Everything You Need To Know About Using Marble Outdoors

There are few things that can enhance the aesthetic of your home like natural stone. With its organic beauty that infuses an air of luxury and elegance, natural stone can transform your space, instantly creating a stunning ambiance. Natural stone in the use of an outdoor space can even enhance your lifestyle, helping you create a relaxing and inviting area for you to enjoy and entertain guests for years to come as well as even  dramatically increase the value of your home. 

When it comes to choosing between marble and granite, many people assume that marble cannot be used outdoors, believing it is not durable enough to endure outside conditions. However, marble is one of the most durable materials on earth along with granite, and you certainly can use marble outdoors, but should stick to certain types of marble that are more suitable for outdoor environments. 

We will be continuing our series on the use of natural stone outdoors by exploring marble in more depth, offering everything you need to know to choose the right kind of marble to enhance your outdoor space.

How to Choose Marble For Your Outdoor Space 

Durability 

As we mentioned earlier, there is a common misconception in regards to the durability of marble. Marble can be a fantastic choice for your outdoor space as long as you choose the right type of marble and treat it with the proper care to help it maintain its beauty for years to come. Marble is a metamorphic rock formed from recrystallized carbon that was created from the combination of many rocks after being exposed to high heat and pressure. As compared to granite, marble is a softer, more delicate stone. It is also more porous and therefore, more susceptible to staining and wear and tear. However, it is one of the most beautiful and highly sought after kinds of natural stone, and its exquisite, sophisticated elegance is often unmatched by any other material. Both marble and granite are heat-resistant materials, but you should be careful to not expose lighter colored marble with too high heat, as it can become scorched.

While not all marble is suitable to stand up to the outdoor elements and outside conditions, certain types of marbles are strong enough and will therefore work very well in your outdoor space. When you purchase marble from the Karen Pearse Outdoor Collection, you can be confident that your marble stone will last and retain its beauty for years and years. 

You can, therefore, use certain types of marble in your outdoor space in the same ways that you would use granite. Due to its more porous nature, it is crucial that you are very diligent about sealing marble, fully sealing the material every 1 or 2 years. You should also be careful to attend to your marble often with a cleaner/ sealer-in-one for daily cleaning and maintenance. 

Colors

Marble is one of the most stunning types of natural stone on earth, known for its pure and majestic appearance that adds elegance with a luxurious air to your home decor. Agan, as a natural stone, no two slabs of marble will be entirely alike, each radiating their own organic beauty. While granite is available in a wide variety of colors, and you can get marble in other colors as well, it is most commonly found in white, black and grey. Classic white and lighter colored marbles are the most coveted colors with their unparalleled sublime and almost otherworldly, unspoiled beauty.

Marble creates a more sleek and contemporary aesthetic in your home or in your outdoor space with its plain, refined appearance, in contrast to granite that has a more traditional appeal. Marble is also defined by its exquisite color veining and less movement and color gradation than that of granite which has a more speckled, and granular appearance. 

Lighter colored marble, such as lighter beige and neutral tones including white or grey will be a gorgeous choice for your outdoor space, playing beautifully against the colors of the outdoors and complementing the serene hues of a pool, for example. The lighter palette will also seem to visually maximize your outdoor area. If the crisp and clean, airy white natural stone look is the one you’re after for your outdoor space, marble is your best choice. 

Medium tones and darker colored marble are also elegant choices for your outdoor space, wonderfully complementing the colors of your outdoor, stainless steel appliances. While any type of marble needs to be conscientiously kept up to preserve its gorgeous appearance for years to come, medium and darker colored marble may be a little easier to maintain as the darker colors are obviously less prone to staining.

While it is imperative that you take the proper care of your marble stone to maintain its beauty to last a lifetime, marble is a stunning addition to your outdoor space, elevating the area with its luxurious, exquisite ambiance. If you are considering marble for outdoor space, check out Karen Pearse for inspiration to create a natural stone outdoor area of your dreams.