There are a LOT of decisions that I went back and forth on a zillion times when planning the design of our master bathroom. One of the biggest was whether or not to use marble tile in our bathroom or go with something easier to care for like ceramic or porcelain tile. I absolutely LOVE the beauty of marble but was a little scared off by the extra maintenance and the possibility of staining. In the end I went for it and wanted to share my experience, tips, and overall thoughts of whether I’d ever use marble in a bathroom again. (post includes affiliate links; full disclosure statement available {here})
Where We Have Marble Tile In Our Bathroom
We have marble in three different areas of our bathroom. Area #1 is the Walker Zanger mosaic tile on the wall behind our tub that’s a mix of porcelain and marble tile:
Sources: Rattan pendant (also available {here}) | Bathtub | Tub filler | Stool
Choosing marble tile for this accent wall was a no-brainer – it’s in a spot where the worst of what could get on it is a splash or two of water and it sets the tone for the entire space.
Area #2 is in our shower – EVERYTHING is marble tile from the shower floor to the walls to the accent in the niche and even the curb area (I used {this 3″ x 12″ Bianco Bello tile} for the shower walls & {this Bianco Bello 2″ hexagon tile} for the floor and niche):
Shower sources: Pump bottles (16 oz white/gold) | Body brush | Sea sponge | Stool | Shelf sources: Floating shelves | White woven basket (medium) | Kumquat tree – no longer available | Gray & white striped planter | Colorful moth art print | White wood frame | Pair of decorative stacked boxes – no longer available | Glass canister (1 gallon size) | Bath bombs | Belly basket with tassel | Favorite bath towels | Large lidded basket for hamper
And area #3 is our vanity countertop – our vanity (which we bought {here}) came complete with the vanity base, sinks, and the marble countertop. While the prices of store-bought vanities like this one seems high, when you compare it to the cost of buying cabinetry & sinks plus the cost of having to fabricate countertops, buying it all in one is typically a cost savings.
Sources: Wood & rattan double vanity | Vanity knobs | Bathroom faucets – brushed nickel | Vanity lights | Vanity mirrors – gold | Woven seagrass tray on vanity | Cross base planter | Marble stacking dishes | Soap & lotion sink set with tray | Toothbrush holder | Bamboo toothbrushes | Gray & white striped towels | Robe hooks – golden champagne
How We Sealed Our Bathroom Marble
To protect our marble, we sealed every bit of it (AND the grout) in our bathroom with {this impregnator sealer}. Impregnator sealers differs from topical sealers because they penetrate below the surface of the marble to protect it but are breathable and don’t trap the interior moisture which is key with marble. My tile installers sealed my shower and tub wall tile after they finished it and I sealed our marble vanity countertop:
It’s really simple to do – you apply it evenly with a paint brush or clean white towel, let it sit for 3-5 minutes, and then remove any excess with another clean white towel before it dries.
My marble countertop really soaked up the sealer so I did a second application too. Then allow 1-3 days for it to sit undisturbed and totally cure. It will initially darken the appearance of your marble but gradually it will lighten back up as it cures.
Should you always seal marble? My tile installers have recommended it for all of the marble tile they’ve installed in our home (we sealed the marble mosaic behind our kitchen range too) but there are horror stories out there of sealers reacting with cleaning chemicals or components within the surface of the stone so ask your own installers for their advice and ALWAYS test it on a sample spot before application. You can test it in the most non-obvious spot of the surface you want to seal or on leftover tile.
