Marble countertops in Chicago and the suburbs
Custom marble countertops: what we fabricate
The marbles on this page are the ones that come through the shop most: Calacatta Viola and Calacatta Verde Blue for the bold, dramatic kitchen; Calacatta Monet on a fireplace; Arabescato Corchia and White Carrara for baths and powder rooms where the veining should stay quiet; Panda White paired with black granite. Every slab is different, which is why we select with you at the warehouse rather than from a sample.
Where marble belongs
Marble is at its best where it will be seen and not abused: a bath vanity, a powder room, a fireplace surround, a full-height backsplash behind a range, an island that is the centerpiece of a kitchen. It can absolutely live in a working kitchen — several of the projects above do — but it will patina. Acids etch a polished surface, and it is more porous than quartzite or granite. If you want a counter that looks untouched in ten years, quartzite gives you the marble look with far harder wearing.
Finish and edge
For kitchens we usually recommend a honed finish — matte, forgiving, and truer to how marble ages. Polished shows the veining at full strength and is beautiful on a fireplace or a bath. Edges are kept simple so the stone does the talking: a square edge at 2cm or 3cm, or a mitered edge that makes a thin slab read as a thick block on an island or a floating shelf. Book-matching, where two slabs mirror across a seam, is where marble earns its reputation.
Care, honestly
Seal it at install and reseal periodically; wipe spills — especially lemon, wine, and tomato — rather than leaving them. Etching will still happen over time on a polished surface. Most people who choose marble want that softening; if you don't, tell us and we'll steer you to a stone that won't.
Calacatta, Carrara, and the rest
Carrara has a soft grey ground with fine, feathery grey veining; it reads quiet across a room. Calacatta is whiter, with bolder and thicker veining, and the name now covers a whole family: Calacatta Viola with purple veins, Calacatta Verde Blue with green and blue, Calacatta Caldia, Calacatta Monet. Arabescato sits between them, with grey veining that swirls rather than runs. Beyond the whites: Emperador Light in warm browns, Rosa Aurora in soft pink, Panda White in black and white. Weighing marble against quartzite? Read Marble or quartzite? and Living with marble.
Marble we have installed
Calacatta Viola in Lincoln Park, Calacatta Viola in an Evanston powder room, Calacatta Verde Blue on the Gold Coast, honed Calacatta Caldia in Glen Ellyn, Calacatta in Frankfort, Calacatta Monet on a Hinsdale fireplace, Arabescato Corchia in a Wilmette bath, White Carrara in a Lakeview powder room, Emperador Light in a Chicago bath, Rosa Aurora in a Northbrook bath, and Panda White in Mokena and Frankfort.
Where the work is
The marble kitchens, baths, and fireplaces above are in Lincoln Park, the Gold Coast, and Lakeview in Chicago, Evanston, Wilmette, Northbrook, Glen Ellyn, Hinsdale, Frankfort, and Mokena.
