I am concerned with maintenance and what may be involved in putting marble in a shower. I know we will need to seal it and use special cleaning products, but what else? Can we use whatever shampoo and soap we typically use or would we need to change all of the products we use in the shower? What do we need to consider when putting marble in a shower?

If we do marble, should we do polished or honed in the shower? Concerned with water spots and etching on the polished and am thinking these wouldn't show as much with the honed. What are the pros and cons of honed vs polished in the shower. Ironiclly we are planning on putting polished on the rest of the bathroom floor...probably another mistake, but I am better about cleaning floors than showers :)

Also if we forgo the marble and go with ceramic tiles, we would still want to do a marble mosaic tile floor and niche. If we do the marble tile floor, does that negate the entire purpose of using ceramic wall tiles? In other words won't I still have the same issues of having to use special cleaners, and possibly shampoos, soaps, etc? Should the marble mosiac floor tile be honed or polished?

Any advise and input would be appreciated. I know ceramic would be the cheaper route, but if money was no object...curious as to what others would choose?

Also any other tile suggestions would be appreciated.
Thanks!

I love natural stone and just didn't want ceramic. That's my bias.
I'm just finishing up a powder room with slate floors so clearly, I tend to be a little less practical than many. I also have polished marble floors in the kitchen (installed 5 years ago) and, although I have scratches and etching galore on that, I think it is all starting to blend into a lovely patina.

My view is that the Taj Mahal looks lovely today, many hundreds of years after it was built, and it has been exposed to the elements, acid rain....nothing I can do to my kitchen and baths can top that so I expect them to look lovely for a long, long time. Of course, if you are the kind of person who can't stand to look at an imperfection then I would say natural stone of any kind is not for you.

For the bath we're doing now? I wanted marble, but it will get a lot more use, and I struggled with something that's going to need special care, however minimal. I reminded myself this is a bathroom FLOOR. Not an art installation. Not something precious. And ultimately, I really wanted to be able to use any disinfectant product I wanted, without reservation.

It took me months, but I did finally pick a tile. I was holding out for the ultimate, magical, one perfect option... to the point that all progress came to a halt. At which point I choose the best option so we could move on. My thoughts on choosing tile.

I'm going with porcelain tile. Polished, with a marbleish-look. (As much as not-stone can look like real-stone...) I'm happy with it. I will post some photos, maybe tomorrow? Husband has it down, but still needs to be grouted.

For what it's worth, I love subway tile. I think it's gorgeous and classic. Even if I didn't live in an old house, I would think it was beautiful. We put it in my bathroom, and will put it in the current project as well. Plus nothing brightens up a room like white tile...

Good luck! Bath decisions are enough to make you crazy!

We have not changed our habits re: shampoo, special cleaning products, etc. My husband and I use this bathroom along with our three young kids (all under 4).

We have had no problems. I'm sure the grey hides a lot more than a white marble. Yes, there are etch marks on our countertop (which is a matching slab), and probably some on the floor, too, but the marble is a pretty busy one, and honestly, it is not noticeable other than one etch on the countertop that I notice (from a drinking glass that contained something acidic). Marcolo has posted photos here before on etch marks. Honestly, mine look nowhere near that bad -- but again, this marble is busier and darker than Calacutta Gold.

We are renovating a house now, and I am putting Calacutta Gold in our master bath. All honed. The floor is a mosaic, and the walls (wainscoting) and shower are 6x12" bricks. We will seal, but I don't plan on any specific day-to-day maintenance other than the typical weekly cleaning. I will try to seal more often, say once a year, though.

My mom has had her white (statuary) marble bathroom for 18 years, too. Her marble is polished. The etch marks are very noticeable, and one of the reasons I like honed better. (I am a clean-freak, but honed also hides soap scum better than polished.) One of two issues she's had is some stains where she was using hair coloring products. But I think that likely could have been avoided if her marble had been properly sealed. She also has a few dark spots in her shower area on the ceiling -- it almost looks like the marble got wet and never dried out. But again, I don't think the marble in her bathroom was ever sealed or cleaned with any speciality marble products since it was installed. She does clean her bathroom weekly and keeps it pretty pristine.

I think you either love marble -- and have a gut positive reaction to it, and thus can life with the faults, or don't. So, no, I don't think you're crazy :-) Calacutta Gold can be absolutely beautiful!

P.S. Here's my floor mosaic that will be installed in about a month or so.

I realize most people do not manage to maintain as large of a yard or home but you need to be realistic about your habits. I have good habits but also want a life outside of maintaining my house.YMMV.

P.S. Lots of public museums/restrooms in D.C. have marble floors. Small patterns and a slightly darker grout help.