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.

If you love the marble tile, go for it! You can always buy a stainless or white range hood backsplash like this http://www.wayfair.com/Air-King-Range-Hood-Back-Splash-SP2430-AXK1174.html to slip in place when you are cooking something really messy. I have a travertine backsplash and use a stainless sheet when frying. It works great and no worries about stains ruining the stone.

Selecting floor tiles requires a certain level of perfection. Floor tiles need to be durable, strong, and at the same time be visually appealing. There are many different types of floor tiles available, but the most suitable types are Porcelain, Glazed Ceramic and Vitrified tiles. Each have different features and suit a different purpose, let us compare these 3 types to know which tile suits you the most. Porcelain Tiles: Porcelain tiles are full-body ceramic tiles that is most used when it comes to floor tiles. They hold higher density and MOH’s scale rating with very low porosity. These floor tile designs have a water absorption rate of less than 0.5 percent. Due to their low-slip factor and water absorption rate, they are the most purchased floor tiles for bathrooms. The clay used to build these floor tiles is denser when compared to others. Advantages of Porcelain Tile: Wide range of colours, sizes, thicknesses, and finishes. Resistant to the most common acids which damage the calcium in marble Due to low porosity and high natural stain resistance, they are easy to clean. They retain their colours even after being exposed to sun, weathering or smog for longer duration. It contains no waterproofing chemicals, varnishes or resins and does not give off any gases even when exposed to flames. Glazed Ceramic Tiles: Ceramic tile is made from clay and sand. But the glazed ceramic tiles have a liquid glass coating on the surface. The liquid glass coating creates the texture, design and color of a glazed tile and protects the body of the tile from staining. Due to this extra layer, custom tile designs can be added to them. This allows the floor tiles designs to be available in multiple colours. Due to their vibrant allure, they are mostly used as floor tiles for kitchen and bathroom walls. Advantages of Glazed Ceramic Tiles: Glazed ceramic floor tiles are stain resistant due to the presence of the liquid glass coating which makes the tiles durable, less porous and strong. Similar to porcelain tiles, they also retain their original colours even after being exposed to sun and harsh weather. They are most cost effective tiles. The Ceramic tile prices can be easily fit into your budget. These floor tiles are scratch resistance, but continuous damage can render them useless. Vitrified Tiles: Vitrified tile is a ceramic tile with very low porosity. They are often used outdoors due to their water and frost resistance. Vitrified tiles are manufactured through a process called vitrification which gives them their low porosity. These tiles are mass produced by machines therefore making vitrified tile prices low and easily affordable. These tiles are the most sought after floor tiles for bedroom and living room. Advantages of Vitrified Tiles: Vitrified tiles are Time Savers as it takes very less time to lay these floor tiles. These tiles are pre polished during the time of production, and does not need extra time for polishing while setting the tiles on the floor. They have more strength and scratch resistance than marble or granite which are more prone to breakage. Despite their high durability and strength, they are thinner and light in weight. These tiles are non-porous due to which they are totally spill resistant and stain resistant. Now that we have known what these 3 types of tiles are suited for, now comes the important questions! What will be their price? Where can we buy them? Can we order good quality tiles online? Is this service available in Hyderabad, India? For all your questions, I have a single answer!! XFACTORY.IN It is an e-commerce platform that helps you buy all kinds of building materials online. It is a one-stop store for buying products from different categories like Cement, Steel, Paint, Tiles etc. from all top brands in the market. They have different brands of tiles like Cera, Kajaria, AGL and many more to choose from. If you are from Hyderabad and need to renovate your flooring. This is definitely the right place to check! Do tell me how did you find this discussion in the comments! Thank you for reading!!

Hi Karuna, Here are a few pros and cons of using large tiles on walls - Pros - 1] They have lesser joints to fill and hence give the space a larger look and feel. 2] They look like stone cladding if installed properly. Cons - 1] They are costly as far as their rate/square foot and labour cost is concerned. 2] They require epoxy grout / adhesive instead of the regular cement grout which usually adds to the cost. 3] Since they are huge in size, they are not suitable for small areas due to the hassle of cutting the tiles manually to fir the size. 4] There is a high possibility of warp age in the tiles due to their size and because of this either their joints wont match or the surface may look undulated. Hence, it is recommended that large tiles be used for floors instead of walls. We would suggest to go in for the smaller sized tiles like 2'x2' or less for a more aesthetic look. Just apply tiles between the kitchen cabinets and avoid doing so near the peninsula. It would make the kitchen look lighter and brighter and not like a bathroom. Also for the back splash you may go for any of the following tile options - 1] Mosaic 2] Ceramic tiles/ Vitrified tiles 3] Natural stone such as granite All the best! Regards, RnD Atelier Nagpur