Love it or Hate it: Concrete Floors

7/24/2012 03:41:00 AM

While dreaming about my future home, a place that is only real in my mind, I thought about doing concrete flooring. Not because it's the most amazing choice, but I'm dreaming about a house I can afford to build. Yes, I want to build a house! I can just imagine all the custom stuff I can put in there instead of  updating a cookie cutter townhouse that is insanely expensive. I want a place that is really cost efficient. 
No tile/wood flooring = lesssss cost!

I'm not into the really pristine look, so I won't mind the imperfections a concrete floor might bring. Just worried about the "coldness" of this choice, but you can cozy up the space in other ways. To be honest,  I'm loving this. Whenever I went to showrooms with concrete floors, I'm falling even more in love with it. Haha...

You know my stand, what's yours?

Love it or Hate it?

concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

With its neutral color, it will pair up well with many hues. Add some wood elements to warm up the space a bit.
concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

When you think of concrete floors, your mind goes directly to industrial design.  But you may take it in another direction. Using traditional and feminine decor and furniture will transcend the industrial and make it glamorous. 
concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

Lots of white and punches of colors looks great with these floors too.
concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

Or take its macho character and go with it. Some industrial finishes and sleek vintage wood furniture would be great for a bachelor's pad. 
concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

Another thing that I like about it is I think it's so low maintenance. It's used in home depots and garages for a reason right?
concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

Concrete + black + wood + tons of white = lovely
concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

And for those who love it that much, take it up the wall.
concrete floor, cement flooring, polished concrete interior

I think I'm sold on going this route if ever some miracle money comes my way and I can finally build a house. But if the miracle is so miraculous that I won some sort of millions in lottery, I'm pretty sure I'll be installing wood. :)

So, love it or hate it?

32 comments

  1. I'm loving it! Never knew concrete floors can be this beautiful and if it's cheaper than wood then I'm all for it too when we build our dream home hehe.

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  2. I don't really love or hate concrete floors. I think it would be pretty hard to convince me to purchase a home with them but not for any good reason. I can definitely see that they can be warmed up and prettied up!

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  3. Hello dear :)) I'm not a huge fan of concrete floors.When we bought our first house we had a concrete floor for like 6 years- we were not crazy about tiles,carpets or anything so we keept concrete. sure we made it look cozy and warm enough but i think i fell 'out' of love.:) ,Maybe i would consider concrete floor in one single room......or not..much love :) Jane From Mauritius Island..

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  4. Beautiful kitchen! If the concrete floor was well polished and shiny it's ok. But it might be a little bit too slippery when you have a kid at home.

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  5. I think concrete flooring can work but it does depend on the the style of the room and the furniture in it. I think it works in most of the photos you have published.

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  6. You just gave me a solution to one of my major home problems. We currently have ugly crazy-cut marble floor. I wanted to have it tiled but it's too expensive and vinyl won't work either since the floor is uneven. This is just the perfect thing to do especially since I just painted the walls and furniture all white. Love it, temporarily, for my house. :)

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  7. Hi there Elle!
    I see you've been away from the blog for a bit. I know u have had terrible flooding in the Philippines. Hope everything is OK with you!

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  8. Hi Elle,

    Awesome blog. My family's currently building a house Antipolo. One of our priorities right now is to minimize costs, so we're seriously considering polished concrete floors. I love them, but my mother is reluctant to have them. She's concerned the home will look 'incomplete' or 'unfinished' hehe. Someone suggested vinyl tiles to save on cost, but I think vinyl can be tacky.

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  9. I guess concrete floors are not for everybody! :) But for cost-effectiveness, I'd totally go for it. Thanks for the input everyone.

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  10. I have concrete floors and love it!! They are easy to clean and even easier to clean when painted (shiny). Looking for a pretty rug now..

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  11. Ofcourse I love Concrete Floors. It is not so costly and can build a dreaming house.

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  13. I definitely love concrete floors simply because of its flexibility. It is amazing how concrete floors have evolved from being grey and dull, to a common sight in many interior designing magazines and pictures. I personally like how it can be styled to look shiny, colorful, and sometimes that plain dull grey adds so much personality to the space.

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  14. I could not dislike anything more than I dislike my polished concrete floors. I find that they do scratch a lot, show every bit of dust, dirt and; living in dry drought stricken Texas ranch land; find that they are so much work to keep polished and looking good. Make sure that you inspect the floor very carefully for smoothness, lumps, filled areas, damage, cracks and flaws before it is stained and covered properly while the house is built. make sure that the colour is the right colour and get samples on real concrete before you make your choice. Make sure that the person who polishes them cleans them properly before the polish is applied. Make sure that you are not chemically sensitive otherwise you will not be able to move in for weeks until lung searing chemical smell has gone. Could go on as these are just a few of the problems we suffered with our floors. Hope this helps another side of the situation

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  15. @anonymous thank you so much for the tips!! will keep that in mind when we start on this project :)

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  16. I love the character of concrete floors. The flaws, the hairlines, the discolorations all add up to a "story" that(pretentious) factory-made tiles can never tell. Concrete is like canvas.

