When you’re deciding on the right stone flooring, you need to consider factors beyond the type of stone. Also important is how the stone is finished, especially if you’re dealing with a variety as temperamental as marble.
Honed is almost always your best choice. Essentially, the top of honed marble will have been ground down to leave a smooth, flat, and even surface. Here are just a few reasons why you should have your marble floors honed.
Reduced Reflectivity
Marble is a very reflective stone. If you’ve ever seen highly polished marble, you’ll understand just how reflective it can be, especially if you pick a lighter shade. This might seem like a good thing, but it’s actually too much of a good thing. Using polished marble across your floor will bounce around too much light, making your property a touch too dazzling. Honed surfaces lack that shininess, instead presenting a matt finish that is velvety to the touch.
Scratch Resistant
If you know anything about marble, you’ll understand that it isn’t a particularly tough stone. In fact, it’s a stone to avoid if you’re not willing to put in the time to keep it looking its best. That said, you can improve its scratch resistance by choosing honed marble for your flooring. It lacks the glossy surface characteristic of polished marble, so scratches aren’t made quite as easily.
Slip Resistant
Another common pitfall with marble is that it can be quite slippery. If you walk across a marble floor wearing nothing on your feet but a pair of socks, you’re likely to slip and take a tumble. This is why honed marble is so common across high-traffic areas. It provides more surface traction than regular marble, making it safer for daily use.
Hides Imperfections
As mentioned above, marble is quite easy to damage. However, a honed finish will show damage less readily. Wear and traffic patterns will not be evident, and your floors will be less prone to showing watermarks and etching, two common imperfections that often develop across marble flooring.
