Lately one high/low hack has been popping up everywhere we look: using bits and pieces of discarded or leftover marble around the house for a luxe look on a budget. Case in point: When we wrote about this Two-Week, $1,000, 500-Square-Foot Rental Overhaul in Bushwick, Brooklyn, design student Kristina Line revealed that she scoured nearby marble scrap yards for unwanted pieces to create shelving and backsplashes in her DIY apartment; the restauranteurs behind the design-forward Portuguese wine bar Cervo’s did the same for the restaurant’s statement-making front counter. And when we looked back over the archives for more ideas for using marble odds and ends we found, among many ideas, some expert encouragement from Anthony D’Argenzio of New York City creative agency Zio & Sons: “Marble can be turned into trim around backsplashes, thresholds, door saddles. It can be cut, so it’s more versatile than tile,” he told us in Expert Advice: What to Source from Salvage.
Head to your local marble yard or retailer and see if they’ll give you discarded pieces for free or at a discount, or use the odds and ends left over from a remodeling project. Even the smallest, scrappiest pieces can be repurposed. Here are 14 ways of using marble scraps to great effect—from small, simple hacks to architectural ideas.
1. Prop up bookends.
![marble scraps as bookends in done/undone with clarisse demory in paris. 17](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/Clarisse-Lucile-Demory-House-Call-08-733x489.jpg)
2. Turn a radiator into a sideboard.
![top radiators with thin marble pieces to create an instant sideboard or place f 18](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/fields/jacky-parker-paris-apartment-remodelista-9_0-733x489.jpg)
3. Create an ad-hoc backsplash.
![in her two week, \$\1,000, 500 square foot rental overhaul in bushwick, brookly 19](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/kristina-line-anton-bak-bushwick-apartment-kitchen-detail-733x1103.jpg)
4. Frame a sink.
![here\2\17;s an example of a marble remnant backsplash that has a more fi 20](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/fabr-studio-brooklyn-studio-kitchen-sink-cropped-cover-image-733x599.jpg)
5. Mount open shelving.
![a practical use for multiple small scraps: open kitchen shelving (support 21](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/Red-Chair_Hudson-home_copper_Marili-Forastieri-733x489.jpg)
6. Install a scrap-marble ledge.
![another artful shelf/counter: the statement marble ledge in the front window of 22](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/cervos-nyc-front-window-interior-erin-little-1-733x1100.jpg)
7. Lay a tiny kitchenette counter.
![add sophistication to even the tiniest kitchen with a small piece of marble as 23](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/passer-domesticus-157-173-designers-kitchen-counter-733x488.jpg)
8. Hack an instant kitchen station.
![architect barbara chambers topped a metal slatted shelf in her kitchen with a s 24](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/barbara-chambers-coffee-tea-station-733x489.jpg)
9. Build a DIY table.
![another of the marble scrap hacks in kristina line\2\17;s bushwick apart 25](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/kristina-line-anton-bak-bushwick-apartment-marble-table-733x1100.jpg)
10. Line an architectural niche.
![a small wall niche makes an impact when lined in small marble pieces; photograp 26](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/plywood-floor-bedroom-mattress-fala-atelier-lisbon-apartment-3-733x935.jpg)
11. Design changeable shelves.
![another marble hack in kristina line\2\17;s diy bushwick apartment: disc 27](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/kristina-line-anton-bak-bushwick-apartment-shelf-detail-2-e1517508327943-733x978.jpg)
12. Transform the washing machine.
![in a small space bath in an auckland studio apartment, designer karin montgomer 28](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/karin-montgomery-spath-new-zealand-studio-bathroom-full-matthew-williams-733x530.jpg)
13. Hang a deconstructed bathroom vanity.
![a workaround for a bathroom counter fully clad in marble: a small slab anchored 29](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/tom-givone-floating-farmhouse-13-733x489.jpg)
14. Install luxe room trim.
![the idea that started it all: using marble as trim, as seen lining the banquett 30](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/07/remodelista-mimi-seating-area-mirrors-alison-engstrom-733x1098.jpg)
15. Create a striking fireplace surround.
![for a hack that makes a big impact, make like remodelista contributing editor i 31](https://media.remodelista.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/02/simmons-living-room-02-733x884.jpg)
N.B.: This post is an update; it was first published on April 2, 2018.
More high/low remodeling ideas and hacks:
- Expert Advice: 23 Genius, Reversible, Budget-Friendly Hacks to Transform a Rental Apartment
- Remodeling 101: 6 Budget Backsplash Hacks
- 11 Zero-Cost Room-Changing Ideas
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