Carpet. Ugly, grey, literally-threadbare carpet. It is something we intend to get rid of, but carpet here isn't easy, in choice or available installers. But we'll go again with it, with something industrial-strength like we had at a previous house, a warm, dark brown most likely, to deal with the dogs and the dirt and the everything else that still manages to get inside past the mudroom.

Preference: A mix of polished concrete and then some laminate in the bedrooms/studies etc. as it is a softer material. Tiles are cold under foot (if not heated), harsher (dropping phones and falling bubs). But they can last forever if you get a timeless finish and are easy to maintain and clean. Laminate can be easily scratched (chairs moving, animals, kids etc) if the brand is not high quality, thus diminishing the finish over a potentially short time. However, if you have the ability to choose a great brand, you will not have this problem. Hope this helps!

Looking at your proposed changes to kitchen floor plan, and if I'm interpreting it correctly, I think having the cooktop in LH corner of long sink benchtop would be somewhat awkward & hazardous esp having an opening/door into the room right there. I think there needs to be adequate space on BOTH sides of cooktop to allow more elbow room for cooking processes, setting hot pans/pots down, etc., and also need to think more about opening/door placement in this scenario. Will you be replacing the current sink? If so will you have a single or double and with or without drain board? Do you want dishwasher to right or left of sink? Would be good idea to include Euro bins in new cabinetry, and as many drawers as budget will allow. Maybe can include a spice drawer? does your current pantry function well as is?

HI Robyn. We put the microcement over our ceramic tiles. They did have to grind them back a bit as they weren't level unfortunately. The microcement is only 2-3mm thick and can be applied over a number of different surfaces, but if you take up your floor boards the level probably would go down a lot. Where are you located?