Oh C'mon V Richards...every epoch has its treasures. B4 you make a mad run for it stop a while and consider the period and the reasons for the style...it can be extremely enlightening....unless its not the period you want to escape from but from some of the opinions. I spent many years of my youth outside of Australia living surrounded by old ruins in Europe. I forgot what it was like here. When finally I returned to Australia and found myself living in some of the 60s and 70s places..I found much to admire and wonder about. I may not have fallen in love with much of it but there was a certain mistique and a feel that I can still conjure when talking about certain places. Not saying that it was all romantic and pleasant but it conveyed something of the era and the kind of Aussie from those days.

Have you costed the other options- the differential may not be as much as you think. I guess it depends on the look you want and the service of the areas. The quality of the slab may affect what options are viable. I would ask some flooring specialists to come to you with samples and ideas. One possible option - paint the floor and get some mats / rugs to define the spaces. This may affect the ability to polish at a later date. There is a coating that can be used to create effects -not sure of costs etc- the website is a bit average and the effects look a bit busy but worth a look.http://icoat.co.nz/ All the best

There is no easy answer to this as it depends on your budget, the condition of the existing slab under the carpet, and the order that you are going to approach your renovations. Have a look at one of my Secret Design Studio's Pinterest boards for inspiration such as this one:https://www.pinterest.com.au/secretdesign/aussie-mcm-interiors/ Parquetry is appropriate for the age of the house, and can be staged according to your budget and renovations, and is easy to work around existing cabinetwork. You need to carefully consider which comes first the kitchen, or the kitchen floor if you are planning to renovate the kitchen, but parquetry does give you better flexibility than a tiled finish. There are so many other options available that may suit your home so do your research, or engage a professional who specializes in mid-century homes, and don't go with anything that will date it as an early 21st century material or renovation (like polished concrete). None of my clients want to live in a museum, everybody wants 21st century conveniences, but still respect the heritage of the home. Celebrate what you are lucky enough to own, rather than modernise to be like every other current renovation. Feel free to check out my Houzz reviews. Best of luck, Dr Retro of Dr Retro House Calls

Look into terrazzo, it's basically polished concrete with style. Terrazzo is a poured coloured concrete with glass or stone chips in it to give it a variety of looks. It's then polished to a high lustre. It comes in any colour like from bright whites to black and you can choose the mix of aggregates to make your own custom flooring. Commonly seen in tiles, it can be poured as well to avoid the tiled look. A similar colouring to sandstone would be easy to achieve this way with a more durable finish. Terrazo's can also use interesting agregates like sea shells and limestone fossils to create a complete custom look. An alternative to a high thermal mass flooring would actually be the installation of phase change material mats in area's subject to direct light. Phase change material is a polymer used in the transport industry that either consumes or gives off heat as it moves from a solid to liquid state. The material is know to radiate either heat or cold back into the environment for many hours in a controlled release after several hours of charging through exposure to heat or cold. It's an inert technology that never wears out and innovative architects are beginning to incorporate it into passive housing design. The panels are manufactured to be quite thin so you could hang a pcm mat on a wall for example and easily cover it with something innocuous but it would passively heat the house.