Home Makeover W/concrete Floors

I have concrete floors and a 4 year old. They are great for cleaning up messes, but are horrible in the winter since they are so cold. I have a huge rug in the living room that helps, but it still keeps the house cold. The only issue I have with my son is if he is wearing only socks. Then he'll slip and slide, but with shoes or barefoot it's not much of a problem. Just this morning he ran through with his socks and slipped on fell on his leg pretty hard. It's got a red mark, but he's ok. That's about the worst accident we've had and I hope we don't have any that are worse! I also agree that things will break easily. I have had a few sippy cups break, a bottle of apple juice that broke, etc. I plan on getting carpet when my son is older and there is less of a chance for carpet stains.

We have stained concrete in our living area. We absolutely LOVE It!.We have two kiddos, a pool and a large dog who likes to swim. We needed something that was indestructible. We did it ourselves, so it was also cheaper than other options. We have a large area rug to make it more comfy for lounging. It requires sweeping and twice a year it needs to be waxed (mop on,doesn't take long). We don't have issues with everything breaking with them, although glass doesn't have much of a chance (it's similar to tile). They were slightly nerve wracking when the kids began to climb (walking and running never worried me too much). And no one has every gotten seriously injured, ever.The only issue we have is that they do get really slippery when they are wet. We have a pool and have to remind guest to be careful. If the dog sneaks in wet, it can make an slippery spot. Other than that, we have no complaints. We would do it again in a heart beat.

My BIL has stained concrete.
It tends to keep the house cooler. They use large area rugs.
He is now remarried with a young toddler. They kept her on the rugs when she was first learning to crawl and walk, but really has not had a problem. The bedrooms have carpets.

I worked in a store for 3 years with stained concrete. They were very easy to keep but.. They are unforgiving. Anything you drop will break or be damaged, yes, even plastic bottles of cleansers can burst own on them. . The acoustics need to be thought about otherwise it is like being in a gymnasium.. the sounds are intensified. A conversation anywhere in the room can be heard even across 5000 sq feet if the room is not filled with furniture drapes...

Also your back will really begin to bother you the longer you stand or walk on that concrete. So make sure you have rugs in your kitchen where you stand to cook, chop.. etc..

My in-laws have concrete floors with radiant heat. Wonderful.

No, but it's cold during the cold months. Great for summer as it keeps the house a bit cooler.

I have a friend who did concrete floors and stained them..... they looked beautiful. Her children were older so no issues with hurting herself. They were easy up keep. I do believe it does crack as the house settles but she said and builders say, it adds character. In my husbands line of work it is requested a lot a few years back to get this added in the custom homes. But now I think they are back into tile again.

if you have little ones, the area rugs are good to use for them until they are older.

We had stained concrete in a previous house. While I would add to the positive attributes others mention below, I had a problem with how tough it is on your feet. I injured a foot (totally unrelated to these floors) and it was really hard to heal because of the pressure it puts on your body from constantly walking on such a hard surface. I guess it is somewhat similar to tile, but the concrete is really harsh. My body only finally started to heal when we moved to another house with carpet/hardwoods.

We have stained concrete floors in about half of our house (the bedrooms mostly). The other rooms have saltillo tile over the concrete. No issues with children falling or hurting themselves. The only issue I have is that concrete floors are COLD!!! Honestly, though, our tile floors are just as cold. It's really only carpet that would warm them up; wood might be slightly warmer too.

Although I dont have them in our home...We have been in many stores and places with concrete flooring and never slipped. Think about Sam's Club and the nicer gas stations that have concrete flooring. Also Lowes and Home Depot. If the concrete floors were a slipping or falling hazzard I doubt they would keep them around and continue to build new stores with the flooring. I do know someone that ripped up the old flooring and put the concrete in the entire house. Just use non slip matts under any rugs. Hope it looks great. I really would like concrete flooring.

I've had stained concrete floors and liked them. I think they look good. I had school age children and an elderly aunt living with us and no one slipped on them.

I used throw rugs by the beds and an area rug in the living room.