I am not sure of these colours and where they are from but I have got a sample here in the images. You don't say how big the area this will be... I would tend to go with a light colour up against the jarrah floors...it looks stunning....dark...will tend to close the room in. Romano or Icelandia would be my choice. Romano you can pick up a colour from this and accessorise with it and Icelandia will go with anything...Hope this helps...take care..Robyn

I know of this veneer concrete flooring as an alternative to lished concrete, however as a veneer, it is a thin pour over a solid substrate. Unfortunately the very nature of a first floor is suspended, (although sufficiently supported) it will have flex and movement in it, which this opttion does not favor. The reason is due to cracking, and resurfacing the cracks are unsightly. As a designer, and working on my own renovation, I looked into this option and the technical implications for my build. It was not recommended although possible. I did however find one other alternative, called xlite, which are large scale tiles that replicate the look of stone, marble and concrete too. The tiles run in 3000 x 1500 sheets, so Grout lines are limited and hardly factors. In fact that the unique scale of tile, which is lightweight and has a fantastic thermal mass, great insulative quality is so different, makes this system a feature on it's own.

I've just come from a showing where an old timber house was lifted with downstairs built in modern with all polished concrete. They also had a concrete kitchen bench but kept upstairs traditional with VJ board walls and ceiling and carpeted floors. In my opinion is did not work, was a confusing mix of industrial with traditional. It almost felt cheap as if the builder couldn't be bothered to spend more on timber floors or even tile - even though the polished concrete could very well have cost more. I think dark timber is definitely your best option as it will blend better with the cornices and skirtings. Hope that helps.

I do think it depends on the style of house and decor - but having said that, I love polished concrete :)