What Are the Different Types of Marble?

Marble is easily one of the most luxurious natural stones. This is especially true considering how many different types there are. The natural beauty of this raw stone makes it a versatile choice for any indoor or outdoor remodeling ideas.

Marble is cut from specialized quarries where different slabs of the rock are sent to factories for further polishing. Since there are so many different types of marble, it’s important to sort them in a way that makes the most sense: by color.

Below are breakdowns of the different types of marble sorted by color and type.

Types Of White Marble

Urban Kitchens

Perhaps the most classic of all the marble types, white marble has a special kind of value. It is known for being majestic and pure, although since it is white, it shows more imperfections. Sometimes, the imperfections are part of what’s sought after in order to have a completely unique piece of stone.

There are six popular types of white marble that can be used inside (or outside) of the home. Take a look:

This marble typically comes in a solid color of white-grey. It’s a popular choice for kitchen backsplashes, fireplaces, or bathroom walls. It’s officially called Bianco Carrara, and it is unique because the veins are thin and feathery. It makes for one of the most popular types of marble countertops that you will find in any modern or grandiose kitchen.

Named from its discovered location near Carrara, Italy, this is one of the most popular types of marble on the market. Its varying cracked patterns and grey veins make each slab a unique landscape that you can decorate your home with.

Mystery white marble is a pure, creamy white color. It’s a good choice for homeowners who are looking to brighten the look of their home with lighter stone colors. There is not as much contrast between the veining and the background as much as the other whites.

This marble hails from Greece. It is similar to Carrara marble, although it comes with a wider array of colors. For instance, you can find White Himalaya marble with strokes of purple, brown, and grey, against a stone white background. It is a popular option for floors, especially in bathrooms surrounding a bathtub.

A slightly darker type of white marble, this one is also quarried in Italy. It is identified by the sharp, dark grey veins that dart across the light grey background. It is called Statuario because it was this type of marble that was so highly sought after by sculptors interested in carving. It is a good choice for countertops or tiles.

Types Of Black Marble

Black marble definitely makes a statement. It can take one’s breath away when they enter a spacious kitchen, bathroom, or bar that is lined with glistening black marble. There’s a reason the color black is always associated with luxury.

Black marble is usually implemented in areas where there are wide spaces. It needs a lot of room to breathe, or else it can overwhelm a room. It makes for a good facade as well.

Below are the different types of black marble that you can choose from.

The most common type of black marble that most homeowners choose for their homes is the negro marquina. This solid black stone has streaks of white veins across it, although some negro marquina can be polished to be solid black. Originating from Basque, this is a highly sought after color and type of marble.

This is the Italian counterpart to the negro marquina, and it is just as bold and beautiful. This stone features a leopard pattern of gold and light creamy brown, making it appear like a natural mosaic. Each slab is highly unique, and is used to decorate large bathrooms and kitchens.

It is named because it resembles the white Calacatta marble, although this one features a black background and light grey streaks in varying patterns. This stone is quarried in Mexico and is typically used to build floors, walls, sinks, or pavement.

This marble comes from Iran and is known for its distinctive veins. They are bright white and streak across the stone with sharp turns. It can be used for paving or for ornamental design.

Types Of Red Marble

Castelli Marble Inc.

Red marble can fill a space with strength and energy. This bold marble is defined by shades of red, orange, and reddish brown stone. Most have patterns or spatterings of white veining along them, while others are just solid red. Below are a few of the best options that you can use as part of your renovation project.

This is a deep, Earthy red marble that is quarried in Italy. It is a gorgeous stone to decorate with, and can be used for walls and floors as well. Build sinks or pool edging with this stone to add a rich touch of color to any interior or exterior design.

Another marble that comes from Greece, this is a popular choice for countertops in both kitchen and bathrooms. It can also be used in sinks and other structures. It sports spots of both light and dark reds, with patches of cream and light brown smattered in. It is a great way to add a burst of energy and noise to an otherwise monotonous space.

This is one of the deepest reds that marble can get. It is almost dark brown, especially depending on the way it’s processed. But it adds a deep richness to any color palette which can be broken up by the splashes of white that show up along the bold red.

Another popular choice for countertops or floors. This is a red marble that is categorized because the veins that run through it are a deep red. The surrounding colors are a swirl of light red, pink, and creamy white. It can also be used for stairs, window sills, fountains, and mosaics.

