Buildings too: "International Style" glass-box skyscrapers of the 1950s/1960s were meant to be timeless. Now they look drab, boring and dated.
I expect "Shakycam" of today will not age well.
"That coaxial cable looks sensational" - "Oh thank you Harry, but that's stuffed celery"

Things have changed. Having carpet was the big trend back in the day. Now it's
hardwood floors and other kinds of exotic material. I like current trend of 21st
Century.
Other popular floor coverings are tiles. There are some really exotic and
colorful and beautiful tiles these days. Check some of them out in my signature
below.

Exotic Moroccan Hand Painted Tiles
http://badiadesign.com

We had some weird poured-in-place resin flooring in the kitchen and bathroom. Probably just clear resin with coloured plastic flakes (I remember playing with the leftovers (the flakes, not the resin)) In the dining room and hallway, my dad put down indoor-outdoor carpet. The mere idea of indoor-outdoor carpet would probably make most TV designers vomit all their internal organs through their noses, but it was easy to vacuum, a good play surface for kids, and lasted very well.
Maybe the next floor trend will be dirt. Pour oil on it, sweep the dust off, and it can be a surprisingly durable surface.

True.
The chrome and the stainless steel is capatalist marketing, just like fashions in clothing.
The carpet thing is a little different I think.
Wall to wall Carpeting took off after nylon and carpet fiber making was perfected, people thought this new product was pretty cool, after all, soft, barefoot friendly, warm etc. and yes it seemed to denote monetary status.
It took awhile for humans to realize putting this stuff permenatly on your floor was/is about as stupid as owning one pair of clothes and never taking them off to wash them.
Actually carpet is a lot worse, it basically holds in everthing. Debris that floats around AND bad stuff brought in on your shoes and feet, everything from dog crap to pesticide.
There is probally a very close association with indoor carpet and asthma and allergies.
Vacuming and carpet cleaning is about as effective as wiping off the surface of your clothes. Anyone that has ever pulled up a carpet knows that.
Everyone that sweeps their wood and tile floors daily or weeklly knows the amount of stuff carpets must hold, and thats just the stuff you see.

You are so right. I'm waiting for the day to look back on this and stainless steel and granite counter tops will be out dated.
And you what else is making a come back Wall paper. I've watched a few of Candice Olson's designs and she uses wall paper more than one would think.