Wayne wrote about stained concrete flooring:

> I love the look. Our new office building has this through the major
> portionis of the ground floor. I would actually live having it in the
> kitchen despite the risk to dropped items. (I rarely ever drop anything.)
> However, we have wood floors underneath or floor covering.

I also like the fact that a concrete floor is inherently cool; it makes it
easier to keep the house cool. And if the floor ISN'T cool, you can cool it
off just by mopping it! (This trick wouldn't necessarily work elsewhere. If
your humidity is high, mopping the floor will just add to the humidity and
the water won't evaporate. But it's very dry here, so the water evaporates
and the net effect is to cool the floor.)

When I lived in San Diego I had painted concrete floors; that's where I
learned to appreciate them. It's a lot hotter where I am now, so concrete
floors make even more sense.

For the kitchen, I'm trying to find out more about eucalyptus or cork
flooring. Both seem to offer the "forgiving" surface I'd like when I'm
carrying around slippery crystalware.

Bob