We all know marble, the most attractive natural stone because of the beautiful, visible veins, details and color variations. And while we often find marble in modern homes, it is rarely as a table.

A marble table becomes the eye-catcher of the room. But can marble be used as a table top? Marble is a form of limestone and is naturally more vulnerable to acid than, for example, deep rocks or sandstones, such as granite and quartzite.

Processing marble into a table top is a craft that requires generations of knowledge. The combination of modern techniques such as the very soft Feel-me texture “Poco Vecchio” finish, combined with nanotechnology, happens at the HAVANI furniture company in the East-Flemish Wortegem-Petegem. They supply luxurious design tables made from the hardest and most useful rocks, suitable for daily use as a design table, desk or conference table. By choosing very hard marble with less porosity and focusing on mainly white and beige colors, acid stains or scratches will not easily become visible and thus will not disturb users. Polished marbles as well as dark marbles are advised against by Frédéric Haven, founder of HAVANI to be used as table tops.

“We do not recommend polished finishes on marble table tops because the
polished layer fades and the product to protect the stone
cannot penetrate the pores sufficiently. Also Marble already naturally shines and over time gets more “satin” due to the patina effect. Dark marbles have a color which is lighter below the surface making scratches more noticeable. And acid makes lighter colored stains. Polished and dark limestones are good to look at but not to work up or consume daily ”

Recently implemented nanotechnology in products are designed to better protect marble against discolouration due to exposure to acids. Products used to be water and grease resistant in the past, but now nanoparticles are much smaller and penetrate deeper into the pores and in larger quantities, providing higher stain resistance while still retaining the feel of a natural product. Without impregnation, dull, yellow, orange and pink stains will still be seen as before, but on HAVANI’s selection of impregnated and uniquely finished marble table tops, tests were carried out in Wortegem-Petegem, including mayonnaise, lemon and red wine, and as long as the acids are not left on the marble for too long, you will not get dull stains and certainly no colored stains.

There are furniture brands that apply a protective layer on top of the marble top, but these layers are often even more sensitive to scratches than the marble itself and liquids, fats and acids still can penetrate, which immediately leads to stains because one cannot combine both methods. An impregnated stone that repels liquid and fat can no longer be adhered to.

One loses the feeling of a natural product and the advantage of the satin gloss patina in the long term. A well-finished and protected marble, only gets better with time. In practice, we do not see transparent plastic covers over leather salons or plastic foils on top of a floor