Anyone purchase "matching" marble trim tile online?

10 years ago

We have purchased Calacatta Gold marble tile for our next bathroom renovation. We will be putting the marble on the walls and we want to order trim tile (pencil or chair rail and possibly baseboard) to match.

The tile we purchased was a closeout from a local granite/marble supplier. They said they could order trim pieces but there was no guarantee it would match since the lot we purchased was older and from a distributor they no longer work with. They said anytime you order trim there is no guarantee it will match because they don't necessarily cut counters, tile, trim from the same stone lot.

We have gone to other local stores and while they all have pieces on display they are older display pieces and they say to order a piece to see what it will ultimately look like and even then there is no guarantee as marble is a natural material with variation.

Trim pieces are a lot more at local stores than online. And by a lot I mean double. So since I have to order a sample anyway I am thinking of ordering online.

Has anyone ordered marble from places like Stone Center Online, Builder Depot, Deko tile, etc.

Were you trying to match other tile? If so were you satisfied with the product. Did you order a sample? Did the product delivered look like the sample?

How much extra do you suggest we order for trim tile?
Thanks!

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Comments (5)

alina_1
10 years ago
We used stone (travertine) trim pieces for our fireplace. We purchased them all at Lowe's, so we saw and selected each piece, but there was still a lot of variation.

IMO, it is a part of natural stone beauty. I would worry about the quality of the stone more. In our case, we had to look for large cavities typical for travertine. You can play with your design a bit - for example, you can install pieces that are significantly different in color or pattern into less visible space.

As for extra amount, we did not have any waste virtually. Only for shorter parts and for miter cuts. Maybe, 10% total, but this depends on the design of course.
jacqueline5
10 years ago
Here is a sneak peek pic of the mother of pearl backsplash and Calacatta counter with the Home Depot polished pencil liner.

Below, is my HD review of polished Greecian pencil liner (yes, HD spells it Greecian not Grecian). The bathroom will be complete next week - God willing! Long awaited reveal photos coming soon!

Looks like Calacatta - BEAUTIFUL!
By: jacqueline5
From: Chico, CA, USA
5/5
January 01, 2014
We splurged on polished Calacatta slab counters in our master bath renovation with mother of pearl in the decorative shower liner. I really wanted calacatta pencil liner as well but I needed 70 linear feet - real Calacatta was cost prohibitive. I ordered the Home Depot Greecian polished liner and hoped it wouldn't be too gray like Carrara or the crystalline look of some of the inexpensive marble out of China. I could not be happier with the polished Greecian liner! The marble is pure white with some gray and gold veins. The surface is smooth like Itallian marble - no crystals at all. It honestly looks exactly like Calacatta. The polish on the marble is perfect.The packages arrived well protected and each piece was individually wrapped with cardboard and plastic. Every single piece was absolutely perfect! Our tile installer was impressed with the quality. He was skeptical, he had a couple bad experiences with cheap marble crumbling like chalk when cut. This marble did not do that.
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piscesgirl
Original Author
10 years ago
Thank you for the picture and suggestion jacqueline5. Your bathroom looks like it will be lovely. Please post pictures when the project is complete.

Actually I have looked at the Home Depot Greecian as well as the Lowes White Venatino tile. We actually used the Lowes marble in our master bathroom last year for the threshold, shower sills and niche trim. It was a great deal and worked perfectly.

http://ths.gardenweb.com/forums/load/bath/msg0318035216653.html

These white marbles from china must have a reputation for crumbling and breaking because we had to have the shower sills cut lengthwise and our local fabricator told us the same thing and wouldn't guarantee anything...but luckily they didn't break.

However, the Lowes and Home Depot marble don't seem to be working for us this time. It may be just the lots they have in stock right now but I think it is actually the Calacatta marble I am working with and the fact that I am not breaking it up like you did with the shell tile, but rather putting one right up against the other.

The Calacatta tile we purchased for the master bath had more muted greys in it and the Lowes white marble worked with it. The Calacatta for our hall bath I actually think is a higher grade Italian Calacatta. It is a very creamy white with stricking taupe veins with a green undertone. The Home Depot tile and Lowes tile is not as creamy (more crystalized) and not the right white color tone.

I am going to keep checking HD & Lowes, but will probably have to order (either online or from a store) accent tile sight unseen. I hate to do it but I have found nobody local who stocks calacatta trim tile.
cdpettiette
9 years ago
Hi! Did you ever post your reveal photos? Your sneak peak looks beautiful! Great job:-)
PRO
Creative Ceramic & Marble/ Bill Vincent
9 years ago
No matter where you go, including the place you bought the stone from in the first place-- if you don't get the trim at the same time as the stone, there's a very good chance it's not going to match. I'll take it a step further. There's no guarantee that you'll have an exact match to any sample you might get, as well. It could be a shade off, or more or less veining, etc..