How Marble and Granite Properties Specifies The Usage

Granite is an ingenious rock that is mainly made from quartz and feldspar. This makes it sturdy and highly resistant. In contrast, marble is composed of calcite, which makes it softer and less resistant to abrasions compared to granite. 

Both stones are readily used in architecture and interior design. Most designers choose these stones based on their colors and properties. Let’s take a look at how marble and granite properties specify their usage:

 

Granite

As far as granite is concerned, a combination of both color and material properties define the usage and application. Let’s take a look at the different types of granite in this regard:

 

Black Granite

As a granite composite (which means that it’s not authentic granite stone), this color is mostly used in commercial spaces. It’s made from gabbaro rock, which contains an ample amount of magnesium. This makes black granite extremely hardwearing and perfect for high-traffic areas. Since the dark color is resistant to staining, you can also use it as kitchen countertops. Black granite requires less frequent resealing, so that’s an added bonus in a kitchen setting. 

Pink & Red Granite

Due to large quantities of potassium feldspar in both pink and red granite, they’re extremely durable and hard. This quality makes it perfect for designing statement walls, tabletops, and countertops. All of these applications are aesthetic-oriented, but they also require a large amount of durability to retain their long-term beauty. This is why this type of granite is perfect for the job.

Blue Granite

Blue granite is also a composite. It contains minerals like larvikite and labradorite (from the feldspar family) which makes it very hard. It’s rare and highly appealing. This type of granite is used for decorative purposes, such as accent tabletops, statement wall décor, niche cladding, and the like.

White & Beige Granite

 Here’s a thumb rule: the lighter the granite, the more porous it is. This means that lighter colors of this stone require regular resealing and maintenance. They’re largely used as kitchen countertops because people don’t really know this about this set-back. This can be quite inefficient in the long run. Instead, you can use white granite and its variants as wall-cladding materials and tabletops – just things that require minimal maintenance.

Marble

Evergreen and timeless, marble has been used in building and architecture since the dawn of time. From ancient green monuments to historical wonders like the Taj Mahal, you can track it down through history. 

The different colors and properties of marble stone are acquired by a process called metamorphism, which is basically the impurities, heat, pressure, and time each stone passes through individually. This results in varying colors and qualities. Here’s a basic crash-course is what sets them apart and how you can use them:

Red Marble

Red marble obtains its coloring from iron oxide and is highly statement-worthy. It’s known for its consistency and is extremely eye-catching. It can be used to design large statement walls, accent floor patterns, kitchen countertops, and bathroom vanities. It is also commonly used in outdoor and semi-outdoor areas such as patios, decks, and landscaped pathways.

Green Marble

Green marble is imbued with serpentine. Often, retailers tend to sell green marble composites as granite, but this color does not naturally occur in that particular stone. It’s very stylish and trendy, so it’s used in bedrooms, bathrooms, offices, and even retail outlets. It looks best when incorporated in accent walls and furniture.

 White Marble

White marble consists of both the most common and the rarest categories on this list. It’s made from a combination of quartz and calcium carbonate. Carrara marble with like dense white backdrop and intricate grey veins is the most common type of marble. It is often used as inexpensive floor cladding. It’s cheap and requires regular resealing, so it’s not a very efficient solution.

Calcatta marble is also white, but it’s very lush and has dense grey veining. It’s luxurious, expensive, and can be used in a number of ways. It can be applied as a vanity top, kitchen countertop, accent wall cladding material, staircase treat-and-riser material, etc.

Brown Marble

This usually refers to expensive Emperador Spanish marble. Its brown coloring and rich gold veining make it perfect as an accent material. It can be used as part of complicated floor patterns, wall claddings, tabletops, luxurious kitchen countertops, and more.

Black Marble

This is another Spanish marble known as the Nero Marquina. It contains a lot of bituminous material, which results in dark coloring. Its black surface with gorgeous white veins makes it an instant accent stone. It can be used to design media walls, clad staircases, create statement floor patterns, and much more!

(Note that marble is a siliceous stone, which means that it’s sensitive to acids, cleaning products, and food with natural or artificial acid content like vinegar, lemons, tomatoes, etc. It requires regular maintenance compared to granite.)