After reading many of your comments, do you like marble counters in the kitchen? Also, considering Carrara and am being told the leathered/antique finish is the best way to go, is this true? I have been told that honed use to be the way to go, but now leathered is the best finish for marble. Thanks for any input, Rosanne

 

Dear Rosanne:

There's no difference in practical use between a hone and a leather-finished marble surface. Leather-finish is the fad of the day, but hone-finish is easy to reproduce, even by Joe Doe homeowner; while leather-finish is impossible even to a professional, should the need or the desire to resurface your stone top ever arise.

 

And now comes the real core of the matter:

 

ABOUT MARBLE IN A KITCHEN

 

The stone itself has nothing to do with it. It's rather a collective culture issue.

All throughout the Mediterranean basin marble is a very popular stone as a kitchen countertop and everybody enjoys it. (Limestone is not so popular, but certain types of limestone could be acceptable in relation of what follows.) In Northern Europe and all throughout North America , many like the way it looks, but nobody enjoys it!

How's that?

For the simple reason that In Southern Europe they never install a polished marble countertop (or a polished marble floor, for that matter). They start from a hone-finished surface and then they start using and abusing it and only care for it with a good-quality stone cleaner (like MB-5). The “worse” it gets, the better they like it! It's considered “aging.” It's like a pair of old blue jeans, if you know what I mean: a highly sought “lived-in” look.

While the looks of an old pair of jeans is very much appreciated in Northern Europe or in North America , too, the same principle does not seem to apply to stone. Most people over here expect their stone to look like brand-new all the time, and any “change” is not considered “aging”, but a damage that needs to be rectified.

Hence the problem.

The question now is: regardless of your geographical location, which one of the two groups do you belong to? J

May I ask you now to please read and e-sign our Statement of Purpose at: http://www.marblecleaning.org/purpose.htm?

Ciao and good luck,

Mauri z io Bertoli

 

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