With the exception of some cool tile in the bathroom, the second floor is entirely from IKEA and their Tundra laminated flooring. It was super cheap $1.20/sqft and easy to install - and considering we just aren't up there enough, it's perfect. A proper wood floor would have run at least $6/sqft, and we had other places to put our money.
The first floor was a little more interesting, since we had some overriding requirements.
First, the first floor had to be all one level - I'm talking no bumps more than 1/4" even coming in from the front door, going out to the porches, or going into the shower. Why? Physical access.
I've had elderly family members that have or had issues in mobility - so that little bump is a huge hurdle for them. My sister also did a lot of work with people in wheelchairs, and it just made me realize how challenging just one step can be. And I plan on dying in this house ... so now changes in elevation at all. That's a really challenging requirement, if you don't know your flooring when the founding is being dug (literally) - everyone needs to get on the same page, because it is something they are just not used to thinking about.
Second, since we had radiant floor heating, we didn't want anything to insulate the heat - so wall-to-wall carpets were out, and wood wasn't a very good option either.
Third, we needed something durable ... we have dogs ... with claws ... so a soft wood would look like crap in a few years - you should see my old house.
Fourth, we wanted something cool ... ever fearful the timber beams would make the house look like a cabin in the woods, we needed something a little more modern - not cold, but modern.
So what did we end up with?
Well, with the exception of a cool tile in the shower, the entire first floor is concrete. We were initially hesitant ... Patrick wanted a wood flooring, but we just kept asking ourselves, would the covering really be worth the extra $10K ... so let me deal with the reservations, since I had all of them.
CONCRETE IS TOO HARD
Yes, concrete is hard ... I prefer solid, but I get your point. I can certainly go barefoot in the house, but if I'm walking around for 4+ hours, I'll feel it in my heels. And probably when I'm 70, I'll feel it in my knees and hips.
Solution: Use rugs and slippers. I only have one large 12' X 15' rug in the open plan house, but it's enough of an island to take out the concrete hardness. The slippers also soften anything better than the top of the line carpet pad - so if I do start feeling it - rarely now, it just reminds me to put on slippers.
But here's the dirty little secret ... most people in the US who don't have a basement are essentially living on a concrete slab anyway. Most starter and track homes that are not on a basement don't have a carpet pad at all (the carpet is actually glued down), and the few that do are of such a low quality that there is no shock absorbing power - a pair of socks would do a better job. Yes, you might have a quality pad, and it's probably doing the job, but if you are on a slab and you didn't put in your carpet, you might be shocked to pull it up.
CONCRETE IS TOO COLD
It is, when left to its own devices, which is a great thing in the summer, when a cold floor actually feels good. But in winter it would suck - unless of course you have radiant floor heating, which we do. Again, can't go back to forced air. If you are thinking of concrete and not radiant floor heating ... it'll still work, just try real hard to insulate the slab underneath if all possible with several inches of rigid foam. Might not be possible, but you want to avoid those finished breezeways between a garage and main house that is essentially uninsulated concrete slab - yikes.
CONCRETE IS TOO MODERN
Which most people associated with 'cold'. It can also be warm with the right stain and treatment. Suffice it to say you can make concrete floors look like ANYTHING ... wood, tile, marble, sand, whatever ... it's all in the stain and artist.
In our case we just went with a nice soy-based concrete stain ... do NOT pay anyone to do this for you, since it is way too much fun to do on your own for $30 per 1000 sqft. Since you're looking for an interesting texture and uneven appearance, you just need to basically apply it to the floor like a 5 year old would ... the more uneven splotches, pools, and drips the better. If you have this urge to roll straight lines like you would when painting a wall - call in your dog and 5 year old to get the job done - I'm serious.
CONCRETE IS TOO UNFINISHED
Uh, stain is a beautiful thing ... go find real life examples (not just pictures), and you'll be surprised.
We did make the mistake of not putting on a heavy gloss sealer, and now it's extra work to move furniture around, but that totally glosses up the finished look.
