Take a sample home and put lemon juice on it. What you will find is that the etches on dark marble show up white. Not at all attractive. And that's why only the white marbles are truly popular for kitchen counters. They show etches much less than the dark ones. Possibly use it as a vertical accent somewhere in your home (NOT a shower), but I wouldn't use it on any horizontal surface. Maybe a gorgeous full height backsplash where you have no uppers on a wall....or in an entry way directly facing you as a focal point. Think of it as art, not a work surface.

I think the marble naysayers have jumped on the bandwagon without really living with the stone. I have statuary in my bathrooms and love it. Most stains can be removed with a simple baking soda and water poultice. Acid etching is harder to deal with since it removes the polished surface, but its part of having a living stone in your home. If it becomes too bad, you can have it repolished. With a darker stone, you won't have as many issues as a white marble. In order to really know if you can live with it, I suggest you get a small sample of the stone and do some tests. Here is an example. http://www.dohiy.com/2013/04/21/marble-countertops-the-post-acid-test/ Please note that she used bleach and oxyclean to clean the stone after her test. Stay away from both since they can etch the stone just as much as an acidic food. Instead, clean with a ph neutral cleaner like isopropyl alcohol (rubbing alcohol), and for heavy stains, the baking soda poultice mentioned above. You have to remember that marble has been used for centuries as flooring, table tops, countertops, etc. throughout the world and most of these installations are still here and aren't stained and etched to the point that it has been ripped out and replaced. Just think about all of he luxury hotels in Europe and how many times they have been exposed to Hangover type guests without any damage.

A soft, warm grey shade would look lovely, and can be as dark or light as you want. A warmer shade will work with the brown stained wood floor, and the grey will complement the black granite. You could have an undertone of green, blue or tan if you didn't want a pure grey. And it would look nice with any silver metal hardware, either polished or satin/brushed, so you could choose pewter, chrome or nickel. It would still work with white trim too.

Hello Janani, Granite is cheaper than Quartz. It is easily available. It can stand very high temperatures. Depending upon the color and coating it may be stain resistant. Once in a while it requires a repolish. Quartz comes in a lot of color variations, it is much harder than Granite and it is non porous so stain resistance wise it is better than granite. You should not keep 'very' hot vessels directly on quartz. It is made from recycled quartz so is more nature friendly than granite which needs to be quarried. For a regular use both of these needs a quick sponge cleaning. See what of the above factors matter most to you and decide accordingly. Thanks, Nitin CORNERSTONE DESIGNS Bangalore.