Why not go with cork again? Concrete will be far less comfy, and we put in a pool bath and seem some cracking ... from my googling I think you have to expect that.

Whether turquoise will work will depend on the granite you pick, and also how it flows with the rest of the house. High gloss paint will require signiificantly more wall prep (will it be new drywall?) and more work to remove in the future

Oh, I am sorry you have to deal with all that!

We have stained concrete floors everywhere but the MB. They look good and are easy to maintain but they are hard on the feet and the sound travels too well.

But that would be true about any hard tile.

I really wanted cork in the kitchen but DH said "no way". For some strange reason, our DW leaks a bit of water from time to time (a topic for another post) which would ruin the cork in no time. Plus, the kitchen floor is a continuation of the LR floor but I don't have the budget to re-do all floors.

The good news about stained concrete is that they have more color options now-days and some of them are marvelous. I really like they way it looks and you cannot do much damage to it. We ripped off the carpet in the other 2 bedrooms and had the concrete stained in "tortoise shell" which works great with gray colors.

To ease the strain, you can use area rugs or gel mats.

I say go for it.
You sound at your wits' end and just tired of everyone else telling you what to do and what you like.

I saw this product I am thinking about trying. It's a concrete ... layer? that goes over anything they claim. Here's the link to the product: Ardex Featherweight and the Tintable topcoat. Here's a blog where I read about it. Kara Paslay raves.

Disclaimer: I don't know this product or these people. I have, however, a plan in mind for doing some concrete over laminate. I'll probably try this.

I hope this idea helps you in some way.

DH vetoed cork again. It really was a complete mess to clean up and tear out. Cork holds a LOT of water, which is how 2 other rooms were wet before we noticed. I did love it- but wouldn't wish this mess on my worst enemy- seems like we're finding a new issue daily. Yesterday I finally had everything (dehumidifier the size of apt fridge & 6 industrial size fans) out and was able to clean enough to cook. Found the "disaster" crew cracked the frame on my Miele dishwasher when they removed the sink cabinet. The estimator came by and I showed it to him, his comment was "Sure they did". Well, if that was the ONLY place in the kitchen not covered with dust and dirt, I can guarantee it was them. The crack was pure white.

Plus I found out they were supposed to clean. When I asked, the guy said they normally do it after everything is put back together- 3-4 weeks at least. I can't go without a kitchen that long, let alone live in the mess. I can just about guarantee I will NOT use them for the rebuild!!!

I'll check out those sites- I found some place called concretenetwork.com that has tons of sites that you can order catalogs and color samples from. Even found some that are water based and safer around pets.

"Sure they did"

He's supposed to be in your corner.
Un-eff-ing believable.

I can't imagine how worn out you feel.

I have cork flooring I bought 3 years ago and have yet to install. I keep reading such pros and cons I'm almost afraid to put it in!

But I just saw an extreme home show last night. Some guy built a round, hurricane-proof house with cork flooring. Because when water came up thru the bottom of the house, the flooring would float and dry, without mold or rot.

Oh, who knows. I know I feel overwhelmed at times. I know you must..

Oh Luckymom I feel for you. I too am dealing with a major water leak. its been 2 weeks now. We are fortunate that we can live next door in my father in law's house, as he is in a nursing home. We have about $75K + of damage. maybe more. I keep telling myself its going to be so nice once everything is new, but a major PITA (pain in the a$$) until then!

Here is a link that might be useful: my water leak thread

CE- it wasn't the insurance adjuster with the attitude (though he's like a used car salesman- tells you what you want to hear, not necessarily the whole truth) it was the guy they send out with the bid to redo the work from the clean-up company. I know it's going to be a battle with them- luckily they don't get paid by the insurance company. We'll get the whole check, then pay out, so the jacka$$ better be prepared. I called and found out the current comparable Miele is running about $2400-$2700. I'm betting the aren't going to get paid very much after all this. Gotta get photos- we may have to get an attorney involved.

As for cork- it's wonderful and I'm sure solid cork would dry eventually, unfortunately most of the cork I've seen has a filler layer in the middle that won't. Plus everywhere the cork touches while wet (drywall, kickplates, feet on your furniture, etc) will be wicking up the water- I caught our before it got to my hardwood ecept for one small 3" area.

If I could talk DH into it, I'd put it down all over again. It's nice on my poor old legs & feet. Plus it never showed dirt, never broke anything that fell on it and withstood 3 messy dogs. We did have a couple extra layers of poly put on ours to help seal the edges.

Things are not moving along too well- funny thing that guy from the restoration company is over a week late giving us a bid on the redo, but they WERE kind enough to send the bill for the water cleanup work- UNBELIEVEABLE! Actually charged $43 to move my stove (with DH's help!) about 15 feet. Even better, their bill won't cover the cost of the new dishwasher.
Still no word from the adjuster. Said he'll get back with us next week. going on 16 days since water leak. UGH! Good new I finally found my granite (Paridiso Bash) and it's actually long enough I won't have ANY seams. I have a counter on the one sideof the galley kitchen that's 133" long- granite is 135". Sort of a grey/blue with some white, black and peachy/brown shades.

I'm so sorry. We had a total basement flood during construction and the "disaster" crew that arrived - a national company- was an absolute joke. They spent more time standing around and going back and forth to get more equipment--and then the equipment they used was so over the top it kept blowing our circuits. And they had the gall to try charging our contractor thousands for equipment rental of all this stuff that just sat in our house because it wouldn't work!! This, after they left us at 1am with water pouring in because they decided there was nothing more they could do.
Whew. I apparently have latent anger....anyway I absolutely feel for you. All I can offer in comfort is that it will be worth it in the end.