Do Home Owners Know the Difference Between Hot and Impractical Design Trends?

Homeowners these days have a plethora of resources for home design, and often get inspiration from sites like Instagram, Pinterest, and Tumblr. But are the trends they're looking at actually worth the cost they take to create?

Before you undertake a clients HGTV-inspired design, make sure they know how things will play out in the long run.

For example, marble countertops are very popular at the moment, but are also very impractical. Gretchen Kennelly, an interior designer in San Diego, likens it to "installing a white sponge on top of your cabinets." What design blogs don't tell homeowners is that marble is very porous, and will stain if anything acidic is on it for too long.

Another problematic trend is metal tiles. If you're in a coastal environment, salt in the air could cause rusting (yes, even indoors). And water left remaining on the tiles for an extended period of time could accelerate tarnishing, according to Kennelly.