The Fixer To Fabulous-Approved Flooring You'll Want In Your Own Home For Durability

Floors are the base of the home and are subject to serious wear and tear. Taking a beating from shoes, furniture, and pet paws, floors have to stand up to all the action and traffic they get. Most homeowners have opted for some kind of engineering hardwood or tile floors, particularly for the busy rooms of their homes. However, a flooring featured on HGTV's "Fixer to Fabulous" might be the new favorite. When discussing what he sees for the future of the home, Dave and Jenny Marrs' client mentions wanting stained concrete floors. Jenny Marrs excitedly agrees. "Stained concrete [is] awesome," Marrs says in a clip on YouTube. "It's obviously durable, it's modern, very clean and sleek, so I like that." The choice may stray from the traditional, but it's a great choice for homes.

Staining concrete creates a unique work of art on your floors. Concrete stains are either water-based, with a mixture of pigments and acrylic polymers, or acid stains, which use metallic salts and hydrochloric acid. These can create a marbled or stone effect on the concrete in various earthy colors. Along with stain, concrete can be stamped to look more like tile, stone, and brick, allowing homeowners to create a custom flooring option for their homes. The finished product on "Fixer to Fabulous" looks sleek and modern, the perfect option for an updated bachelor pad.

The durability and aesthetic of concrete are one of the reasons that Jenny Marrs loves the material for interior flooring. Because it's water-resistant, it's a great option for a home centered around a pool like the Marrs' client wanted. Concrete is also easily cleaned and resistant to bacteria and odors, which also makes it a great option for homes with pets.

Some people may be concerned about how cold concrete may be, especially in the winter and in colder areas. Luckily, concrete flooring pairs well with radiant floor heat systems to create heated floors. This can make the floors comfortable to walk on, even without shoes and socks.

While cracking is inevitable with concrete floors, it's not a sign of the durability. You can use cement paste to patch and disguise cracks that may appear over time. Another benefit is that concrete is a more eco-friendly material because it doesn't use natural resources and is made locally on the renovation site. The material can also be recycled, so there is little waste. Plus, because concrete absorbs both warm and cool air, it can help reduce your heating and cooling needs.