One of our favorite stones here at Marble & Granite is – you’ve guessed – marble! It has a translucent beauty all its’ own and there is nothing quite like it. Along with quartzite, granite, and limestone, it is an all-natural stone and before it became marble it was actually limestone. And before it was that it was seashells. Yes, if you decide to have marble worktops in Ruislip you will have in your kitchen a stone that was once formed from the shells of crabs, prawns, lobsters, and any other sea creatures that have shells. Those, in turn, are made from the mineral calcite.
Limestone forms on the floors and shores of tropical seas and, depending upon the site, may also include layers of clay and/or sand. However, it is largely composed of seashells. When this layer gets dragged down into the earth’s crust, as happens when things move about, it gets heated and is put under immense pressure, so the action as the material gets moved about can cause all sorts of swirls and bends. The rock at this temperature doesn’t actually melt but becomes like a chocolate bar in the heat of the sun. All of the heating and warping is what causes any clay present to twist and turn, and this is what gives marble its’ grey veining and bands of colour.
Most marble is white, although there is marble which has many other colours in it which are caused by a variety of different minerals which were present during the formation period. Classic marble is pure white, and that simply means that it is 100% calcite. This is what forms Yule marble which is what is used on the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Marble also forms the exterior of the Taj Mahal, the Duomo of Florence, and is what Michelangelo’s David is made from. If you have marble worktops you will be in good company.
But marble isn’t only used for kitchen worktops. It can look absolutely great in your bathroom, not just as a vanity surround, but also on the walls. And even on the floor. Let’s face it: many people spend a lot of time in the bathroom these days. Some people even have a television installed in the bathroom and come home after a hard day at the office and sit back in a nice warm bath just to relax and prepare for the evening.
Now just imagine your bathroom with marble walls and floor. It will look nothing short of stunning. That is something that will have your friends and family green with envy. Furthermore, many people today choose to have underfloor heating installed in their bathroom. This works exceptionally well with marble flooring because the marble heats up and retains the heat. In fact, if you are going to have the bathroom floor taken up and replaced with marble, it won’t cost a lot extra to install an underfloor heating mat.
Back in the kitchen, you could also have marble on the floor there in addition to your marble worktops. They would complement one another and give you a fabulous looking room, which is perfect if you do what a lot of people do these days and that is not only cooked in the kitchen, but eat there, and also relax after dinner while watching the soaps on a wall-mounted TV.
Why not go a step further? You could have a marble patio as well. Can you imagine the sun shining and the surface of the marble shimmering in the light? It will even look great when the rain is pouring down on it! Marble has been used for flooring in many great buildings because of its’ opulence and association with power and wealth.
Of course, because of the materials from which marble is made, it is a relatively soft stone, and therefore needs a little TLC in the kitchen. It is to some extent susceptible to staining, although not as much as some people think. However, it does need sealing. You should also wipe up any spills as soon as they are seen. You should not chop foods on it, because that can damage the surface, although the same goes for most stone worktops. Nor should you put hot pans down on it.
But that aside, whether you use marble in the kitchen, bathroom, patio, or all three, you will have something that most definitely stands out from the crowd.
