I'll have a carrara slab full backsplash in a week or two. They template on Monday! I'll post pics after installation.

I have honed white venatino tiles for my backsplash. If the marble slab doesn't end up working out for you, that may be another option.

Here is a link that might be useful:

Hi Alku! You know you're the one, with that beautiful kitchen and backsplash of yours, who convinced me to get white marble mosaic for my own backsplash. Thank for leading by example! Maybe now's the time though, before I actually place the order, to ask this question: how's your white marble holding up behind the range? Have you had any issues with staining or etching? If so, were you able to resolve to your satisfaction?

It's just as perfect as it was last year. We sealed it with Miracle 511 and everything wipes right off, even if it's been sitting there awhile, which is usually the case. I was expecting to have small etch spots by know from spaghetti sauce splatters, but there's none visible (yet). Post pictures when yours goes up!!

I don't know if I'm so happy with Brooke and the others who shared their gorgeous marble with us. I would never have thought of it if it weren't for them....with that said I LOVE my calacatta...even if it did end up in the bathrooms...(and making a huge dent in my bank account). Brooke, I figured out what the "xtra" is. I have teeny bits of gold flecks in the calacatta...I didn't notice until the installation...it's really pretty.

All of you with marble in the kitchen, I am so jealous...I'd do it but I've been told I would be over"marbled) in the house.

Oh janefan, I am reading this! Thank you so much for your really kind words -- you just made me day. I am so excited about your kitchen and will be keeping my eyes open for when you start posting pictures ....

Can you see why I love Marlene? Joker with great taste! (and one fabulous bathroom -- drool)

While I cannot speak to a stainless backsplash behind the range, I do want to tell you what an absolute dream it is to clean the marble slab backsplash. Seriously, it is so easy and makes me feel incredibly smart for having done it (instead of any other backsplash material). No grout (which was always the bane of my existence in our penultimate kitchen -- tile + grout = lots of swearing), no worries about scratching (as was our fear with stainless) and, disgusting as this makes me, it hides the splatters really well. (meaning: I don't have to wipe the back as soon as a splatter hits -- I have some [lots of] wiggle room!)

Every single person who's been in our kitchen (since the remodel) has commented on the marble only because it's the backsplash (so is really visible), and the piece behind the cooktop really is a showstopper (I think). Just the other evening as we were sitting in the breakfast nook eating dinner, we (my husband and I) were saying what a smart move it was to have this marble as a full backsplash. We could see it from where we were sitting, and if it were only on our counters we wouldn't be able to. We waited a long time to find "the" marble, and it feels really good to get to see it from all over.

About the wood island countertop (ours is maple butcher block): I think you're after how I feel about its looks, not its use. ???

I really like how it "warms" up the space. (I don't know if you've read in another post where I refer to our kitchen as "icy," -- which I adore, but the wood keeps it from feeling chilly, if you see what I mean.) janefan, I L-O-V-E our marble. Love it! And I wouldn't change or trade it for anything, but I think if it were also on the island it would be both a little cold (to the eye) as well as just too much. I liken it to the matting around a picture -- if draws attention to what I think is the star of the show: the marble!

I think the wenge top would be beautiful. What a great idea!

Thank you again for your kind words (you too, Marlene), and good luck. I really shall be looking for your pictures ....

Brooke ... for some reason, I canNOT post pictures. I've tried and tried....I even tried to email one today...but...well..I'll keep trying.

OT...I started to write you an email earlier...if I send it to the GW addy...will it get to you? I'm going to try now.

Brooke, I don't understand how I have missed your kitchen! (I know I have seen glimpses of your fab paneled refrigerator.) But this thread prompted me to go back and see what all the shouting is about. And now I see! Let me join the shouting chorus!!! Your kitchen is truly a total knockout. And, I agree that your marble backsplash really sets if off. Please accept my belated congrats and big admiration!

I'm also happy to hear that you don't have a cleaning problem with your slab. Can I assume it's sealed? With what? I suppose you are also saying that having a slab splash makes cleaning easier than a tile splash. But, slab or tile aside, do you not have any concerns about etching -- especially when cooking something acidic,like tomato sauce? As you can tell, I'm leaning heavily towards white marble for my backsplash. I guess I just keep obsessing about the staining, etching questions because so many "professionals" keep warning me against it for use behind the range.

