Well, that's interesting. Bill. The Good Lord knows I wouldn't dare to question your knowledge, or that of your father when it comes to stone! But I'm wondering if the "durability" that's needed in floor and stair tiles is the same kind of "durability" that's needed in kitchen countertop surfaces. From what I understand about Danby, it's considered to be especially "durable" in kitchen settings because it's a very dense marble. So, when honed and sealed , Danby is significantly less susceptible to staining than some other marbles. (Even with sealing, however, it will still etch.)

Now, I'll admit that, because I have an Imperial Gold Danby Marble top for a "bistro table" in my kitchen, I'd like to believe that I've made the best marble choice. :-) But so far, in approximately 2+ mos of everyday use as a surface for setting down food and drinks and dining, I have yet to experience any staining or chipping; if there has been any etching, I've yet to notice it. OTOH, I note that the Europeans have been using white marble for bistro tables for years. And, typically, the marble that is chosen for that purpose is Carrara.

Kippie, I don't think that any marble will ever be the most "durable" natural stone in the kitchen, especially when you compare it to granite, for example. Yet, if like many of us here, your heart is set on marble, I'm thinking you will probably make a good choice by going with either Danby or Carrara.

Thank you both. Do you get tomato and lemon juice on your table? We inevitably have it on our current laminates. What kind of seal was used?

Bill, that is good to know. I had read like, marthavila, that Danby was more durable in the kitchen. But Carrara is much less expensive, even beating out many granites in price. Both are beautiful.

I LOVE them too... But, I have to tell you, after all of my research, and lurking on this site about every aspect of marble, I finally did my own testing... and it did not turn out very well. I went to my fabricator, got a few pieces of marble (carrerra and callacutta (sp?)and one piece of granite. I had the marble honed and sealed and then did some testing. I put a few dashes of lemon juice, some red wine and some hot sauce on them. After just a short 1/2 hour I wiped it all off and checked the damage... it was pretty bad. The lemon juice and hot sauce left a terrible etch, and the wine totally stained it. I then left some wine on it over night, and it was much worse. I tried everything to get it off... even soft scrub and fine sand paper! My husband and I decided that even though we loved the look in all the magazines, that it would end up ruining our kitchen if we were able to see such a mess on the countertops all the time. With 3 little kids and lots of company, I really feel much better getting granite. I took pictures of this too, in order to save some GW friends the trouble of doing the same thing, but can not figure out how to upload them! I will try again now. Good luck!

So,kippee, still thinking of marble? And Jess13 if you and your DH love the look of marble, but have decided against it, do you have a 2nd choice in mind?
I think I am at the same place too, and maybe considering a light ceasarstone as I do not really think I want the more busy looking or the colors of the lighter granite. By the way, my DH said when he saw a light ceasarstone that he didn't like it, but then said he didn't mind if I got a maroun countertop, he would like it if I liked it. No help with choices there!! On the flip side, guess I can choose whatever I want!

First off, Kippee, you need to know that I'm a single, empty nester. As such, I have tremendous amount of control over what happens in my kitchen and I don't have to worry about rambunctious small children, oblivious and careless teens, or clueless DHs messing up my pet remodel projects! :-) At the same time, I was very clear when I chose a super gorgeous natural stone for my kitchen tabletop, I would also have to give it the kind of special attention that a diva always demands (otherwise, there would be trouble)! Therefore, when I'm eating or drinking or setting down food and beverages at my marble table, always use plastic-coated place mats. (This protective measure goes for visiting family and friends as well.) And if I see spills, I wipe them up immediately. Of course, I'm able to keep up with this kind of really attentive maintenance because I'm only dealing with an "accent piece" of white marble that is the size of cafe tabletop. In contrast, my countertops are made of soapstone. For those, I can spill anything on them, from lemon juice to red wine, sit and there are no consequences at all. With this combo, I feel like I have the best of both worlds.