How We Clean Our Bathroom Marble Tile
Marble tile is definitely trickier than ceramic or porcelain tile to clean because typical cleaners CAN damage it. The things you DON’T want to use are vinegar or anything else acidic, bleach, or most other generic tub and tile cleaners and glass cleaners. What you DO want is a cleaner that is mild, non-abrasive and pH balanced. It can be as simple as a mild clear dish soap (like {this soap} that I’ve used) and warm water. You can also use a spray cleaner such as {this Granite Gold shower cleaner} that’s pH balanced and contains no phosphates or ammonia (plus it states that regular use will help prevent soap scum and hard water deposits):
But if you want to know what I think is the TRUE trick to cleaning marble, it’s to keep it from getting full of mold and mildew to begin with. We keep {this 10″ squeegee} on the little shelf of our shower bench:
and use it to squeegee not only our shower glass but also the walls and the floor after the last person showers for the day. Then I follow it up with a quick wipe-down of everything (including our shower hardware) with a microfiber cloth.
I know you’re probably thinking that sounds like too much work but it literally only takes about 3 minutes and means you NEVER have to do any time-intensive deep cleaning. Our master bathroom was finished a year ago and it still doesn’t have a spec of mold or mildew because our tile and grout aren’t kept wet, so those things can’t grow – truly, the squeegee is a marble shower’s best friend!
And one last cleaning tip – I HIGHLY recommend getting {this pack of 50 cleaning cloths} for not only cleaning your shower, but cleaning your whole house (whether you have marble or not)! Once you use them, you’ll see how much better they clean than paper towels and you’ll never go back. I keep them in {this woven basket} on the shelf in our shallow storage closet:
And I have {this white bin} next to it to collect all of the dirty cloths:
Once they’re all dirty, I throw them in the washer (don’t wash them with anything else and don’t use fabric softener) and dryer and they’re ready to be used all over again.
Would I Use Marble Tile in a Bathroom Again?
I have zero regrets about using marble in our master bathroom so overall my answer is yes, I would definitely use it again. But would I use it on every tile surface in every type of bathroom? Nope. Here are a few more details on where I would use it and where I wouldn’t…
Marble On a Bathroom Tile Floor
Personally, I would NOT use marble on the floor of a bathroom because I want to be able to use bleach and other disinfecting products on the tile around a toilet. If a toilet overflows or someone gets sick and doesn’t 100% hit the toilet, cleaning with mild soap wouldn’t cut it for me – I’d want to go after that tile with bleach! 😂 And not to be gross but having staining or etching from urine spots near the base of the toilet isn’t too appealing of a thought either. In our bathroom I went with a simple ceramic tile floor that coordinates well with our marble:
Marble In a Bathroom Shower
While I would absolutely use marble in a shower again, it’s not for everyone. There’s nothing that compares to the beauty of marble and I love it enough to take a few extra minutes to squeegee and wipe it down every day. But if that sounds like too much for you and you’re more of a wait-two-months-until-my-shower-is-moldy-and-gross-and-then-deep-clean-it kind of person, I’d reconsider marble in the shower. Once it gets really dirty it can be a challenge to get completely clean. I would never do marble in a kids shower for this reason.
Also, my tile guys (who have a lot of past experience installing marble tile) warned me that tile on the floor of a shower can get a mottled appearance due to some areas being more constantly exposed to water than others. They encourage homeowners to consider a different material on the shower floor if they’re not ok with that possibility. I fortunately haven’t had any issues but I’ve definitely filed that bit of advice away for future renos.
Marble On a Bathroom Vanity Top
Our vanity came with a marble top and I’ve had other marble topped vanities in the past and haven’t regretted my purchases. While marble counters can etch and stain, it’s generally not as much of an issue in a bathroom as it can be with kitchen countertops. That being said, if I were designing a bathroom with custom cabinetry and a custom vanity top where I could choose any material, I would absolutely choose quartz over marble. We have {this Caesarstone quartz} in our kitchen and it looks so much like marble but is an absolute breeze to maintain:
Do you have to make the same decisions that I would? Absolutely not! For example, I know myself well enough to know that marble kitchen counters are not for me (the etching and fear of stains would drive me nuts), but I have several friends who LOVE theirs (and I LOVE seeing them in their homes too – they’re gorgeous!!). It’s all about knowing yourself and the ins and outs of your options to make decisions about what’s best for you.
I hope you guys found this helpful and have a great start to your week!