Marble or Granite

We renovated our kitchen several years ago, and the one ‘regret’ that creeps up every now and then is whether we should have put marble in our kitchen instead of granite. So I wanted to outline my thoughts on the marble vs granite debate, to pass on to any of you who are going through the same struggle.

Granite
Granite is an extremely durable countertop surface. It can withstand heat, resists staining and scratching. Granite is probably the best choice for families or messy cooks, as you don’t have to baby it.

Granite is a natural surface so it has a varied pattern and look to it, unlike the uniform, patterned look you get from a manmade material like Caesarstone. We both fell in love with a top-tier granite called Bianco Antico. It’s become more common since we renovated as I noticed that even Ikea carries it. It is a beautiful mix of grey, taupe, cream, bronze and red. It has crystal inclusions and silver slivers that look amazing when the light hits it. It is the whitest and greyest-leaning granite that I’ve ever seen.

I think the only negative of granite is that it has a busy look. Its patterns tend to be speckly or dotty. Most granites have 2 or more colours in it, so it’s harder to find granites that have an overall impression of one particular colour. There also aren’t any granites that are primarily white or cream – the lighter granites usually have darker speckles included. Granite colours tend to be warmer and more golden. I haven’t found many granites that have a cool tone, with the exception of plain granites like Absolute Black. Absolute Black granite is one of my favourites and if we were going for the Something’s Gotta Give soapstone look, I would have chosen a honed black granite.

Marble
I don’t think any other countertop material rivals the beauty of marble. Unlike the speckled pattern of granite, marble has quite swirls which looks incredibly elegant and old-world. Many of the marble colours are white and cream, which look very beautiful in a kitchen. My favourite marbles are Calacatta Oro (white with gold swirls, which is what we have in our bathrooms), Carrara (white with grey swirls), and Thassos (pure white with crystals throughout).

The main negative of marble is the etching and staining. We have it our bathrooms and it is permanently etched in places where toothpaste dropped. It also stains surprisingly easy. It adds to the character and patina of it, but it will never look like it did when we first bought it.

So which one?

While I sometimes get a twinge of regret, I overall love the choice of granite in our kitchen and marble in our bathrooms. It’s the best of both worlds, and if you can afford it try to incorporate both materials into your home. Now that we’ve lived in our home for awhile, I can appreciate the hard-working nature of granite in our kitchen and I am willing to sacrifice the perfect beauty of marble for granite’s admirable durability. I do love marble though and plan on putting it in other rooms such as the living room.