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  17. I definitely loved this post on the Floor Hardener because of its flexibility and durability.This protective measures for the damage and cracking.Such a nice posting is helpful for different organization.

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  18. My husband does this for a living. I can tell you a few hopefully helpful things about polished concrete. The floor has to be in good condition to be polished. Cracks are fine, they can be filled if not too wide but they will always be there. Some people love the cracks others don't. The floor has to be flat if you don't want any of the stones to show through in spots, again some people don't mind that others dislike it. If doing it in new construction make sure the concrete contractor pouring the floor knows that it is vital that he pour a flat floor with the right mix for polishing. Good contractors follow a set system of steps for polishing, it is time consuming and some choose to skip steps leaving you with a floor that is not truly polished. Be careful that you choose the right contractor. There are a lot of fly by nights that use machines that don't really polish the floor well enough to make it easy maintenance. Their are many grades of polishing, each with a unique amount of shine. They can be slippery when snow is on top so rugs at entrances are a must. Water does not make them slippery, only snow. I think they look best in a regular gray concrete color or dyed slightly darker but that is my opinion. Black is a maintenance nightmare. Like any surface the medium shades show the least amount of dirt. You can have professional cleaning done to bring it back to new every few years if you want. You can't say that about most floors and much cheaper than re-sanding a wood floor. All that said they can be a beautiful surface for your floor. I think they lend themselves to the most modern and most rustic styles. I think many people will just love them if they follow these rules. And don't fall for the process of "chemically polished". That is not a real polished floor and will not produce the easy maintenance floor you are expecting with truly polished concrete. Best of luck with your projects.

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    Replies
    1. Looking at doing this in a MN home. Can I contact you and ask you questions?

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  19. @mntngirl thank you so much, super informative and helpful. Will definitely go to this comment when the time comes for our concrete floors. thanks again!

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  20. i love, love concrete floors! not the sealed and polished type, but the bare, raw-looking concrete floors. it gives so much character to a house. the polished concrete floor is somewhat cold, which can be easily solved by using lots and lots of colorful accent pieces though. i'll be renovating our second floor next month (high five for tiny houses!), and i'm seriously considering about using concrete for floors. i found your blog through thrift core, so i'm following you asap. thanks for the inspirations, elle!

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  21. High five to you! Good luck with your floors.. and thank you for following! :) :)

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  22. I love concrete floors. Concrete floors are relatively easy to polish, and are hard wearing, easy to maintain, very cost effective, sleek looking and will last a lifetime.

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  23. I hate, hate, hate my polished concrete floors - entire house. They look dusty, scratched, have places that are white looking and rough and refuse to come clean, alcohol - even one drop with leaves a permanent white spot. My husband and I are in our late sixties and early 70's and these floors are so hard on joint pain from arthritis. I am told by floor experts that nothing can be laid on top to replace them. I would not recommend them at all.

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  24. Hi Elle. I'm a Pinay living in Manila as well. :-)
    We're doing house renovations at the moment and as to floors I am really bent on doing a concrete finish instead of using tiles/vinyl. Like you, I also fell in love with the idea because I believe it's cost-effective, easy to maintain and encourages many decorative ideas. Do you know how the finish is achieved after pouring concrete on the floor - like making it water-resistant and polished?

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  25. I love concrete especially when it is gloss or enhanced with other materials to make it more chic and stylish. It is also perfect for warm climates because it stays cool even in the hottest weather.

    Decorative Concrete

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  27. Reading this in 2020. My sister and I love the aesthetics and practicality of concrete floors but our mother favors tiles. Concrete flooring reminds us of days spent in our grandfather's house. Now we're planning to elevate the floor of our 1970s house because of potential flooding problems. When our house was built we were about a foot higher than street level ngayon halos pantay na lang bahay namin sa street. We only get mild flooding during the rainy season but muntikan na kami pasukin ng baha last year. We'll probably compromise and have part of the house with tile floors most likely our nanay's room because she's not in love with concrete like us.

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  28. This blog post discusses concrete floors, presenting the pros and cons of this flooring option. The author's insights provide valuable information for readers considering concrete floors, offering a balanced view of its benefits and drawbacks. Check out more from
    Concrete Company Augusta.

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  29. Regardless of preference, concrete floors offer a versatile canvas for creativity and can be transformed to suit any style, making them a unique and practical choice for modern spaces.

    Check out the best Concrete Contractor Clearwater

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Thanks for dropping by. I'd love to hear what you think! :)

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