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Marble countertops are a wonderful addition because they bring a sense of luxury and sophistication that can’t be beat. But while this stone is beautiful, it can also be somewhat fragile—that means it needs a gentle hand to take care of it.

Washington Marble Works is here to tell you how to make marble shine at home and how to get rid of pesky stains.

Keep Your Marble Looking Shiny

Here are some useful tips to keep your marble countertops looking lovely:

Avoid acidic substances

Acids can etch into the surface of marble and leave it looking dull. This is something to keep in mind when you choose your marble cleaner—and also when you prepare food on your marble surface.

Use gentle soap to clean

You don’t need abrasive cleaners to get your marble looking great. In fact, abrasive cleaners will only harm the stone. Instead, use gentle soap and water to clean the surface, then wipe it down with a hot, wet dish towel and dry it with an absorbent towel.

Clean up stains right away

If you notice a pesky stain on your marble countertop, deal with it right away. Here are some common types of stains and how you can get rid of them:

• Oil stains: Use a gentle cleanser or a few drops of ammonia.
• Organic stains (from food or liquids like coffee or tea): Use a small amount of hydrogen peroxide or ammonia.
• Paint stains: Carefully use a razor to scrape off the dried paint.
• Water stains or water rings: Use steel wool to buff these stains out.

Seal your marble

A surefire way to give yourself peace of mind is to add a layer of protection in the form of sealant to your marble countertop’s surface.

Sealing your marble can prevent staining and etching because the sealant acts as a barrier between the outside world and the stone underneath. Having sealant in place also gives you a little bit more time to deal with spills before they turn into permanent stains.

Your Beautiful Marble Countertop

As for making your stone shine, what is the best way to polish marble? It’s simple—just use baking soda and water and leave the mixture to dry for about five hours or so.

Taking care of marble countertops isn’t as difficult as you might think. To learn more about it, reach out to Washington Marble Works today.

Your bathroom countertop is incredibly important for how the room comes together, which means that bathroom countertop colors take serious thought.

In this article, we’ll give you some bathroom details to consider as you navigate the world of custom bathroom countertops and their colors.

The Room Over Time

As you choose a pattern or color for your bathroom countertop, you’ll undoubtedly be trying to complement the look of the room as it stands. But it’s important to remember that the paint and accessories of your bathroom may change over time. Your tastes may shift, or you might want a complete overhaul down the road.

This might be nearly impossible to do if you chose a strong and bold bathroom countertop color that coincides with the first round of paint in the room. This type of choice can become outdated in the blink of an eye. So instead of going down that route, consider a slab with veining colors that you like or simple splashes of pretty shades so you can keep the countertop subtle and malleable to change.

Look at the Undertone

To get the exact right look out of your bathroom, you’ve got to understand the undertones and the shades that go with them. There’s the potential to make your bathroom come together in an amazing way, but if you haven’t grasped your undertones, things might end in disaster.

If you have cherry wood cabinetry in your bathroom, blue or green-shaded countertops will bring out the red tones in them. If your cabinets or flooring have yellow or orange undertones, gray or blue counters will make that undertone even stronger.

Getting to know the color wheel will help you avoid a clash with the countertops, and this is another aspect where veining or speckles in a countertop can really help. They provide the color pops that you’re looking for without overwhelming the space or changing any of the other elements in the room.

Get Countertop Samples

It’s typical for people to make decisions about their countertops while in a store with wood samples and paint strips in front of them. But while these samples can be helpful, they don’t come from your exact bathroom.

To get the best idea of what will work in your space, you’ve got to bring countertop samples home. This way, you can see how your unique lighting hits them and how all the elements come together in the area where they’ll be installed.

Consider Accessories

If you like a lot of accessories in your bathroom, you’ll want a countertop pattern that offsets that vibe—so keep it simple. If you’re someone who’d prefer a bathroom decorated more starkly, consider a countertop with a bolder pattern since people’s attention won’t be swayed anywhere else. Balance is important for decor details like this!

Styling Your Bathroom

Here at Washington Marble Works, we specialize in custom bathroom countertops, and we want to help you achieve perfection in your space. Get in touch with us at (253) 891-1823 for more information.

Here at Washington Marble Works, when we think of the most classic and timeless natural stone, marble comes to mind first. It’s been around for centuries, in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece, in the Colosseum and the Parthenon, and it’s stuck around to this day, often in modern architecture and residences.

People love marble for all sorts of reasons. Whether they’re drawn to its beautiful looks or its incredible functionality, there’s one thing we know for sure—that marble can make your entire kitchen look and feel brand new.

Marble: A Closer Look

Marble is a metamorphic rock that forms above sea level, and it comes in almost every color you can think of. Its location is what decides its color, and you can be sure that every slab is completely unique.

The pattern on a marble slab is freeform and gives off a timeless and elegant flair. This soft stone is inherently bright, so it knows how to take advantage of natural light and bring your kitchen to life.

Taking Care of Marble

The best marble countertops for a kitchen are those treated with care. Since marble slabs are often looked at as pieces of art and should be handled accordingly, installing them in a kitchen that sees a lot of haphazard traffic might not be the best idea.

If young children will be using the space, it might benefit you to think over the pros and cons of installing the stone.

If you do decide to call up your local kitchen marble countertop installers and start on the project, know that marble slabs require sealant because they are porous.

How Marble Makes Your Kitchen Shine

Now that we’ve gone over the basics, it’s time to share how marble can make your kitchen a whole new place to gather, cook, and eat.

Heat is no problem. Marble is a naturally heat resistant stone, so you don’t have to worry about damage while you work in the kitchen. It’s wise to use a hot pad or a trivet, but rest assured that a hot pan on your countertop isn’t a do-or-die situation.

