We bought an apartment with the most beautiful worthless kitchen (the apartment had other qualities). The bench tops were Carrera marble. Any type of acid dulled the shiny surfaces and any type of food, like tomato or tea, stained it irreversibly.
Really? We’re going to have to replace our quartz island countertop just from sitting a (hot) lid on it. And we were also told that we shouldn’t sit anything hot on it (I just wasn’t thinking when I sat the lid on it).
A quick search [1] also shows that a downside to quartz is that it’s not as resistant to heat as other surfaces (including granite).
[1] https://countertopguides.com/guides/pros-and-cons-of-quartz-...
Yeah, few people seem to realize how porous marble is. A really bad choice for counters. And floors. And shower stalls.
It's almost as if using marble in spite of it's disadvantages was a conspicuous consumption signal.
Oh, wait.
Also - people in very rich homes tend to have things on display for areas that look like you’d do work but then they don’t ever work there.
So, for the kitchen, you’d have a real kitchen in the back. That’s where your staff would prepare meals. The front kitchen is merely for appearance.