Nothing beats the good old serene marble designs when it comes to adding a touch of elegance and sheen to the home decor. Be it living rooms, kitchen countertops, or washroom floorings. Marble always has a timeless and marvelous appeal. Marble is indeed one of the most preferred natural stones used for home decor. However, things might get overwhelming when it comes to choosing either Indian or Italian marble!
If you are confused with the same, here is a detailed guide on types of Italian and Indian marbles that will help you choose the most suitable marble for your kitchen countertops and floorings. Let’s dive deep into it!
What is Indian Marble?
Originated from the most renowned Indian states, namely Rajasthan, Gujrat, Madhya Pradesh, and Andhra Pradesh, Indian marbles are among the top-notch quality marbles available in numerous color combinations and veins. Indian marbles have one of the highest demands in the global market.
PC: Shane Mclendon Source: Pixlr
Some of the wide varieties of Indian Marble are as follows:
Onyx marble – A combination of colorful white and pink varieties with thin veins.
Black marble – Consist of white veins within the complete black marble base. Perfect for adding that hint of luxury and opulence to your interiors!
Green Marble – Forest green marble is excellent if you want to add a soothing touch to your interiors. It is also great if you like a more natural vibe to your kitchen or rooms.
Brown marble – This collection of marbles is exclusively found here and nowhere else!
Makrana marble – Gorgeous white marble previously used for adorning ancient fortresses and palaces, such as the Taj mahal.
Fun Fact – Taj Mahal, one of the seven wonders of the world, was built using Indian (Makrana, Rajasthan) Marble.
What is Italian marble?
Italian marbles are mainly sourced from Northern Italy or the Carrara city and exported to different parts of the world. Starting from the Renaissance statues in the museums to the current modern homes. Italian marbles have a completely royal vibe!
Some of the well-known variants of the Italian marble are:
Carrara marble – Mostly found in white, light grey, or blue-grey color combinations.
Botticino – Usually has a golden base with white veins
Calacatta – White or beige base with multi-colored veins
Murphy marble – White base for a serene touch to the interiors
Purbeck marble – Grey and brown combination mostly used in countertops
In order to decide whether to go for Indian or Italian marble for your kitchen countertops and flooring, it is important to learn the differences between the two. So, here we go.
What are the primary differences between Indian marble and Italian marble?
While choosing the Indian or Italian marbles for your kitchen countertops or floorings, here are a few aspects you should consider:
1. Aesthetics
The aesthetic of your interior includes color combinations, luster, and many more. When we compare the color combinations available in Indian marbles and Italian marbles, Indian marbles indeed take the lead here. Indian marbles are widely available in a vast range of color variants such as white, pink, green, yellow, grey, and what not, whereas Italian marbles are just limited to the regular black, white, grey, and rose.
Indian marbles have medium luster, whereas Italian marbles have a high shine and gloss, which adds a luminescent sheen to your interiors.
2. Expenses
Italian marbles start from Rs 200 per square feet to Rs 4000 per square feet due to the fissures running through the stone, whereas the Indian marbles are starting at the minimum rates of Rs 150 per square feet.
The costs are calculated based on both the cutting and layering of the marble slabs in your kitchen layouts. However, depending on the craftsmanship and intricacy, the expenses might go higher.
However, if you are looking for a budget-friendly option, Indian marbles have the upper hand here.
3. Installation
While layering the marble slabs, the Italian marbles require a high amount of skilled workmen and accurate supervision since it is more on the fragile end. On the other hand, Indian marbles are more durable and less viable to cracks or breaks during the installation procedure.
During the installation of the Italian marble slabs, you should ensure that they are perfectly leveled to prevent the uneven texture of the marbles.
4. Maintenance
Italian marbles are mostly resin-saturated, which offers a higher degree of maintenance and hygiene in comparison to the other tile products. Italian marbles are completely water and frost-resistant, ensuring zero attacks of microorganisms or fungus on being in direct contact with water which is pretty common while building kitchen countertops or floorings.
On the other hand, Indian marbles are non-synthetic and chemically free. They are built with environment damaging resins along with additional chemical resin sealant. All of this requires much less maintenance in general and ensures physical well-being, which is essential since most of the kitchen countertops consist of food items that can get affected chemically with the marbles if the right preventive measures are not taken.
5. Thickness
The marble slabs from Italy mostly have an average thickness ranging from 18mm to 20mm, whereas the Indian marbles have a thickness up to 30mm.
Since we are primarily focussing on the kitchen countertops and floorings, opting for the thicker marbles will give you a better edge due to the additional strength and durability. With thicker slabs, you also get additional advantages like carving out the sink area better, which will eventually be a real issue with Italian marbles.
Final Thoughts
Whichever type of marble you choose, it is highly crucial that you take the necessary steps to sustain, preserve and protect the quality of your marbles in the long run. Always use a mild detergent-based floor cleaner or anything which is specifically designed just for cleaning marbles. Do not drag or pull heavy objects of furniture on the marbles to prevent cracks or breakage. Opt for regular polishing to keep the shine and luster of the marbles intact for years, and you are good to go!
Some other aspects like the shipping of the marbles should be taken into consideration while choosing the marble for your home. However, since both the marble types are pretty popular, you will always find them in your nearest interior stores irrespective of your geographic location without any hassle! Thus, gear up, choose your favorite marble today, and let your interiors make the first impression always!
If you are in desperate need to find high quality marbles for your home or real estate business, Eternal Stones Export is there to serve you best. We have been trading natural stones like granites, marbles, sandstones, slatestones, etc. for over a decade. So, we are confident enough that we can help you meet your requirements whatever that may be. Stay tuned in our LinkedIn and Facebook pages to get the latest updates. You can also write to us at our official email address given in this site.
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