This is a link to the article.

Here is a link that might be useful: NY Times - Start In Neutral

I think the reason that some say that tumbled marble is on the way out is because it is not exclusively being used in the most high end or up to date homes. I've also heard that white cabinets and shaker and granite and stainless appliances, etc. are out too! "They" think that once a design element spreads to the masses then it is considered out of style. If you really love tumbled marble and aren't putting it in because all the neighbors have it, then go for it. There are some current kitchen design elements that are going to be the harvest gold and avocado of the the next ten years. I have no idea which ones will make us laugh and say "What were we thinking?".

If we followed all the advice of the style gurus, we'd go broke trying to stay up to date.

I think the way to know if something is 'out' is to look at the price.

here is a little programming logic :)

if (price >= $10/sq ft) then
"in"
else
"out"
end if

Did they tell us what we are supposed to like now? LOL! I'm nearly positive I will do a tumbled marble backsplash. It's the look I want, very warm and I love the color variations. I don't know anyone who has one, but I'm drawn to it every time I see one! I think it is a neutral look, not faddish. How does neutral and warm go out of style?

Pharaoh,
All I have to say is: LOL, LOL, LOL!!

My geeky DH will really like that analogy.

ma-bookreader, :)

I am like a mosaic backsplash, a mix of everything. a little geeky, a little whimsy (cliche), with a touch of flash, seldom restrained :) (an engineer by education)

Thank you all so much. You are absolutely right. :)

I'm waiting for the day that articles about what's passé will be passé. Nah! It'll never happen!

I think the New York Times is more passe than tumbled marble. Matter of fact, I just put a tumbled backsplash in today! Aren't they the same ones who said granite countertops were just a passing "fad"? I love it when people come onto the scene with nothing more than a shingle and maybe some limited experience, and decide they know all there is to know. I've met a few apprentices like that, too. Of course, they weren't writing for a national newspaper, either.

What the article was saying that if you're worried about resale you need to consider what won't turn off potential buyers, especially in a tight market. It also is specific to the Manhattan apartment market, one in which every square inch is scrutinized.

If you like what's current and don't care about resale, then by all means do what you want. If you hold onto your home long enough chances are the next buyer is going to rip out whatever you do anyway.

As for what's going to look dated, IMO: dark granite countertops and imitation "pro style" appliances. Think you're probably OK on the backsplash...

Doing a 'what's in what's out' article attracts readers. Some of us read to be informed, some of us to make a final decision based on trends, and some of us to cackle ourselves silly over the idea that something we just installed 4 minutes ago is already out.

I have a soft sage living room, a gold bedroom, a red kitchen, and wood floors. I love them and get tons of compliments. But at some point I've read that all of the above are now out. I'm a fairly educated person who is hopelessly addicted to decorating magazines, wanders through new home models occasionally with friends, and watches the latest t.v. shows. I don't think I'm out yet. I don't think my granite counters or tumbled marble backsplash is out yet. I don't think the matelasse bedding I bought last year is out yet. I think I'm going to decide what's out for me. If I put my home up for sale in March of 2011, I may have to paint the kitchen high gloss navy and buy some white shag runners for the entry in order to keep up with trends. My vintage black & white building prints may have to be replaced with Framed Lizard profiles to make a statement about how modern I am and to stand out on my wallpaper covered walls. (I just KNOW wallpaper will be back by then and I will need to do it all over my house!) My t.v. will be in the dining room hanging over the sideboard like everyone else's on the block if I really want to attract the buyers. Actually the trend may have changed so much from large homes with lots of square footage to tiny little cottages and studios, and I won't be able to sell at all since my conspicuous consumption of 1907 square feet will be a massive turnoff to educated buyers.

I think good taste and ease of maintenance will rule over specific materials whenever you sell. There are always things you can do to update whatever you have. Sometimes it's as simple as using this years Flavor of the month paint shade and a few new accessories. But natural products such as tumbled stone, granite, wood, and some others I can't even call to mind right now, are still going to be in favor.
I'm no fan of the current aqua and brown color trend. I also have no love for mid-century modern and glass backsplashes. But that doesn't mean they are out, it just means they are not that cool to me. No big deal.

Red

The first tumbled marble I set was in 1993. I'd say 15 years is a little more than a trend.

Oh, (rock) solid info top help with perspective is terrific. Thanks, Bill. BTW, what are you seeing as the next "new" look(s)? Is sunshine yellow glazed coming back in by any chance?

Roey, I hope you put in and enjoy your lovely tumbled marble. Even classics have to have their cycles.

