid of a lot of the stuff, the huge house, and the work. I’m glad we made the move and the decision when we did because it is over. Remodeling and then moving were a LOT of work, but it’s finished. Bam! When we did the remodeling,which was an almost total gut job, I struggled with the kitchen countertop decision. Should I go with a quartz which would be practical or should I go with what I really wanted – marble? After much thought and after talking to many people who had tons of different opinions, I decided to bite the bullet and go with my heart. I chose Carrara marble, and after living with marble countertops, I thought it might be fun to give a review five years later.
First off, we don’t have young children. Other than when we have friends or family visiting, it’s just the two of us. If I were serving grape juice to children on a daily basis, I would have gone with quartz. But we are adults, and because of that I felt we could handle the responsibility of marble.
When it was installed, our marble was sealed with a five year sealer. That means it’s time to have the marble man (as opposed to the Marlboro man );) come back for a reapplication. (Is that a word?) Even though our marble was sealed, I still take precautions.
I have a glass cutting board beside the sink and beside the stove because I do my heavy-duty prepping and cooking in those two areas. I never put any food directly onto the marble. There’s always a buffer between the food and the counter.
Our marble doesn’t have stains on it, but it does have etching which is common on all marble. You can only see the etching when light shines on it a certain way. Etching is not a stain. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a mark on the marble that is the same color as the marble. For example, if you put a slice of cheese on the counter for a few minutes and then pick it up, there might be some etching that shows where the cheese had been. It doesn’t wash out. It’s there forever. Europeans think that stains and etching on their marble are the signs of a good cook. They embrace the imperfections. I’m trying to be more European.
I have a “bake station” in our walk-in pantry. So, whenever I’m baking, I do all of the prep work on the laminate counter in there. That takes a lot of the messy work out of the kitchen and off of the countertops. That might be one of the reasons the marble is still is such good condition.
Now, here’s the big question: If I had it to do over again, would I still choose marble countertops for our kitchen. The answer is yes. I love the look and the way they feel.
