In recent years the popularity of marble tiles has exploded, the value that it adds to the building often more than justifies it's original cost. The style, cost and finish can vary greatly though and so careful consideration should be taken before making any purchase.

Marble is a rock resulting from the metamorphism of limestone, composed mostly of calcite and is mainly used for sculpture and as a building material. The patterns within the stone can be described as "swirly" or "blotchy".

When planning your home or kitchen for example, make sure that you understand the differences between the different marble finishes and choose worktops and floor tiles that will compliment. Buying the material at the same time and from the same source will ultimately give a much better overall finish.

Polished granite is darker than marble and the tone varies from a light grey to almost black in some cases. Knowing that you can match the floor tiles to any worktop is an important consideration.

Granite tiles are generally more expensive than Marble floor tiles as it is harder to polish and cut to the desired finish. The black colour in Granite tiles comes from iron. The darker the granite, the more iron it contains and consequently the more it costs.

Another alternative to marble would be Limestone. The advantages of Limestone are that it's cheaper to manufacture and comes in white and cream colours that may suit your purpose. Limestone is a much softer stone and can be easliy cut and polished. The patterns and colours are limited somewhat though.

Marble is quarried all over the world and each region can produce differing patterns and swirls within the stone that give the marble it's famous finish. There can be many different patterns available at your supplier all sourced from different parts of the world and they should be able to tell you where each piece came from. Be sure to choose your material from the same batch if you are looking for a uniform appearance across the home improvement project.