A marble fireplace can make your living spaces look and feel incredibly luxurious, especially when the fire is lit and the flames are reflected in the stonework – but if you are tempted by this kind of fireplace, make sure you know how best to look after marble or it may not stand the test of time.

As beautiful as it is, marble can show wear and tear a lot quicker than other materials like slate or granite, but it can also be restored easily so you do need to know how to look after it properly. Marble is actually very porous, so if you opt for a marble mantelpiece as well as a fireplace surround, make sure that you don’t put hot or cold cups or glasses on top of it without a coaster to protect it – or you could find the marble is left with an unsightly water ring.

Clean the surfaces regularly using a special cleaner and protector and consider using a sealer of some kind to protect the stone. Avoid using cleaners that have acid in them as you could damage the marble and don’t use anything abrasive if you don’t want to leave any marks behind.

Your best line of defence is to use a sealer so that you have time to clean up any spills that may occur. It might sound like marble is a bit high maintenance, which it is, but it’s certainly worth all the time and effort, and can really make a huge impact when brought into a living space.