We used 18x18" marble tile. Its fits between counter and upper cabs so that we don't have any horizontal grout lines in that area, only the vertical ones. Our tile guy used tight grout lines.

Oh, I love this site, but I have a hard time finding things sometimes. How do I locate pics of rmkitchen's backsplash? I looked in the FKB but there appears to be no sort for B/S. There must be another way! Please help me. Thanks!!

Thanks for all the feedback so far! It's so funny, my MIL just got the Consumer Reports kitchen issue yesterday and of course, butcherblock and marble are ranked as the bottom two choices for countertops!! I'm not letting them talk me out of either, but it's so reassuring to hear from all of you who are using these materials IN REAL LIFE and still loving them.

Brooke and alku05--you've made me feel great about using the marble as backsplash. Both of your kitchens are fantastic! I love that you specifically pointed out how easy both the slab and the mosaic are to clean. Brooke, I feel the same way about grout--every morning I glare and growl at the grout in my shower!

jaedwards--cannot wait to see your slabs!!

mayland--what a beautiful kitchen! I hadn't even thought of large marble tiles, that's a great idea.

Brooke (again)--as for the butcherblock, I actually was interested in hearing how it's doing use-wise. I'm thinking of going with the marine grade finish for a few reasons. First, our island is going to be huge and likely going to be used for things other than prep. For example, while we haven't hit the homework years yet, I can see the island being used for that in the future. My thought is that the marine grade will hold up to that the best? Also, my sink is going to be in the island as well and it seems like the marine grade would, again, hold up better for this. I realize that means no chopping directly on it, but I can live with that. I would really love to hear your thoughts on the two different finishes and any other considerations I'm missing!

Thanks so much for all the help--as many have said before, this forum is amazing!

janefan... I don't know if this will help you or not but here it goes. I have an old standard maple butcher block style kitchen table. The same one with the white legs that everyone and their uncle have. Twice, over the years, I sanded it down and put several coats of poly on it, sanding in between each coat. Not special grade, just good ol' stuff you buy at HD. This thing has been climbed on, eaten on, homeworked on, prepped on, hot things placed right on it, sticky papers stuck to it, used by teenage boys who constantly had friends over including but not limited to "secret" parties they had when they thought I didn't know. I've gotten nail polish on it, scrubbed it with abrasives, there's not a thing you can think of that hasn't been done to that poor old table. Yet, there it sits, looking shiney and clean. Yea... if you get close and stare down at the top you can see surface scratches and some little pit marks but not at a glance. I kinda liken it to my face... I don't see the wrinkles creeping up on a daily basis and when I do; I smile; cause they're mine, I've earned them, and I don't worry about it! (much)

And just a note on the marble thing... I've been vacillating about countertop material. I've got a loooonnng time to obsess since my plans aren't even submitted to the town yet. I don't think of myself as having classic style and I'm not traditional. Yet... I love the look of marble but didn't think I'd be a "patina" girl. Then... I found and took out this old marble cutting board I forgot we had. Carrerra I think. I'm compelled to touch it whenever I walk by. There is something so soothing about it (does an emotional response to an inanimate object make me hopelessly TKO?). I haven't even put it away where I keep my cutting boards. So I know this... at some point in this process there will be a 4' section of baking counter in some kind of honed marble that might get marred in whatever way marble will react to alot of cooking/baking; but I will love using and touching it.
I love wood topped islands and am sure that either finish will bring you years of happy usage; especially as you share the years watching your little ones grow. Grothouse lumber has some of the most beautiful wood tops I've ever seen. I love too many different types of countertop materials and may have to settle for getting a killer cutting board from them or else my future kitchen will be sporting wavy granite, marble, wood, and a glass/slate combo backsplash!

marthavila -- my friend! First, I have to say I LOVED seeing your beautiful pictures from the NYC get-together. Looks like you all had such a good time.

