I used your tip in the redesign of my blog. What do you think? http://shaunchapmanblog.com/

With every project, I learn something new! I always try to be as particular as possible with my textures/gradients. Because while they look great, as you said, its very easy to over do it. Properly using texture is something that takes lots of practice to perfect.

Textures, gradients, rounded corners, blah blah blah. To some it’s essential to use (and over-use) these techniques to make a website truly “2.0″, but it takes a good eye for design to know when and when not to apply these styles.

Tres bon!

Sometimes a designer may like the color palette and the general look of his/her design, but will feel like it’s “just not complete”, like there is something missing. In those instances, it’s often beneficial for a designer to begin to play with texture, either in the foreground or the background of the design, to see if that’s the missing link to pull it all together. A lot of times, texture is exactly what’s needed to add the subtle touch that makes a design “just feel right.”

The real bottom line, I think Adam’s saying, don’t underrate the subtle elements of design, they can have the biggest impact.