I *must* comment on berndog2's and Cancork Floor Inc.'s remarks with a yes, yes, YES.

This whole issue of 'how can I avoid decor choices now that will look dated in a few / ten / twenty years' has been swirling around in my head, well, truthfully for years.

I see from my amateur side row seat a sometimes desperate attempt by both professionals and laypeople in the last 15 years or so, to acheive this timeless perfection in current home decor. I am on the fence as to whether this is even possible. As Cancork Floor says: "Gray is the 'avocado green' of 2010 - 2015". And correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't grey popular during one part of the 90s as well? Boy, that didn't take long to do a turn around (oddly enough).

Regardless, even Cancork Floor's good suggestion of "simple...single coloured tiles" could look dated unless one stuck to white or perhaps, as he/she suggests, a colour that takes off from the counter colour. But even *then* it could look dated in time. (sigh)

It struck me recently that marble and marble tiles are one product that just *might* stand the test of time as kitchen and bath materials, if only because they've been used for centuries and still look good today. But marble's disadvantages have been well documented and really, we can't all use marble either. Hmm...and wasn't marble popular in the 80s, particularly for upscale soaker tub surrounds? And don't most people look at that now and recoil? That 'marble' might have been more ceramic tiles with a marble pattern, but no matter.

It has also occurred to me why one sees SO many shaker style kitchen and bath cabinets the last few years. I wonder if, beyond the fact that it's a great look in both contemporary and traditional spaces, it is because we think it's a 'safe' style choice. The cathedral top design from the 80s and 90s looks so passe now, even though that shape could hardly be called radical.

I'd love to go on, but I've already indulged in this theoretical tangent long enough.