I guess I was under the impression that concrete floors would be a cheaper option than many when it comes to flooring. I've not looked into it, as we're renting, but that surprises me a lot!

I've always liked this idea. I would think they would be easy to clean. I would perfer to see them in a room filled with more colore.

I could never get down with this. Looks cold.

Having lived with concrete floors, I have to add that they are fine when you are going to a store for a meal or a shopping trip. Long-term, I find them painful, cold and uncomfortable. But then, we love laying and sitting on the floor. Frankly, I would call them the antithesis of sexy.

Have you considered poured resin?

You get an industrial, hard-wearing finish; a seamless look; have colour options (and texture too), but it is more comfortable.

Very popular in Europe; I've been waiting for poured resin to become popular here as well.

Jealous! These are lovely.

Also, I've noticed that concrete is very sound proof.

I was waiting to swoon, but that last one did cause me to sigh. Maybe I'd swoon if I saw them in person.

Ah, beautiful! My (rented) place has all concrete flooring and I love it. Looks amazing, easy to care for, and perfect for the hot weather that I live in. I think it looks best when paired with more natural materials - wood, wool rugs, and warm colors - orange, yellow.

I agree with @Amy the Bicoastalscientist; my guess would have been that concrete floors were not very expensive?

Love the 4th shot.

My grandparents had concrete floors in their original home. I've always loved the look.

EXPENSIVE TO DO! Drat :(

We pulled up the carpet in our bedroom and study and used concrete stain on the floor. I love it here in Texas. It is nice and cool in the summer and it is easy to clean. Alot better than the old nasty carpet! I love it!!!

Good luck with the concrete topping - the cracks tend to broadcast from the slab below.

With that said, if you want an exposed concrete floor go with a new one by a skilled concrete contractor - not to generalize but I will: here in America concrete contractors tend to be messy. Some of the best concrete I've seen comes from the contractors in Japan.

as a follow up, if you do have an existing slab you aren't happy with and like the monolithic look of concrete, look into an expoxy coating. They look great and aren't as dated as concrete flooring - which has been popular for +10 years.

ScarlettTexas, did you do the concrete stain yourself, or hire someone? I'm hoping to stain the concrete floor in my basement, and have been researching the process and treatments. Thank you!

I've had concrete (actually a lightweight version) for my kitchen and dining room for nearly 15 years. It does crack...but I think this has more to do with some problems with the weather during installation and the fact that it was a single 14'x18' pour ....but the subtle color variations are amazing. I will probably replace it when I get around to renovating (budget gods willing), but will look to concrete tiles or latex-impregnated cork....epoxy has a lot of off-gasses....but it sure is pretty.

I have a honed concrete floor in my basement, and I love it. I would have it throughout my house if I could.

I stayed in a house in New Orleans that the floor was the concrete slab the house was built on. It certainly wasn't anything like the home in this article, but I liked how it was cool and easy to clean. The owner had a big fluffy area rug in the living room which helped make it less sterile. The only drawback was the house had major pluming problems and all of the pluming was part of the slab. House is no longer there due to flood... :(

Love this look when there are no cracks and it has a nice shine/polish to it. I think in a hote climate it would be great (like here in Texas).

We did it ourselves and it was so easy! The carpet had nails that we were careful to pull up around the edges. We went to Home Depot and asked for advice. I think we used one coat of something to treat the concrete and then used a tan concrete stain-2 coats. My husband used a roller with a handle to stain the concrete.

I have concrete floors. I don't really think of them as trendy although they have been in the magazines lately. To me they are a classic and it is not uncommon to find mid century homes around here with concrete floors (often with radiant heat).

Here is my experience for people who are considering these. I pulled up the ground floor carpets and had some areas of old asbestos tiles removed. The carpet had been glued to the concrete subfloor and there were carpet nail holes all over, so every concrete contractor I spoke with said I needed to do an overlay - a skim coat of either concrete or epoxy. I went with concrete due to concerns over the epoxy off-gassing - also all examples of epoxy I have seen are very flat single color tones, and I wanted more tonal variation/organic look. The whole process cost more than it would have been to put in tile, wood or cork at about $11/sq. ft. not including asbestos removal.

I like the look of it and it is easy to maintain. It is cold in winter so we add rugs, then pull them up for summer when the coolness is appreciated. I don't have issues with the surface hardness, I suppose I'm not standing on it for long periods of time.

My overlay floor has never cracked. That said, small cracks (1/8" or smaller width) in concrete are natural, not necessarily a flaw - it is part of the movement/breathing of the material. Your bigger concern is moisture. If your concrete has signs of moisture, it is not a good candidate for this type of treatment.

What do people think of painted concrete floors? My husband and I just moved into a California ranch style home with lots of unfinished concrete flooring (living room, dining room, master bedroom). I'm originally a New England girl and am partial to wood floors, so I'm not sure how to react to all this concrete. It kind of makes me feel like we're living in a garage. But I am loving the floor-to-ceiling windows that let in TONS of light and give us sweeping views of vineyards. With this in mind, we are considering painting the floors a deep blue (in between a navy and a midnight blue). There is so much light in the house, that I'm not worried that it would create a darkening effect. But I'm intimidated to start painting, as it would make for a big change that would be hard to reverse if we didn't like it. Maybe we should consider a varnish to shine it up instead of paint? Any thoughts from those with more familiarity with concrete styling would be hugely appreciated!

Beckestra- Talked to my husband - We stained the floor tan, one coat and then put 2 coats of a matte sealer. We left the nail holes and uneven spots where the carpet glue was. We love the uneven rustic look and it cost less than $100.

@California 49 - You should consider staining and/or polishing also. The only problem is, that painting and staining aren't things that can really be undone, so you will have to be really sure about your decision. As I mentioned above, I have concrete floors that my homes previous owners had stained. I think that the slight polish really makes it feel more finished, and not like a storage area. I don't mind the neutral tan they used for the majority of the basement, but for some unknown reason they stained the bathroom floor orange... Its really not my thing, and my only real option at this point is to paint it (apparently staining concrete twice is a no-no).

I've had a question for a while that I can't seem to find any resources on. We have old ugly parquet flooring in our Manhattan apartment and are seriously considering just ripping it out and polishing/finishing/whatever the concrete underneath. Is this possible? Is it as "simple" as it sounds or is the concrete underneath not desirable?

Anybody with information/resources about this? Thank you!

Most "housing"concrete was NOT poured to be used as flooring, but merely the foundation. You can throw a lot of money at it, and still be terribly disappointed in how it looks. You CAN polish good concrete with special chemicals and diamond burnishing equipment and it will last a long time and be very pretty, but it's not for the faint of heart, and it is not cheap.

If you just put down sealers, finishes, and paint over plain concrete, you will most likely be disappointed because the residual moisture in concrete will continue to wick out forever, and make a mess of your finishes.

I notice many comments saying concrete would be good for places where it's hot.

Piping in from northern Minnesota, I'd like to add that most concrete slabs poured here these days has radiant heat built into the slab. It's very cozy.

We are definitely planning on concrete floors in our next house, with lots of raw wood accents.

These are some gorgeous examples! I love the softening of the industrial aesthetic through the wood accents (as I see other readers like, too!). I read recently about a pair of Barcelona-based artists who have created what they call a concrete carpet, which is essentially concrete tiles treated with acid. The effect is kind of psychedelic, yet reminds me of natural mineral mottling one sees in some nature photos: http://www.smart-urban-stage.com/blog/future-of-the-city/new-ways-of-sanctuary/ I wonder if any readers have experimented with acid washes?