Marble Steps
RMS Marble supply an extensive range of marble steps to complement our range of tiles. We can also provide a range of custom ordered marble steps in various shapes and sizes to suit your architectural drawings.
We carry a range of standard sizes and finishes with different profiles in stock.
Marble Steps Available in All Finishes
Marble steps can be ordered in internal honed finishes or in a range of external finishes including flamed, sandblasted or brushed. The front edge of all our marble steps can be fabricated in a variety of profiles such as bull-nose, pencil round or drop edges.
Popular Marble Steps RMS Marble Can Supply for Residential & Commercial Properties:
Carrara Marble
One of the most prestigious materials found anywhere in the world, Carrara marble makes an excellent choice for stairs. The elegant white base stone with softer grey veining works well in a variety of settings, with the subtle texturing helping to add interest and diversity.
White Marbles
The epitome of elegance, white marble steps can add a sense of luxury to any setting. The brilliant white of the marble can help accentuate the simplicity of a contemporary space by reflecting light back into a room. White marble stairs can be found in many of the world’s most distinguished hotels and high-profile buildings.
Travertine
Though a more cost-effective solution than marble, travertine does not disappoint when it comes to style. Most famously used in The Spanish Steps in Rome, travertine stairs can provide a natural look when unfilled and a refined style when filled and polished. Travertine is highly popular as outdoor stairs as, unlike marble, it can be renewed after time.
Botticino
Botticino is another famed Italian stone that provides a natural warmth thanks to its honey-coloured veining and neutral base material. The marble is most often used indoors and can typically be found on staircases with natural materials nearby.
Nero Marquinia
Quarried in the Basque Country of Northern Spain, Nero Marquinia features rich, charcoal-black stone made from Bituminous limestone. The black base of the marble is deepened by its compact fine grains and splashes of white veining that have made it highly prized for staircase use throughout the world. The stonework can work in both modern properties featuring glass and simple design but also classically with brass or golden handrails adding to the opulent feel.
Things to Consider When Choosing the Right Marble Steps for Your Home
While the colour, veining, pattern, and finish of your marble stairs are important, there are also other facts that need to be taken into consideration:
Indoors vs Outdoors
When choosing marble stairs for indoor purposes, it’s important to remember they will become a focal point within your property. This means that you need to consider how the type of marble will fit into your overall design. With plenty of choice on offer, however, RMS Marble has materials for all decor.
Indoor marble steps can work with almost any finish, with a high polish and honed being two of the most popular.
If you are installing your staircase outdoors, a marble with less veining or inclusions is best as this helps prevent moisture absorption, Travertine is also a good choice.
Outdoor steps are also better finished with a more textured surface, such as honed or brushed. This will add non-slip properties to the stone, especially useful when exposed to rain.
Choosing the Shape and Size of the Steps
Due to the unique patterning and colour variations of the stone, no two marble staircases are the same. Due to differences in property layout, the size and shape of the steps also varies, with different staircase styles suiting different decor and layout.
Common designs include straight stairs, curving, spiral/helical, “floating” cantilevers, and returns. Each of these styles can be installed using marble steps of varying sizes and suits both modern and classic interior design.
Steps can be shaped into different styles to suit any setting. The most popular include:
- Bullnose edge: blunt, rounded edge
- Oblique: angled riser with flush step
- Bird’s beak: rounded step top with straight under-edge
- Straight slab: used for cantilever designs
- 45° riser: used with a marble riser this allows a seamless join
- Chisel edge: a hand-finished, angular look for a more rustic edge
A lot of property owners like to highlight the high-quality marble with soft underlighting. This adds to the sense of luxury but is also functional, preventing slips and lighting the way.
Choosing the Right Finish for Your Marble Steps
The finish of your marble steps can affect the overall aesthetic dramatically. Choosing the right finish is a matter of preference and practicality:
- Polished: marble with a polished finish exhibits a high glossy shine, reflecting light into a stairway. The resin polish reduces the absorbing properties of the marble and also brings out the contrast in veining.
- Honed: providing a smooth, matte surface, honed marble is a good choice for both interior and exterior purposes. Despite exhibiting no shine, the finish is still smooth and provides a pleasant walking surface.
- Sandblasted: marble steps subjected to sandblasting have a highly-textured surface, great for outdoor staircases. The effect brings out physical features within the stonework such as grooves and crevices but with a uniform pattern over the entire surface.
- Flamed: adding depressions and gentle bumps to the surface of the marble, flamed finishes are good for adding non-slip texture to steps but in a subtle fashion.
- Brushed: Using hard wire brushes, the marble steps are given a honed-like surface but with a uniform pattern to the weathering. In stone like Travertine, this is sometimes left unfilled to let the natural holes in the stone be showcased.
- Aged: giving the appearance of old stone, aged finishes add the illusion of natural erosion to add character and charm to your stairs.
Why Choose Marble Over Other Natural Stone Steps
The main reason people opt for marble stairs over natural stone options is the aesthetic quality of the material.
While there are harder materials available, none match the beauty of marble in terms of colours, patterns, and overall appearance. The mineral impurities such as iron oxides and sediment layers create dramatic, complementary tones within slabs which is matched by no other type of stone.
Something that marble has over stone such as quartz and granite is a longstanding legacy. Throughout history, marble has been considered the ultimate luxury material for art, structures, and decor, all around the globe.
In choosing marble steps, your property continues this legacy and enjoys the same sense of grandeur.