Marble is a beautiful stone, and a popular material for counter tops these days. Unfortunately, it's not ideal for a kitchen that gets a lot of heavy use, and particularly bad if you have kids around.

It's much softer than granite, and more prone to scratch. It's also more easily chipped, and this happens a lot around under mount sinks where pots and pans are lifted in and out. Marble is also very porous, and must be sealed regularly.

The biggest enemy of marble is an acidic liquid--citrus juices, tomatoes, heavy cleaners, etc. Marble reacts with acids and etches. No matter how careful you are, at some point one of these liquids will end up on your counter, and will quickly remove a polished finish. Honed finishes won't show these places as much, but you'll still notice them.

If you start with a polished finish, don't expect it to stay pristine--and the polish will actually draw more attention to wear and stains. That said, if ever there was a material for which the word "patina" was meant--it's marble. Over time, a honed finish will take on a beautiful character from wear and use---but if you're a neat freak, it's probably not the material for you.