Hi all - has anyone ever done a bathroom counter with antique marble? I have a sample of it that I just love, but don't know that I have ever seen it used as counter top. Curious to hear if any of you have it in your home and how it holds up...thanks for your input.

Mandy's Nanny

Can you clarify what you mean by 'Antique Marble'?
We remodeled our powder room around a Civil War-era sideboard mirror.
We used a piece of remnant marble on top of a custom order vanity, in hopes of making it look like an actual Civil War sideboard with a sink.
powder room vanity

If your question is how does a marble countertop hold up on a bathroom vanity, it would depend if this is a high use vanity, how many people and their ages.
Ours is upstairs in the master suite, so it only gets used regularly by 2 adults. We are very careful to wipe up any spilled water and take special care with any liquid (soap, shaving cream, etc) other than water. My husband places a bathtowel around the sink while shaving and I wouldn't even think of using nail polish remover at the vanity! We also polish it yearly. We have had it for over 4 years and with this little extra care have no stains.

We also have a black marble vanity top in our downstairs bathroom, used by our 3 teenaged sons and guests. My husband put a piece of plexiglass (kind of like a slipcover) on the counter and we remove it when we have guests.
I cringed when he first suggested it, but for day use, you really don't notice it. Water does occasionally get under the plexiglass and we wipe it as soon as we notice it. It has been in use over 18 months and we have no stains or damage to the marble. Truthfully, I think having the marble vanity has reinforced for the boys to clean up after themselves better (hope their future wives appreciate this!)
For us, we love the look of marble and other natural stone so it is worth a little extra care daily.

I have marble countertops in the bathrooms but they're not antique. Marble is marble, so I have younger marble. LOL. I do nothing special to it and it has worn very, very well.

I am planning to use white marble in our bathroom we are remodeling. I had picked out honed marble, the kind that has a dull finish, for the counter tops, but think I am going to change it to polished. I am using honed on the floor and in the shower for better traction. I wondered if the honed would be as stain resistant as the polished.

It's not in the bathroom but I do have a 100 plus year old piece of marble on my kitchen island. I am not kind to it at all and it has held up remarkedly well considering. Of course, it started with patina for it is not perfect nor is it polished. I loved it so much that I put new marble countertops in when I replaced my countertops a couple of years ago.

Martha

You had me at "antique"!!! Seriously, I think granite is becoming passé...I mean, everybody does it! Marble is BEAUTIFUL! Yes, it is not as "tough", but who cares? If you're willing to do the upkeep, you can't beat the beauty of it.

I still remember the awful day my goofy sister jumped off our stairs and landed on the antique, Belter, marble-topped table, (from my grandmother's Queen Anne Victorian house) and shattered it!...ARRGH!

Some materials, like brass, copper and other materials, are simply worth maintaining for their beauty. (umm..cedar siding anyone?).

Failing that, I have nightmares about a wasteland of houses made of PVC and cement-board and concrete counters, with furniture that is "green", yes, but ugly as all get out!

With care, marble is a very durable countertop surface. It is a limestone, which means that anything acidic will etch it. Orange juice, wine, tomatoes, ketchup, lemons/limes, etc. It is very important to clean and maintain natural stone products only with products recommended for natural stone. Marble should be kept sealed for protection. There are sealers, polishes, and cleaners available that are safe for marble and natural stone. To view these and to learn more about natural marble and other natural stones and troubleshooting tips, go to www.stonecare.com

Or to: www.drytreat.com

I have honed marble on the shower floor and the bathroom floor. The shower has 3x3's and the floor 12x12's. It has been well sealed and we are careful to wipe up shampoo spills. You have to keep natural stone sealed otherwise it will stain.