Is it reasonable to apply textured tiles like stones or pebbles in spaces such as the bathrooms? 9

As someone who has never had a lot of money, I dream of having a tiled backsplash on my waterlogged, crumbling kitchen walls, and aspire to NOT having bare bulbs hanging around my apartment. And as a cleaning lady, those pebbled/rough stone bathroom surfaces are my bread and butter. They get very gross in a very short period of time, and take a lot of time to clean. I charge by the hour. Money in the bank. On behalf of cash-strapped housekeepers everywhere, thank you for these kinds of ridiculous trends. If this continues, I'll be able to afford some very snazzy custom tile. (It will be smooth.)

P.S. - Also, as a cleaning lady, I've had two chandeliers fall from the ceiling as I was very lightly, gently dusting them. Make sure your chandelier hardware is something better than builder-grade, or you could have a scene from "Clue" on your hands.

UPDATE: Was dusting another expensive chandelier, noticed that one of the links in the chain that it depends from was starting to come apart. Pointed it out to the homeowner, who was 100% unconcerned. When it goes, it's going to take out a fabulous antique French desk with spindly legs and an embossed red leather top. sigh

Textured tiles are a beast. My entire kitchen backsplash was done in textured/dimensional tiles by the previous owner. It looks nice, but in order to clean them I literally have to get out a toothbrush to get into the various grooves and crannies. I would have much preferred a smooth tile. The result is that I always procrastinate on cleaning those tiles because it is such a pain.

I’m so glad that you have addressed the major safety issues around some of these images that we see and in magazines. Thank you.

A few years ago there was a trend in my city to use large, polished porcelain floor tiles in upmarket homes. They were crazy expensive and looked amazing when new. Unfortunately they were always in light neutral colors and showed dirt like it was a feature and were impossible to keep clean. To make matters worse the polished surface was deadly slippery when wet and scratched if there was even one grain of sand under your shoes. These tiles were ridiculously impractical and looked bad after just a few years. The trend lasted about two years until the early adopters realized the mistake they had made.

I have those river-stones in my shower. They aren’t hard to maintain because they aren’t too deep and I live in Arizona where it’s very dry. Those rugged stone walls would be difficult. I agree with you. I want my home to be safe and welcoming to kids, pets and the elderly.

Great content! Id also add chunky, uneven rugs that are easy to stumble on.

"They do look nice ... but ... " now that is damning with faint praise.
Natural stone showers? I have seen a couple of them that were excellent, but they were open-air in tropical areas, with ferns and moss instead of mold and grunge.
We decided early that there would be a "media room" and a living room. It's been great.

I would like to add Mosaic (and grout cleaning)