Rojo Coralito is a pale red, making it a good choice for homeowners using desert colors or living in a southwestern region of the country. This marble is known for its huge number of white streaks going through it, creating a unique map of reds and whites all blended together.

Types Of Brown Marble

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Brown is an excellent color to decorate with due to its versatility. Brown marble of course comes in all shades and hues that brown has to offer. Brown can simultaneously be safe and adventurous, giving guests something different to experience each time they see it. It is best installed in well-lit areas, or else the brown may appear too dark and completely overshadow the design of the room.

This is one of the most gorgeous selections of brown that you can choose from. It is a dark brown, which immediately speaks of elegance. It’s beautifully lined with light brown streaks that are thin and web-like, stretched across the background. It looks like a polished piece of earth that you can use in combination with almost any other color to complete the look of a room.

Also a type of Emperador marble is its lighter brown twin. This is also a beautiful piece of stone that can really elevate a space and make it look quite elegant. Use it as a countertop or to decorate your walls and floors.

This marble is quarried in India and is known for its deep black veins across a greyish-brown background. It is largely an ornamental stone, but still a popular choice for paving, walls, and floors. It can be finished in a number of different ways to highlight the color contrasts.

Types Of Pink Marble

Studio Milne

For homeowners seeking a more delicate touch, pink marble may be the way to go. It is a calm, cozy, and overall warm color to add to your living space. And the great thing about pink marble is that it does not overwhelm you with color. Instead, it offers pale shades of pink and rose that can offer just a little bit of color diversity to your kitchen or bathroom.

Below are some of the most popular types of pink marble that you can use to complement the stronger colors in your space.

This is a pinkish-brown marble that does not offer much in the way of veining. It is a solid pink color that looks grainy in texture. This is highly sought after due to its appearance of fossils, which is what gives it value. This marble is quarried in Spain and is also known on the market as Crema Levante.

This is an elegant marble that has a very soft shade of pink against an earth-toned background. There are some blurry streaks of cream or white that can appear throughout the stone, giving it a mosaic effect. In general, though, it is pretty uniform in its color solidity.

Definitely the most common type of pink marble you’ll find on the market, Rosa Portugues comes in many shades of true pink. Some of them have grey or brown streaks of veining that blur through the middle, giving it a wonderfully mixed effect. But there are some slabs of this stone that contain no veining at all. Each piece offers a unique beauty that makes it one of the most pleasing natural colors you’ll find in any stone quarry.

If you are a fan of creamier pinks and the more traditional marble look, you might enjoy pink spider marble. This is especially useful for sinks, tiles, backsplashes, and countertops. It’s named for its sprawling, dark red veins that dart across the pale pink background with squiggled lines.

Types Of Yellow Marble

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Yellow may not be the first color that comes to mind when you think about new countertop and tiling options for your home. But marble comes in so many different varieties of yellow hues that almost everyone finds a shade they enjoy. There are many beautifully elegant marbles of bright yellow or rich gold that can certainly add a touch of vibrancy to your kitchen or bathroom.

There are many different types of yellow marble; let’s take a look at a few of the most popular marbles for remodeling projects.

Amarillo Triana is perhaps the most brightly-colored marble in existence. It is a highly attractive yellow that shines brightly due to its fine grains. It has irregular streaks of dark yellow or grey that run across it, giving it a bit of personality. Most people choose a marble this bright for accent pieces or paving.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, Spanish Gold is a darker, bronzy-brown. It is one of the most popular choices for indoor use, especially when it comes to the pavement. This is because it already sports that natural earthy color that looks nice with any kind of finish. There are occasional streaks through it, but in general, the golden color is usually pretty uniform.

From the Italian quarries in Siena comes yellow Siena marble. It’s fitting that its robust golden tones match the yellow hills of a Tuscany sunset. This bright yellow and golden brown combination blends with some cloudy veining to make for a truly dynamic piece. This is a versatile marble that can be used both for function and decoration.

Another Italian specialty, Giallo Monforte marble is a solid yellow stone that resembles the brightness of real gold. It can make an excellent addition to a kitchen where a bit of brightness and positivity is needed. Yellow is also associated with hunger and thirst, so it’s always a good idea to have it in the kitchen to keep guests and neighbors coming back for more.

