Living With Marble – Part 2

It’s been awhile since I said I would tell you more about my marble counter tops.   There’s a story behind them and I promise I will tell it all but because I get so many questions about living with marble I felt the need to write today’s post.   

In my first post about living with marble, I gave you my view point of what it’s like to have this natural stone in my kitchen.  I also alluded to the fact that we had some problems with the fabrication and installation.  To partially resolve the issue, the island was replaced with something different — honed Vermont Danby marble.  It was installed just before Christmas.  

 

I’m not going to get in to all the details about how and why the island was replaced (I’m saving that for a future post because all the issues have not been fully resolved yet).  But I do want to share with you what I have learned about various types of marble and how they perform on a daily basis (since I now have experience with two types of marble).  

 I know not everyone wants marble in their kitchens, so this information doesn’t pertain to everyone but I hope you’ll bear with me on this because when I write my upcoming post (it might even take two to explain it all), I will have information to share that will be helpful when choosing any natural stone for your home. 

But, today, I’m helping answer my most asked question:  “What is it like living with marble and is it right for you?”

Okay, so, back to my new island counter top.  It’s Vermont Danby – most likely it’s Imperial or Eureka Calacutta Danby.   We’re not completely sure because the fabricator had a large remnant of it at his work shop and didn’t remember the name.  But, after all the research my husband and I did on marble, we’re 99% certain it’s one or the other.  

 

Honed vs. Polished

In my last post about marble, I talked about the difference between honed and polished.  I said that etching occurs on both types of marble but it’s less noticeable on honed.  Well, now that I have honed on my island I have to say that etch marks are very difficult to see.  In fact, they are almost non-existent!  I am in love, love, love with my honed marble!   If I were to put marble in a kitchen it would be honed a million times over!

I originally wanted honed but got swayed by the beauty of polished at the stone yard.  Side-by-side honed looks a little life-less next to the polished in the stone yard.  But, I promise, the honed is every bit as stunning when installed.  Some might argue with me (my husband, for example) and say that polished is the clear winner when it comes to beauty but I think the honed is gorgeous and has a more understated beauty.  Of course, everyone will have their own personal preference but I love the look of my honed stone and I absolutely adore it’s practicality.

Vermont Danby Marble

I had never heard of Vermont Danby marble before.  I remember seeing it at the stone yard (when we were first looking for counter tops) but I didn’t give it much thought.  Of course, I was gravitating towards Carrera and the Calacuttas — both Italian.   (We ended up with a more rare Italian stone called Calacutta Green — and it’s polished.)

Well, after our problems I started looking more closely at all the different marble types.  I was surprised to learn that the Danby line, that is mined in Vermont here in the USA, is a less porous and more durable marble than Italian marbles.  I was told that they made excellent counters for kitchens.  

Since living with my Danby stone for the past few months I wholeheartedly agree.  It is much less fussy than my Calacutta Green (it is still on the perimeter of the kitchen).  I have had barbecue sauce, ketchup, and other dark sauces spatter on the stone and even after letting it sit for an hour or so it wiped right up without an issue.  

Cleaning Stains on Marble

I found out a little trick from the stone fabricator when he was here installing the island counter top — you can clean stains from marble with acetone.  Yes, acetone — like what you use to remove nail polish!  (Except, you want to buy the straight acetone from the hardware store, not the make-up aisle.)

I had set a bottle of olive oil on the counter while I was cooking and didn’t notice the bottom was oily.  It sat there for about an hour and when I picked it up I noticed an oily ring on the counter that wasn’t coming out (this was on my Italian stone).  I poured hot water on the stone and soaked it up with a cloth which did lessen the ring but it was still there.  

Then the fabricator came over a few days later to work on the island.  I asked him about the oil ring and he told me to use acetone.  Before I could fully absorb the seemingly crazy advice he poured some right on the oil ring.  He could see I was about to freak out so he explained that it was totally safe and wouldn’t remove the polish or etch the stone.  

After the acetone dried, the oil ring was gone and my counters were still polished and perfect looking!  Amazing.  

(The one caveat you should know is that acetone will remove the sealer, so you will have to reseal your stone.)

 

Next time I will tell you more about the mishaps and problems with our counter top fabrication and installation and I will give you some tips that I wish I would have known when shopping for counters and contractors.  

 

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