And thank you for all the nice things you said about my kitchen. WOW!

Boy did I totally mess up with my previous post: I absolutely forgot to mention that YES, it (all the marble) is honed and sealed. I only sealed the backsplash once (with the ubiquitous Miracle 511) at install -- I am way too lazy to do it again ... although I probably should. Oh well! (I've done the countertops twice but honestly, I did not notice a difference between the first and second [meaning, I didn't do the second because I saw etching / staining]. I only did the second after I dropped a rusty brillo pad on the countertop and boy did it suck up the rust! But we got some Iron Out and honestly, it was like magic how quickly and thoroughly it removed the rust. Truly phenomenal!)

Etching: I have not a single concern about etching because the finish is honed, and the few spots which are already etched (surprise surprise -- it's been me who goofed, not my husband [who was in fear of being the first]) we have to look really, really hard for, with the right light and the right angle.

I never, ever naturally stand with my head crooked in that position, so no worries for me!

But seriously, given how messy a cook my husband is (he does 99% of the cooking) and how delinquent a cleaner I am (talk about a marriage made in heaven), if anything ugly were going to happen with the cooktop's backsplash, we'd already have seen it. And all we see is the gorgeous slab!

I did even go just now to the kitchen to carefully examine that section of backsplash and again, crooking my neck this way and that with sundry lights on / off, I couldn't see anything suspicious.

We're finding the marble (countertop and backsplash) to require much less maintenance than we'd thought and, most likely, require less maintenance than any other countertop material we considered (e.g., soapstone).

We like that it has enough movement to hide a multitude of sins (like crumbs) but not so much as to make us feel wobbly.

We like that it feels good to the touch.

We like, with the backsplash, how easy it is to wipe a big, flat surface with no grout lines or (raised) relief in the tile. I am not kidding: in that other kitchen I really thought I was going to kill everyone around me (and this was not just when I was PMSy!) when I tackled the cooktop's backsplash. It was white tile, some with a raised design, and white grout. Even just getting grease splatters off was an exercise in frustration (for me). And trying to keep the grout clean? I think my blood pressure just went up thinking about it.

It's funny how some things end up paying dividends in ways you never (could have) imagined, and for us, the ease of this slab backsplash is precisely that.

janefan -- the butcherblock (ours is maple) is pretty terrific, I think. But I use it to cut on and it does already have some staining, like from where I cut strawberries. It doesn't bother me -- actually, I kinda like the spots; I'm not sure why, but I do. I think it bothers my husband some, though. They are subtle -- none of the spots are bright or dark. Oh wait, the maple does have some black lines on it where metal was dragged across it (like a cookie sheet), but those do rub out. Of course, a consequence of rubbing that hard is that it makes (that portion) of the countertop a little lighter in color. Again, I think you have to look for it (which I occasionally do).

Ours is a small island (I'll have to measure it but I want to say it's something like 5' or 6' x 28") and the part closest to the eating area of the kitchen is, naturally, a catch-all for crap. The half "inside" the kitchen is kept free and is a workhorse. If we had a sink or plans to use the island for anything other than chopping / prep we might've chosen a different finish. But all along, this is what we wanted. Every month or so I coat it with "butter" (a concoction I learnt about here on GW -- again, I'll need to go downstairs to remember its real name) but I should probably do it more often given how dry our air here (Colorado) is. Oh well!

I think the round stain is iced tea -- better check it out! And the pink in the photo is NOT in real life. Another example of my poor photographic skills.

Thanks Brooke and remodelfla for all the detailed feedback on both the marble and the wood. Every time I tell someone those are the countertop materials I'm getting, I have to add caveats...like, I know marble etches and you have to want the patina, wood warps and dings and blah, blah, blah... You have no idea how reassuring you've been!

Brooke--at least no brillo pad worries for me. They're not allowed in my house due to a traumatic childhood incident when my DH stuck his hand into some steel wool after being warned not to...he can't even look at anything like it without flashbacks! And I couldn't see the ring in your photo, just that beautiful wood.

I'm so addicted to GW...I don't know if I can wait a week for pix from jaedwards!

Thanks again, everyone!