I am doing a honed marble peninsula that will be my kitchen table. It will be calacatta caldia, which is white with a touch of gold and green. Some people don't like a cold surface for their kitchen table, but I don't mind it.

I doubt my little cafe table is exactly what you're looking for, but when you asked for photos of honed marble tables, something "nice and vintagey", I couldn't resist!

I call this area of my small galley kitchen, "The Bistro":-) The table top is honed, Imperial Danby marble; the cast iron base came from an architectural salvage vendor.

marble's material performance characteristics are quite marginal for a high use area. COmpared to alternate natural stones marble is only slightly harder than jello and only slightly less adsorbent than a sponge. hence, you can expect scratches and stains in short order.

I once installed a beautiful marble island and it was scratched before I had even gotten all my tools out of the house.

My marble cafe table has been in place, getting daily use for 3 years now. In all that time, I've had nary a problem with scratches and no stains. Not one. Yes, it's been etched in several places. But, IMO, that's how a real honed marble cafe/dining table that is in constant use is supposed to look anyway. But I agree, Oldryder, if you can't stand the etch, get your marble out of the kitchen.

I have a bistro too, here is mine! The table was a Craigslist find. It is a reproduction base with travertine top that is pretty matt in finish. I have marble counters and the warm tones go with them. I was planning on marble but this one found me. So my lesson learned: also keep an open mind, you never know what you might find!

The shorter end of our island is a table. It is 5x5 honed marble. I love it! No stains or etches no the table part so far (it's 4 months old). I do have 2 small etches on the island part, but I'm ok with them!

Babushka cat- I love your bistro cat! (I have one too, but she's not as much a "top model" as yours). :-)

Deb52899 - I smiled when I saw your place mats on your lovely marble table. I use them too. A friend once questioned me as to why I set them out before serving the meal. She seemed to feel it was inappropriate to place such a plain jane barrier between her plate and glass and the handsome marble top. I told her to just put a lid on it and eat! lol Again, no stains or scratches after several years of use tells the rest of the story.

Thanks Martha :) I actually have pumpkins and owls on there now. Found them at Bed Bath & Beyond the other day. I try to get all the holiday ones on clearance at Kohls so I can swap them out. Have St. Patricks day, Easter, 4th of July and now fall. Sometimes I leave them off too. Depends on who is eating :)

I will stop now. Don't mean to hijack. But the owls and pumpkins, I thought, were too cute. Thanks!

Deb.. The seasonal decor is so charming!

Marthavila - I love your bistro table.. I searched and I may have found a source for a cast iron or wrought iron trestle base that I can use for a slab of marble. I got to thinking about realistic messiness.. DH has severe doubts about marble.. He is the neat nick of the family and drove me nuts wiping down the counters when we were renting a place for a few months that had black galaxy granite.. I have get some samples and play with it.

thanks Marthavila -babushka cat is the star of the house. his sister and i just live here...

I don't have one, but I wanted one. A different table came along that fit the bill better so we went with that.

But, I wanted to share with you the restaurant that made me want to do it. I just loved the feeling of this place.

Take a look, and click around there are more photos to enjoy.

Here is a link that might be useful: Pizza by Elizabeths

When I was shopping around for marble-topped tables, I came across this great place online. You might want to check them out . . even if just for ideas.

Here is a link that might be useful: The Butler and The Chef

Some of those tables are so pretty! They even have a marble toped table that may work for us. These guys are not that far from me.. I think I will check them out! Thanks marthavila!

i also live in the SF bay area and checked them out when i was shopping for my bistro table. they are very pricey (small bistro table > $1000) and i found with some searching i could find one craigslist for significantly less. as an example my table was $175. the tables at this place are also beat up and stained. you have expressed concerns about that in a subsequent post so not sure if that is what you want? if you were to get a new reproduction yuo could put stain preventor on it and keep it stainfree. just something to consider....

That is good to know babushka. I will scour Craigslist. I also found this place called cafe society that sells cast iron bistro table bases. I am going to check them out as well. As a side note, I love your marble counter with it's unusual colors. May I ask where you got it in bay area? Are there any stone places you would recommend in bay area that have a wider selection of marble?

yes, i recall cafe society as well and almost went that route myself but found my table on craigslist first. i am guessing my base may be from there, it is new but made to look old.

i bought my marble at peitra fina, ask for Michele Bernardini, he is the owner and very helpful. he took the time to lay out my entire slab based on my dimensions. they only sell by the slab though, they do not sell small pieces. they are in hayward. they are not cheap but have an excellent selection of marble. mine is CALACATTA CREMO DELICATO with the unusual caramel swirl colors. he sold out of the marble i bought but he was getting more, they may have some in stock. was not cheap, think the slab was in the range of $2500. i love the color, it made my kitchen!