9 Kitchen Marble Ideas - For When You Really Love Marble
GOING BEYOND KITCHEN COUNTERTOPS
So you’ve decided to go all in with marble. You’ve found a few slabs that you love, and you’re brushing off all the naysayers around you. Excellent. Now, you’re just trying to figure out how you can wallpaper your entire life with this marble. Maybe you’d even consider sleeping on a marble bed just so that you can be near it’s cool perfection 24/7. Well, I’m certainly not going to judge.
In fact, if you’re looking for more beautiful ways to incorporate marble into your kitchen design (that go beyond just using it as a countertop), then you’ve come to the right place. Today, I’m sharing 9 Kitchen Marble Ideas to help you create your very own marble haven.
As you’re contemplating these ideas, keep in mind that marble can feel cold if you don’t balance it out with a lot of warm textures. If I’m working on a large kitchen design, I always try to bring in wood countertops/chopping blocks, wood floors, warm metal finishes, etc., to offset the use of lots of stone. I think this is particularly important when working with double islands or even extra large islands. Try to break up the materials a bit. Vary the heights. Using the same marble (or any stone, really) on a lot of surfaces will make the kitchen feel hard and cold.
On the flip side, nothing stops me in my tracks quite like a stunning slab of marble. When used with a thoughtful design approach, the impact of a well-selected marble slab can be breathtaking. With that in mind, it’s easy to see the appeal of using that beautiful marble for more than just countertops.
Kitchen Marble Ideas for the Obsessed
1. MARBLE BACKSPLASH DETAILS
Using a marble slab as your backsplash is undoubtedly a timeless look. It also makes a lot of your other choices simpler when you’re not having to worry about mixing in another pattern or color (from a backsplash tile). While keeping your marble backsplash simple is desirable in most places in the kitchen, the range wall is often the exception. So consider turning it up a notch and create something genuinely drool-worthy with just a little more attention to detail. I love how the following designers used marble slabs to create stunning focal points behind the range.
Source: Atlanta Homes & Lifestyles
Source: The Daily Want (Christopher Peacock Cabinetry)
This mesmerizing image has captured a lot of hearts on Pinterest and Instagram. The designer paired the cabinetry paneling with exquisitely detailed marble. I get the impression that the marble is presented as if it were artwork, thoughtfully framed out for our viewing pleasure.
Source: Woodale Designs
2. MARBLE SINK
While marble may not be the most forgiving of surfaces, a marble sink does evoke the feeling of a bygone era. Just keep in mind that a lot of things will cause etch marks inside the sink. Vinegar, lemon, tomato, wine, etc. Being able to instantly rinse food down will prevent a lot of problems, but still, you’re going to get a lot of etching inside of a kitchen sink over time. If you choose to proceed, then you need to embrace the inevitable etching as part of the charm. I bet if most people saw a marble sink in an old English manor home, they’d ooh and ahh over its lovely patina. So keep in mind that you’ll be playing the long game.
I also recommend that you read my article on Using Marble Countertops in the Kitchen and find out why it’s really all about etching.
Source: Artichoke ltd.
I love to have grooves cut into a work surface around a sink. It prevents all of those pesky puddles that require constant mopping up.
Source: Old House Online
Source: St. Charles of New York
3. MARBLE RANGE HOOD
Marble range hoods are having a moment, I believe. Everyone is ditching their wall cabinets to create a more open, and less fitted look. In keeping with that, having a range hood that uses the same slab marble as your backsplash makes the hood virtually disappear.
This concept works best for transitional and modern kitchens. It looks lovely when mixed with a lot of wood tones (such as wood-stained cabinetry) and warm metal finishes to contrast with the coolness of the marble.
Source: Atmosphere Interior Design
For a more traditional approach, consider creating a marble mantle, similar in style to a fireplace mantle. It looks stunning when combined with wood-stained cabinetry and paneling as in the image below.
Source: Peter Block Caseworks via Decorpad
4. MARBLE INSET ON WOOD COUNTERTOP
This pretty little detail was offered up by DeVol Kitchens as a way to alleviate customer’s concerns about using wood tops around water. While I have never had any issues with using wood worktops (moisture tolerant species, of course) around water, I think it’s a lovely detail nonetheless. If using a combination of marble and wood worktops in your kitchen, this would be a smart way to tie them together visually.
Source: DeVol Kitchens (via Instagram)
5. MARBLE APRON FOR TOWEL BAR
Although you have to sacrifice one top drawer’s worth of storage, I adore this idea. Often, there simply isn’t a pretty and practical location to hang the most used item in your kitchen - the hand towel. The designer, in the kitchen below, thoughtfully centered this marble apron beneath a window, which creates a pretty vignette while also maintaining symmetry.
Source: Murphy & Co. via Decorpad
6. MARBLE WATERFALL COUNTERTOP
A marble waterfall counter refers to the technique of having the marble cascade down the sides of the cabinetry. Typically this is done with a straightforward, mitered edge detail on the marble, so that all edges and surfaces are crisp and squared off. You don’t need particularly thick slabs of marble to create this look. By mitering the material, a finished edge is crafted, which can be quite a bit thicker than the slab.
While waterfall countertops were once seen as a contemporary feature, we’re now seeing them in more traditional environments as well. Be sure to mix in a lot of natural elements, like wood floors, chopping blocks, wood range hoods, etc., or all of that marble will make your kitchen feel cold.
Source: Maddux Creative (via Instagram)
In this more traditional kitchen, the designer added a beautiful paneled effect to the waterfall counter. It still shows off the dramatic veining in the material, but it softens the look just a bit.
Source: Southern Hospitality (Design by Matthew Quinn)
7. MARBLE BACKSPLASH AROUND WINDOW
With wall cabinetry being omitted (or at least minimized) from many designs these days, it leaves a lot of openness around the kitchen window. I love how the designer used a marble slab as a backsplash and created a softly arched feature to highlight the placement of the sconces on either side of the sink.
Source: Cantley & Company
8. MARBLE BRACKETS ON EDGE OF COUNTERTOP
Marble brackets that attach to the edge of the countertops to create a sidewall are a nice feature that can contain the mess in a busy work area. No more eggs rolling off the counter! While it would be nice, from a practical standpoint, to have this on every open end of your countertops, it would be visually “busy” for most kitchen layouts. However, if your kitchen has one or two runs of cabinetry that don’t terminate into a wall, then this could bring some added character and function to your kitchen. In the image below, Martha had this feature created for a counter that was right next to a busy exterior door.
Source: Martha Stewart
This marble detail blends the idea of a waterfall and the bracket detail into one thoughtful feature.
Source: de Giulio Kitchen Design via Decorpad
9. MARBLE APPLIED TO THE WHOLE WALL
If you’ve read through all of these ideas and you still don’t feel like that’s enough marble in your life…then follow the lead of these two designers who demonstrate that you really can “wallpaper” your whole wall with marble.
Source: Elizabeth Krueger Design
Source: Alice Lane
I hope you enjoyed these ideas. If you’re gathering inspiration for a future kitchen project, make sure you don’t make the common mistake of waiting too late to hire a kitchen designer! I offer complimentary initial phone consultations, as well as paid “ask me anything” appointments. Just visit the schedule section of my contact page to schedule an appointment or send me an email. Also, don’t forget to subscribe below, so you can receive my latest posts, as well as have access to my Luxury Resource Library…a very useful list of curated resources!
