Carrara White

Carrara is a genuine place — the marble basin above Tuscany that supplied Michelangelo — and the stone is a soft grey-white with fine, feathery veining that drifts rather than streaks. It is quieter than Calacatta and far more available, which is why it has stayed the default white marble for two centuries.

Outdoors, a tumbled or brushed Carrara makes a cool, bright deck that photographs beautifully. Indoors, honed is the correct choice almost every time: polished marble in a house with children becomes a map of every dropped glass.

Marble is calcite, which means acid etches it. Lemon juice, wine, and most bathroom cleaners will leave a dull mark that no sealer prevents — sealing slows staining, not etching. Clients who cannot live with that should be steered to a porcelain look-alike.