After you decide on your marble color and various edge profiles its time to decide on a finish.
Polished
This is by far the most popular finish. Its high gloss and mirror like finish brightens any room. The finish also make cleaning up messes in the kitchen easier, and also allows for an ideal surface to seal the marble from future stains.
Honed
This matte finish is smooth but not glossy. It also tends to soften or dull the color when compared to the same stone when its polished. The stone is still capable of reflecting light and does provide a subtle glow, a nice contrast to the hard-cold surface. A little irony in the kitchen never hurt anyone.
Leathered
At first look you might mistake this for a honed finish. The reflectivity is comparable to the honed finish but there leathered finish has a texture that adds depth to the stone. It does help the color to pop a little more.
Sandblasted
A fairly rough finish that makes the stone look lighter than polished.
River Washed
A bumpy finish with amazing texture. Not all marble responds to this finish, but when you find a marble that does it is simple breathtaking. Really bringing to life all of the accents and tones in the marble.
Brushed
A rough finish that lightens the color when compared to polished.
When picking a finish its important to think about the where the marble will be placed and what kind of use it will be subjected to. If money isn’t a factor, any finish will work they may just require significantly more maintenance. On the flip side, don’t think that if you choose a polished surface that maintenance won’t be required. Like all things beautiful, marble requires regular maintenance regardless of finish.