"George" wrote in message
...


Very true. Today, appliances are SS, where 15 years ago, the best
kitchens had the built-in look, where refrigerators and dishwashers, for
instance, had a panel to match the kitchen cabinets. The color of wood
changes, also. I saw one home that hit me as obviously '70-90's. The
flooring was natural laid oak, as were the cabinets. Even things like
built-ins have decreased in today's taste. Our first home had a built-in
set of doors and drawers between two closets in the master bedroom and
also for linen in the hallway. You don't see that anymore.

Funny how region has a lot to do with thends. SS was popular in the Houston
30 years ago and coming back again.

What I see in today's market are natural materials more than man-made.
One person commented that Corian and Silestone were "cheap substitutes"
for the "better" Granite and marble on counter tops. Likewise, Travertine
is a very popular flooring in upper end homes, with large tile being a
close second. It then spirals downward into the man-made things like
laminates, vinyls and even carpet is not as popular here as it once was.

I would not necesserily consider Silestone a cheap substitute foe granite
nor would I consider granite better.



OTOH, things like skylights and sky tubes are increasingly popular, and
they're something that will probably remain in fashion for a long while.


In Houston it seems the slykights are increasingly unpopular, again back on
the 80's these were popular but leaked. Now I don't see them so much in new
construction.