I'm really surprised at the reaction here. This is a real estate article about multi million apartment sales in a market that is totally disconnected, and going in the opposite direction, from what is happening in the rest of the country.

If you paid attention to which appliances helped sales, they are all more expensive than most people use and they are added for prestige purposes.

The comment about tumbled marble back splashes was almost an afterthought. And what looks tired in one region may not look that way in another area of the country.

Besides, who cares what some real estate person you don't know (and who probably doesn't cook) says about a kitchen unless that person is listing your home.

I thought it was also interesting that the article made it clear that the majority of Manhattanites who remodel go right ahead and put in what they love, without fretting about whether it will affect the resale value or whether it's 'on trend'.

It's just a piece of fluff journalism for the weekend paper, nothing significant.

I think that article is a hoot. It's so specific to a particular niche of Manhattan appartment buyers, that unless you are one of them, it's largely irrelevant.

You know what sells houses in my part of the country? School districts. What kind of faucet you have, not so much.

what are you seeing as the next "new" look(s)? Is sunshine yellow glazed coming back in by any chance?

Not if I have anything to say about it!! LMAO

Seriously, the biggest "new" thing is different kinds of glass tile in formats other than mosaics. Another thing that's becoming more and more prevalant is new and innovative patterns-- originality is going to be the next big thing. Another one is framed features over the cooktop or stove. That one's been around for a while, though. It's getting more and more intricate, though.

Actually, there IS one thing you're going to start seeing more of, if for no other reason, just because it's so far "out of the box". I've had conversations with several people now, from architects, to electricians, to other tile contractors, about something new to think about, and I have a feeling that when I finally build my own home again, I'm going to do this in my front entry, and that's the use of fiber optics as accents in ceramic or stone design work. Think about it-- something like this compass rose, outlined with light yellow fiberoptic lights in the grout joints, and red fiber optics at each of the 8 points:

That's just one example. Fiberoptics would make for a terrific nightlight, too, espeically in the bathroom floor!

Interesting thread - found while searching tumbled marble. Like you, I keep gravitating to the TM and love the look, the variation in color, etc. I will try to post pics of my kitchen. I am wondering if the tumbled will blend with my medium brown, cherry cabinets, Arctic White Corian, warm butterscotch-stained floors. Dont mean to hijack your post, but i agree with the posters...go with what you like.

Black granite was actually on the NY Times list of desirable counters. That and white. I'm doing white shaker cabinets with stainless appliances and dark counters because I like them...so there :-D !!!

Decorating trends are not like clothes fashion. It takes a longer time cycle, like 20 years.

Stainless appliances were the "hot" thing many decades ago, then yes, they fell out of fashion. Everything does, after a long while - the eye simply gets tired. Especially these days, when everybody and their mothers can get photos of their remodeled kitchens up on the Web for millions to critique.

I admire a nice piece of granite, or onyx, or even Cheng's fad-creating concrete countertops. Very pretty stuff. But just like rooster prints all over the kitchen, seeing it a few times is okay. You just don't want to see it in EVERY kitchen, that's all.

Natural stone has the advantage of unpredictability. No single installation is going to look quite like someone else's install, even if it's the same stone. So the eye doesn't tire of it quite so fast...but it does happen. Specifically, although the first few dozen tumbled marble backsplashes I saw were (and are) nice, now it's hard to tell them apart. Everybody's got a special design arched over their cooktop/range, maybe a horizontal border, maybe not. Same old, same old.

It's going to be the total package - counters, floors, cabinets, appliances - that make it possibly impressive, perhaps lasting design. None of us will know until we look at it in 20 years and say either "Blech!" or "Yeah, still looks good!"

Still, this is a great time to be a consumer - the variety of what is available to us, within affordability, is absolutely amazing.

It is so difficult to keep focused on what really makes you happy when all the shelter mags are singing certain themes and you see them over and over. I have years and years of AD and H&G and Southern Accents in my attic -- going back to the 70's! Just couldn't bear to part with them. I go up there and sit on the floor and leaf through them to try to get a sense of what "we" thought looked good then. Also I kept some of my favorites from back then so I would have a touchstone. Can't say it's kept me sane, but it has kept me aware of how much the shelter mags brainwash us. OTOH they give us models and themes and a way to sort through all the choices. They also let you see how things trickle down. White cabs and apron sinks and stainless steel and dark wood floors -- fell in love with all this when I saw it done by Victoria Hagan in the kitchen of a tudor house in the 80's. Now, it's everywhere. What's next???????