Tips On Carrara Marble Countertop & Floor Tile Design

QUESTION:

I am considering a Carrara marble vanity bathroom countertop. Must I also incorporate marble floor tile? Could you think of any tiles that might compliment carrara marble and also warm up a color scheme? My vanity wood is sandalwood, kind of a pinky wood?

ANSWER:

No you don't have to install marble floor tile although a light colored or even pinkish travertine or marble would look nice.

I could give you names, but these are largely irrelevant. You just need to go to a stone warehouse or tile shop and look at samples to see what you like.

Of course, you have endless colors of ceramic or porcelain tile to choose from and plenty of marble floor tiles too.

To warm it up you'll want to stick to earth tones, but white marble can work with a wide range of colors.

I wouldn't get a busy pattern though. Maybe a texture, but keep the pattern subdued and let the carrera marble vanity be the centerpiece.

Have Fun!

Carrera Marble Bathroom Floor Tile

by Diana
(longwood, florida)

QUESTION:

Do you recommend Carrara marble floor tile for a bathroom? Are there any pitfalls I should be aware of in having this installed ?

ANSWER:

A Carrara marble bathroom floor will perform very well without any real problems.

You should use a honed finish instead of polished marble floor tile for safe footing.

Really, marble is only an issue when installing it as a kitchen countertop. etching and marble polishing is the main problem. Etching is chemical corrosion that occurs upon contact with acidic foods and drinks... and the wrong cleaning products.

Kitchen countertops are in constant contact with acids, so it is impossible to prevent dull and discolored spots from etching on a marble kitchen countertop.

Etching doesn't affect the performance of marble. It's just a cosmetic issue, which wasn't much an issue in past decades and centuries when marble kitchen countertops were very common.

These days people want their expensive marble countertops to be a show piece and look perfect always.... function is a secondary concern.

So, for most people the extra marble cleaning and maintenance hassle required with a marble kitchen countertop becomes frustrating. Even more so when they didn't know about this issue before installing marble.

But for bathroom floors, bathroom countertops and just about anywhere else in the house.... marble is a great choice.

You don't get much etching in a bathroom and when it does occur it is most often on the countertop, not the floor.

So, go for it! Carrara marble floor tile will look fantastic!

Be sure to use only products safe for cleaning marble especially around the toilet where nearly all cleaners will damage and etch the marble if (rather when) it is dripped or spilled on the floor.

We recommend using this Non-Acidic Toilet Bowl Cleaner.

Marble Countertop With Ceramic Floor Tile

by Donna Morabito
(Yorktown, NY)

QUESTION: I am installing a marble countertop for my vanity in my powder room. Do I also use marble tile on the floor, or could I mix it up with ceramic tile?

ANSWER: You can mix it up with a marble vanity and ceramic tile floors or travertine or slate whatever works well together.

There's no set rule about combining stones. You just want to make sure that the colors and patterns compliment each other.

What you want to avoid most is competing patterns or colors. In a small space like a powder bath, that could get cluttered real quick and look too busy.

Using the same color marble tile on your floors as your countertop can achieve a bold, coordinated and possibly dramatic look (depending on the color and pattern of the marble).

Personally, I like the idea of using the same marble on countertops and floors in bathrooms.

Here's the rub though... in a bathroom (or any room really) you typically don't want polished floor tile. Repeated foot traffic will wear down that polish. Also, polished floors are slippery when wet.

Now being a powder bath, the above points may not be much an issue if the bath doesn't get much use.

But most likely you will want a polished countertop (most prefer to honed) and if you use the same marble on the floors except honed, it will look different. Polishing brings out the color more.

Just some angles to consider.

If you prefer to mix it up, then I'd make your marble vanity top as the center piece and choose your floor tile color to simply blend well without having too much pattern or a very subtle pattern on it's own.

Hope this helps. Send in a picture when you are done!

Have Fun,
Ryan

Carrera Marble Vanity Top Too Short For Cabinet

by Dee
(Texas)

QUESTION:

I purchased a carrera marble counter top for the bathroom. It is 49 inches wide, unfortunately my cabinet is 50 1/2 inches wide.

What can I use to fill the 1 1/2 inch gap against the wall?

ANSWER:

I'm assuming that you ordered and purchased a pre-made marble vanity or an old marble slab that is too short and not that you hired someone to install a marble vanity top and they cut it too short.

Of course, the best solution in mis-cut or mis-measured installations is to start over and install a piece that fits correctly.

I suggest that your time and money would be best spent if you simply returned the current too short piece and get one that fits as it should.

But perhaps you can't return it. In that case...

You'll have to just wing it and jury-rig it somehow.

You could consider installing the backsplash on top of the cabinets, so the vanity top butts up against the backsplash instead of the backsplash sitting on top.

This would work if you have a wall/backsplash on both ends and could use a 3/4 inch backsplash, which wouldn't look too odd.

You could try to get a fabricator to cut you a strip to fit the gap, but then you'd have a seam and almost certain color mismatch.

This is really something a creative fabricator or handyman would have to look at to determine the best solution if replacement is not an option.

But even if you have to re-purchase a brand new marble vanity top (and essentially pay double) you'd likely be much happier in the long-run than having some obvious, make-shift install.

Marble Bathroom Countertops vs. Silestone

by Erika
(Alexandria, VA , USA)

QUESTION:

I am trying to decide between Silestone quartz countertops and natural marble bathroom countertops for our remodeling project. I have read that marble is both durable and can stain easily which is confusing.

I love the look of the marble but I have two small children and am worried about how it will hold up over time.

It would be in a bathroom that will probably be a high traffic area as the kids get older and we spread out a little more.

I am looking at white Carrara marble. My fallback would be Silestone, which seems to be pretty maintenance free. Any suggestions? Thank you, Erika

ANSWER:

Erika, you'll find more detailed information on the countertop comparison pages on this site, but basically in a high traffic bathroom used by young kids Silestone quartz countertops are much less likely to give you a maintenance problem.

Of course, Silestone will not look as nice or elegant as White Carrara marble (in most people's opinion).

And marble is durable... it will last forever. How it looks in 20 years will depend on how you take care of it. Now marble may be a bit more sensitive than other surfaces, but the above is true for ALL surfaces.

Staining is not the issue. It's a bit of a myth that marble stains easy. Raw or honed marble will stain, but polished marble is a different story.

Polishing marble (or any stone) changes the surface tension and makes it much less absorbent. Polished marble can stain if you leave something on it for a few hours, but generally it is not a problem.

Etching is the main problem. Polished marble will corrode upon contact with acids (many foods and some bath products) and alkaline cleaning chemicals.

Etching causes dull light spots on the countertop. They are not very noticeable with White Carrara marble, but you may get them.

I have White Carrara marble in a bathroom that gets used heavily during parties and by guests. Haven't had a problem yet, but many products can etch marble, which doesn't happen with Silestone or granite.

Most mild etch marks can be removed using a marble polishing powder, but if the damage is severe then you may need a pro.

Cleaning is also more particular with marble. You can use many (but not every) normal household cleaning product on Silestone, but you should use only hot water and/or products safe for cleaning marble.

And really the best way to clean Silestone or any quartz countertop is to use specially formulated stone cleaners and not common harsh household cleaners.

This is not a big deal... get the right product and clean it, but with a busy family, sometimes things get confused and using the wrong product could damage (etch) the marble.

With heavy use by kids though, I'd lean toward the Silestone and put the marble countertops in your bathroom.