Unfortunately, I didn't pay attention to what sealant the fabricator used and I never asked him. However, my backsplash is a white mosaic marble (probably in the Calacatta family, but I'm not sure). For that, the contractor used Tile Guard's "Sealer Pro" for natural stone. Also, I think Bill V. usually recommends a'Miracle 511 Impregnator." But, hopefully, he'll come back here to speak on this himself. As for cleaning stains off Danby, here's a link to a homemade "recipe" for a cleaning poultice: http://www.vermontquarries.com/downloads/treatment_interiors.pdf

Finally, if you want to check out a really long discussion about the use of white marbles in kitchens, I've attached a link from Apartment Therapy below. BTW, this discussion lasted over 3 years! So, for a wide variety of opinions on a whole bunch of concerns about white marbles in kitchens, there's a lot there all in one place.

HTH

Here is a link that might be useful: On White Marble Kitchen Countertops

We have off white inset cabinets with a dark mocha island (wrapped in brown paper now sitting in the gutted kitchen-awaiting installation) that I thought the marble would look nice with (going for a Christopher Peacock look)... So we eneded up with a granite called Soverign Copper... I was not to thrilled with the how busy most are, but this one I really liked.

Do you get tomato and lemon juice on your table? We inevitably have it on our current laminates. What kind of seal was used?

I don't care what marble or sealer you use. Either one of those will etch the hell out of marble.

or clueless DHs messing up my pet remodel projects!

Hey now! :-)

For that, the contractor used Tile Guard's "Sealer Pro" for natural stone. Also, I think Bill V. usually recommends a'Miracle 511 Impregnator." But, hopefully, he'll come back here to speak on this himself.

FWIW, Tile Lab from Home Depot and Tile Guard from Lowes are crap. They're not worth the time used up in manufacturing them, atleast as far as I'm concerned. You're right-- Miracle's 511 Impregnator or Stone Tech's Impregnator Pro-- either one would be a top notch product to use for this purpose. But again, neither of these, nor any other penetrating sealer, will stop any marble from etching as a result of food acids being dropped on them.

As for cleaning stains off Danby, here's a link to a homemade "recipe" for a cleaning poultice: http://www.vermontquarries.com/downloads/treatment_interiors.pdf

A very common fallacy is the "one size fits all" poultice. It all depends on what made the stain as to what you should use for a poultice to remove the stain, and truthfully, this goes a little beyond my area of expertise. If you have a stain that needs pulling out, the person to talk to would be Stone Girl. I swear, that woman could pull India Ink out of a tatoo!!

I'm perusing kitchen threads to see if I can be of help or possibly learn something new and thought I'd share that I just 5 minutes ago spilled coffee while I was pouring it. Put down the pot, got paper towels, picked up mug, wiped up fairly large puddle. Was SHOCKED that it had't etched it!

My Danby Marble island top has instantly etched from a tiny drip of red wine that touched the marble! My husband poured a glass of wine, I gasped and saw the drip on the bottle as it started to slide down the bottle, grabbed my dishrag and wiped it within a milisecond of it hitting the marble and it had already etched a 1/2 circle of the bottom of the bottle! Then I gave up bc I can't have that kind of tension in our lives.

I really "use" my island as a cooking surface and although I use cutting boards and clean as I go, many things have gotten on it that could have stained it and they haven't. I have many etching marks, but zero stains.

Thought that may interest some making a decision. (oh, and there is a new thread about someone with AB Granite who seems to have experienced etching. It's titled something like, How to clean water marks from AB granite. Anyone with marble knows that "water marks" is code for its really etching.

Anyone with marble knows that "water marks" is code for its really etching.

Not with AB granite, it's not. That stuff is practically indestructable. Tough as nails to keep clean, but nothing really hurts it.

Hey Smarge- I've been trying to page you about your backsplash. Are you there?
I would love to hear more about it.

yes, chinchette - I finally noticed the backsplash thread and replied. Hope it's helpful!

Thanks so much for all your help. I think I'm going to test out my marble pastry board for staining. I simply love the look of marble and have not found any granite -white background- that makes me smile.