How to Pair Calacatta Oro Extra Marble in Your Kitchen, from Cabinets to Backsplash
Within the Calacatta marble family, which tends to feature a white background with prominent gray veining, several variations may catch your fancy. In modern design, Calacatta Oro Extra marble offers distinct appeal.
While Calacatta Gold, Calacatta Oro, and Calacatta Oro Extra are often referred to interchangeably, there are some slight deviations.
The Differences Between Calacatta Marbles
Calacatta Gold is a popular choice because of the addition of subtle, golden veining mixed in with the gray, adding warmth and versatility. Compared to Calcatta Gold, Calacatta Oro tends to have a brighter white background and more distinctive gold veining; on the other hand, Calacatta Oro Extra features bolder veining all around.
Calacatta Oro Extra typically offers a slight advantage if you’re seeking a little more “wow” factor. However, these warmer Calacatta varieties can vary significantly from one slab to the next, so you may find richer veining in a Calacatta Gold slab than a Calacatta Oro Extra sample.
This is why it’s so important to choose your own slab, to ensure that you get exactly what you want. But how can you pair it to the best advantage in your kitchen to deliver the design aesthetic you crave?
Kitchen Cabinets Paired With Marble Stone
Calacatta is one of the most popular types of marble because of the versatile, neutral coloration and the variability of patterning, with veins ranging from soft and gentle to considerably denser and bolder. Since your countertops will abut cabinetry, it’s important to carefully consider this pairing. Which cabinet choices will work best?
Classic Neutrals
White, gray, and black cabinets all look stunning next to Calacatta marble varieties, especially Calacatta Oro Extra, with its distinctive veining. Although this classic white kitchen features softer Calacatta Gold, you can get an idea of how lovely this stone, with a mixture of warm and cool tones, looks next to bright white cabinetry in a tonal design.
Wood Tones
It’s natural to assume that a color palette dominated by gray and white wouldn’t pair well with warm wood. But because Calacatta Oro Extra includes golden veining, it’s the ideal option for adding brightness to wooden cabinets.
It’s especially striking next to dark wood, as seen in this contemporary kitchen. This particular design features an unusually bold Calacatta Gold slab for the kitchen island and extended dining surface, and the dark wood serves to amplify the statement style of this eye-catching sample.
Colored Cabinetry
Calacatta Oro Extra clearly goes with other neutrals of every hue, but how does it fare when paired with more vibrant colors? As this traditional kitchen demonstrates, there are no drawbacks to making color part of your design.
The marble here is classic Calacatta, which looks lovely atop a custom island in a warm, split pea soup shade. As you might imagine, it would likely look even better with a Calacatta Oro Extra variety, as golden veining would pick up the warmth of the paint color and elevate the feeling of cohesion.
Backsplash Materials
Once you’ve chosen the cabinetry to go with your Calacatta Oro Extra countertops, it’s time to consider the third piece of your design trifecta: the backsplash. Again, the versatility of this stone allows you to explore practically unlimited options, from neutral to bold colors and an array of patterns.
Tile Colors
You can certainly opt for a bold tile color when the rest of your design is largely neutral, and with Calacatta Oro Extra, virtually any color, cool or warm, could work. If you’d rather add pops of color in less permanent ways, however, and stick with a neutral palette, you’ll find that your countertops serve as the star of the show.
Consider the honed Calacatta Oro countertops in this traditional white kitchen. With white cabinets and a white subway tile backsplash, the pattern on the counter surface becomes the focal point of the room.
Tile Patterns
If you love the bold look of a patterned tile, whether it be geometric, floral, or mosaic, you can certainly add it to the vertical space between your upper cabinets and Calacatta Oro Extra countertops.
Because this marble variety tends to feature more prominent veining, it’s wise to see countertop and backsplash materials next to each other before you commit to a tile. You may end up wanting to choose a subtler pattern of tile if it ends up competing too much with the countertop material for visual interest.
Extended Countertops
Are you interested in adding color and pattern to the vertical space in your kitchen but are having a hard time choosing the perfect backsplash to go with your eye-catching Calacatta Oro Extra countertops?
No problem — just extend the marble up the wall into a full-height backsplash, like in this contemporary Calacatta kitchen. Consider book-matched slabs that really enhance the overall aesthetic.
Hardware and Fixtures
The finishing touches, including lighting fixtures, faucets, door and drawer pulls, and so on, can really help to solidify a cohesive design. With Calacatta Oro Extra marble, you have options for silver or gold metallics to draw on colors in the stone, or you could go for a black or antique brass for contrast.
If you’re ready to get your kitchen upgrade project underway with the perfect slab of Calacatta Oro Extra to serve as the showpiece, visit an Academy Marble & Granite showroom in Bethel, CT, or Rye, NY, today.