A beautiful appearance. While some stones get close, there’s still no way to accurately replicate marble’s unique appearance. If you want a classy kitchen, marble is our top choice. There are so many colors and shades to choose from, and no matter the variation you install in your home, there’s no way for your marble slab to look out of place in your kitchen. It can only accentuate the existing beauty by adding its own.

Each slab is unique. Since the colors of the veining in a marble slab are determined by the minerals present, along with the calcium carbonate, it’s a guarantee that no two marble slabs are identical. Even if everyone in your neighborhood has a marble countertop, it would be impossible for anyone to have your exact pattern.

Investing in Marble

Choosing marble for your kitchen is a great decision and a wise investment. This is a stone that can only impact a room in a positive way. If you need a splash of color or a dose of crisp white, there’s no better stone to get the job done than marble.

This natural selection steals the show in any room where it’s installed, and the best marble countertops for the kitchen give off not only luminous looks, but a dynamic personality and high-grade functionality as well.

To learn more about marble and all that it can do, be sure to reach out to Washington Marble Works today.

Marble countertops are the perfect choice if you’re looking to add sophistication and luxury to your kitchen.

As long as you keep them sealed and avoid acidic substances, your marble countertops will serve you for years—all the while bringing a dramatic flair to your kitchen.

Considering Logistics

Even when you install the best marble countertops, you have to take logistics into account. By logistics, we mean seams. If you have a large countertop or one that’s oddly shaped, your fabricator might have to cut the slab into multiple pieces, and multiple pieces mean seams.

Seams don’t have to be negative. There are a few ways to incorporate marble seams into your design plans so they make the smallest visual impact possible.

Consider Your Kitchen Size

If you’re only covering a small area (like a kitchen island), you might be able to get the job done without cutting the countertop. No cuts means no seams—just one singular, flowing slab. If your kitchen lends itself to using one slab alone, talk to your fabricator about making that happen.

Use Templating to Your Advantage

If you’re working with Washington Marble Works, rest assured that tempting the kitchen is something we’ll do for you—and we’ll let you know how many slabs (and seams) you’ll need.

If you have a standard-shaped kitchen, it’s likely that you can find sensible places to put the seams, like at the corner of an L-shaped countertop. If your kitchen is oddly-shaped, it might take some brainstorming from you and your fabricator.

Steer Clear of the Sink

Many customers want to hide the seam along the edge of the sink, but most of the time that doesn’t work. Since the sink is in an unsupported area, it’s inherently weaker than the rest of the countertop—when you add a break to the slab in that space, it could compromise the integrity of the entire structure.

The Place That Draws the Least Attention

The point of placing your seam strategically is so it won’t draw attention. That means placing them where the countertop would divide naturally. If your countertop is broken up by appliances like the range, fridge, and stove, finding a place for the seams is easy. But if you have one long, unbroken stretch, it might take some creative thinking.

Always make sure to place your seams in areas that are adequately supported, like where two cabinet side-walls meet. Placing them at this juncture can sometimes be too visible, though, so some people prefer to place seams in corners, where less activity occurs and the eye is less likely to rest.

Another great way to hide seams is by making sure the patterns on your slabs match as closely as possible. Ask your fabricator if they can mix pigments to make the epoxy invisible, and you’ll trick the eye into thinking you’ve got a seamless material on your hands.

Incorporating Marble Seams

The best marble countertops are those with invisible seams. This can be made possible by precise measurements, careful slab choice, calculated placement, and experienced fabricators like those of us at Washington Marble Works.

Don’t waste any more time googling “marble countertops near me.” Instead, stop by our showroom or give us a call at (253) 891-1823 to see what we’ve got in store.

There are tons of options surrounding countertop materials out there. To truly feel good about a material, you need to be familiar with its level of care, durability, aesthetics, and other such details. All of which we will discuss in this article!

To get a good idea of which countertop is destined for your dream kitchen, you’ve got to answer a few questions. First of all, you’ve got to know the general aesthetic that you’re going for with your kitchen. Second, you’ll need to know your desired maintenance level. Third, you should make note of whether you need a durable material.

Having these answers will help you figure out which countertop is best for the kitchen of your dreams.

Face Value

The way your countertop appears is important. After all, you’ll be looking at it for many years to come. Check out a few of our countertop types:

• Granite
  • Granite slabs are known for being extremely elegant, and granite tiles have a unique air about them too. Both of these options are gorgeous and would be an asset to any kitchen.
  • These natural stone countertops look luxurious, and they’re very resistant to scratches and heat.
• Marble
  • Marble countertops are famous for their unrivaled beauty. They come in many colors, like green, pink, and neutral shades, and they have interesting veining patterns.
  • These stone countertops add sophistication wherever they are. Just make note that they need a bit more maintenance than other stones.
• Quartz
  • Quartz countertops come in a variety of designs and colorations because they’re man-made. They look good in both contemporary and traditional spaces.
  • These countertops do not crack easily, and they don’t require sealant either.

Your Lifestyle

Your lifestyle is important to remember when considering new countertop material. If you know that your countertops will be heavily used every day, then marble might not be the greatest idea.

Maintenance

Some people find peace in taking care of their countertops, but to others it’s just another annoying task. Which countertop material you invest in will depend on which camp you fall into.

Budget

Everyone’s budget is different. If you feel like it’s impossible to find natural stone slabs that fit in the threshold of what you’re willing to pay, we would be glad to help you with the search.

Your Clean Home

The countertop is what will bring your dream kitchen together. Reach out to get started on your remodeling project with Washington Marble Works today.