Pebbles (smooth round stones set on mesh, often called river rocks) have been around awhile now- 4-5 years ago, they were fairly hard to find, and very limited selections were available.
There are a LOT more choices now, widely visible at Coverings. Some options: stones “standing”- set in vertical orientation, irregular edged stones, different varieties of the stones- with color variations or quartz in the stones for transparency, marble pebbles, and even squarer edged stones standing, so that they look like a miniature wall. There are also pebbles that have been shaved to create flat tops.
The best selection of pebbles (and other tile) I saw at the show was by Solistone, http://solistone.com/pebbles_tiles.shtml.
Nothing beats the foot-feel (massage-like!) of the traditional rounded pebbles set in a flat format, but with all these choices, pebbles can go anywhere- think backspash, listelli, fireplace surround, etc. The look is perfect for the very popular nature-inspired look, and real stones add dimension and texture that slab marble or granite cannot give.
I loved a shiny green, semi-precious looking stone that’s glass- Tavoos is what they call it: http://solistone.com/freeform_glass.shtml
Check out the metal pebbles, too- they take the look to a fab, fun, mid-century place: http://solistone.com/metal.shtml