From Greece, Mykalissos Gold is a nice pale gold with darker gold streaks and some thick white veining throughout. The colors do not contrast too much though, making it a very warm and pleasing sight to the eye. It’s very thin-grained, consisting mostly of the gold background with just a hint of grey on occasion. This beautiful marble is used for ornamental decoration or for countertops.

Types Of Green Marble

Domb architects

One of the rarer colors of marble, green marble is exotic and serene. It definitely brings about hints of nature, creating a calming ambiance. Homeowners who are looking to refresh the look of their home might consider green marble for decorative accents or paving, since it can add just a little something unique that also touches upon different shades of color.

Some of the more prominent types of green marble include:

This marble is almost too much to believe. It resembles a leaf, covered in a rich dark green and veins that sprout around it. It is one of the most beautiful, and certainly the most uncommon, types of marble. And it too comes with its different shades. Some versions of this marble include streaks of black veining or dark grey pigmentations that make it truly something interesting to look at.

Verde Oasis is made in Greece and is a uniquely-textured piece of stone. It features a dark bluish-green. The way the streaks spread across the rock in a single direction makes it resemble waves on the surface of the ocean, which is perhaps what inspired it to have such an inviting name.

There is an explosion of color in this beautiful piece of marble. This stone comes from quarries in China, where the jade background is interspersed with cloudy white pigmentation and sprays of black streaks. There is sometimes a range of light and dark greys that are found in the stone as well. This is a very popular marble that can add value and depth to any space in the home.

Another marble quarried in China, this features a pale jade green with hints of blue and plenty of white and grey streaks. There is a lot of cloudy pigmentation, making this look like a swirl of rich paint. Each slab contains different colors and textures, with the pale dark green as the primary focus.

Types Of Grey Marble

Kitchen Expressions

Some marbles that contain grey as the underlying color may be placed in the black or white categories, but there are so many that they merit a grouping of their own. If you’re looking for something that sports a combination of the features of some of the above colors, this might be the right category to start looking in.

Here are some of the most popular grey marble types:

This stone has almost a popcorn-like effect with light grey, dark grey, and creamy white mixed in. It sports a dark grey hue, unlike most grey marbles that are lighter in color. It is a great choice for paving floors or laying down new tiling indoors.

This one has a beautiful smoky color and almost a completely solid shade of grey. It has a gradient of light to dark grey that comes out differently each time it is quarried. There are some light grey veins and textures that make each piece more different than the next.

Its thick streaks of dark and light colors resemble a greyscale photograph of the planet Jupiter. This smoky mix of deeply dark grey and lighter shades makes it look like a landscape petrified in time. Add a little bit of depth and drama to your kitchen or bathroom by using this stone to decorate with.

This marble is quarried in Iran, and is known for its smoothness in texture. This grey color is so dark that it can be almost black in some cases. However, there are sharp streaks of solid white that run all the way down the stone, giving it a very natural look. The contrast between the dark and light colors is striking, making it a popular choice among homeowners who are really looking to make a bold move.

Realize Your Design Ideas With Your Choice Of Marble

Marble is a trendy design choice for almost any room renovation due to its versatility and durability. It is a natural stone, making it more valuable and elegant than composite alternatives. As you can see, there are so many different shades of marble colors that contain such a wide range of brilliance and darkness that no artificial material can hope to duplicate it.

Marble has been one of our favorite building materials since the beginning of civilization. Harkening back to ancient Greek and Roman times, entire palaces and cities were constructed out of marble.

There are three main reasons why you should invest in marble for your next renovation project:

 Marble is durable.

Marble is one of the most resistant stones on the planet. It is scratch, crack, and break-proof. Most types of marble are heat-resistant, too, depending on the finish.

 Marble is long-lasting. 

Obviously, we have plenty of history lessons to prove that marble can stand the test of time. There are still remains of ancient marble structures standing tall today; installing marble in your home guarantees that you will get a great return on your investment.

 Marble is affordable. 

Marble might seem expensive, which is perhaps one reason you may not have considered it. But in truth, marble is cheaper than other natural stone types. When it comes to countertops, you can find a more affordable marble slab than you can granite or quartz. Of course, the decision is up to you.

Want more information about the different ways you can use marble in your next renovation project? Want to see a bigger range of marble colors and styles available? Get in touch with our design-build specialists to inquire about using marble for your next project.

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