CONCRETE WILL CRACK
Yup ... part of the charm, and get used to it ... again, if you're going for pristine, then get rid of the kids, the dogs, the cats, any plans to eat or cook in your house, and wear sterile lab jumpsuits with fluffy slippers.
I'm not saying this is 10 year old sidewalk cracking with chunks ... I'm talking about a fine line of cracking is likely in one or two places. In our case the guys who did the concrete for mudroom is perfect with no cracks. The main house has two cracks, but I think the guy kind of sucked and didn't put in the stress lines like he should have. No one notices them.
That's all the negatives I could think of ... here are the positives.
THERMAL BATTERY
It is by far the best material for the regulation of temperature (both hot and cold in your house). Next to our air tightness, it is probably the #1 reason why our house can stay warm without a furnace during the coldest winter days (-25F) as long as the sun is shining. And it is also the #1 reason why in summer, we don't need air conditioning.
Again, if your house leaks like a sieve, then this is probably less of a bonus - but it's worth something.
AESTHETIC
It is a very cool look ... not cold modern, but very simple, clean, and warm (our color is a brownish orange adobe). Since it's all one solid pour, it just brings the whole house together.
ENVIRONMENTALLY SOUND
The stain itself can be very earth friendly ... I used a soy-based one, and it was very easy to work with ... like water. Some of the muratic acid stains basically make you throw away your clothes once you're done, but this was very nice. Can't speak to the high gloss finish - although a soy-based one exists, it didn't get the job done. So I'm on this new one, that I don't wanna do until I can open the windows ... it melted the plastic container already.
Although concrete is not the most sustainable material, it is recyclable, it doesn't require an additional floor covering, and it lasts long enough to pay back it's environmental costs (that floor ain't going anywhere).
CLEAN
Quick cleaning is dumb easy with just a broom - since the surface is so smooth, it's faster than pulling out a vacuum and plugging it in.
Super cleaning a concrete floor is dumb easy ... throw some hot soapy water down, scrub, and then suck it up. Yes, you need to avoid the couch, but still. But let me tell you, once you clean a concrete floor, you'll never have wall-to-wall carpet, because you just wonder at what must still be left in the carpet. Granted we have two dogs, that have outside access on demand, so they bring in some dirt during certain times of the year. But I'm still amazed at the dirt I pull up each week on a floor that looks pretty clean. This isn't an exact science, but I'm talking dark brown to black water from a 200 square foot area that didn't look that dirty to begin with (and we don't wear shoes in the house at all).
The key with concrete is that once you clean it, you know it's clean (if I were to go back over it, the water would be crystal clear) - whereas carpet has just too many places for dirt to clean to despite the best carpet cleaning commercials.
COST
Again, I'm cheap, but this is a big deal. Since flooring comes in at the end of your project, and it's something that you could skimp on - most people forgo that $20/sqft Brazilian exotic wood and go for something simpler ... and they probably should.
This is where you get into a little game of the chicken or the egg ... do we have concrete because we wanted passive solar and radiant flooring heating, or do we have concrete because we liked the look or it made it easier to do one level on the first floor? Who knows, all I know is that I don't have a significant expense of floor covering ... we're talking anywhere from $6-$20/sqft for a decent floor covering (we couldn't do $1.20 IKEA laminate on our first floor - it just wouldn't make sense).
Bottom line: Although you can always do a laminate and that would probably win for most affordable floor covering. If you want something more substantial, then concrete with a DIY stain finish is perhaps the most cost effective floor finishing available to a home owner. You figure a cubic yard of concrete costs about $300 around here, and it'll cover 108 square feet 3" thick ... that's pretty cheap compared to some crazy Brazilian exotic wood.
Again, none of this is going to mean anything unless you like the look, and you really can't tell what it'll look like unless you see real life examples. The online resources are OK, but many remind me of that textured wall painting that was big in the late 80's ... go see examples, order some samples, and take your time.
