How did low-cost marble countertops become an American obsession?

In the past two decades, the import of low-cost marble countertops has increased by more than tenfold. This shift was only caused by the evolving tastes and preferences of American homeowners — forces from the global market have also contributed to this takeover of marble countertops. In this post, we are going to look at how American homeowners gradually became marble countertops crazed maniacs

More and more countries, especially Brazil, started to really embrace marble countertops

Before the ’90s and 2000s, the leading processing plants of marble countertops were found in Italy, but things started shifting gradually. In the early 2000s, more and more countries began to get into the processing of marble. A lot of these countries got into both mining and processing marble countertops for selling locally and exporting. Although there were marble deposits in some areas in the US, getting the product from other countries was considered to be much cheaper. This created a cycle that brought about the surge of supply and demand for low-cost marble countertops.

For the better part, marble imports in America are dominated by countries such as China, India, and Brazil, with the latter importing about half of the entire worked marble supply. This means your low-cost marble countertops probably originated from some international market and landed somewhere in China or Brazil, before getting to you.

Just what scale of importation are we talking about here? It’s quite massive. Based on the US International Trade Commission estimates, the total production of low-cost marble countertops imported in the US amounted to 206,000 metric tons in 1996. In 2014, they had exceeded more than 2 million metric tons.

The shipping of marble countertops became much easier

In the past years, homeowners had to rely on local markets to get their marble countertops, and this made them sync up roughly with the costs provided by the local markets. But as the global granite market developed better shipping techniques, it became more affordable for builders, and consumer shipping became more accessible and more affordable for the consumers.

Today, containerized shipping is no longer a new trend, but its introduction played a significant role in lowering the cost of marble all over the world. Since marble slabs, which are intended for countertops, cheaper and easier to ship to countertop fabricators, it is now possible for consumers to get low-cost marble countertops imported from anywhere in the world.

The cutting and fabrication of marble is easy

When a block of marble is taken to the processing plant or to a store, it is cut into appropriate slabs and before being hand-shaved by a skilled fabricator working at the industrial grinder. In the modern-day, however, there are computer-controlled saws that can make more precise cuts, sock as the holes where the sinks are to be placed.

Computerized controls are taking over every machinery operations all over the world. Although the production of low-cost marble countertops was considered to be niche and practical, computerization has made the production process more effective and much easier.

The housing boom exaggerated everything

During the time when the low-cost marble countertops boom was at its peak is the same time when the housing bubble was taking place around the 2000s. This is too big to be a mere coincidence. New trends in home construction in this period probably had something to do with changing the public opinion on how the perfect marble countertops should be like.

As more and more people featured marble in their homes, having them became a standard procedure. As a result, even the old fashioned houses lurched into the marble mania in case of a renovation. Once a trend, then a boom in home renovations and constructions, and this gradually took low-cost marble countertops along for the ride that perpetuated the impression that marble was the prime material for new constructions.

Admittedly, there are a lot of benefits to having Atlanta Marble Countertops in your home. There are new varieties that have given it more vibrant colors since the ’80s, and it comes with its own set of advantages compared to other materials such as granite and quartz. But the most significant part of its appeal is the luxurious appearance that, thanks to the changes in globalization, housing trends, and technology, have made it an affordable indulgence even for middle-class homeowners.

Will anything ever stop the marble countertops mania?

Some people would do anything to have Marble & Granite Countertops in Atlanta in their kitchens. One can’t help but wonder if the world’s brightest minds will ever break free of the addiction to marble countertops.