[The Bard Rocks]

Nothing beats ceramic tile (slate, brick) for functional wear and little trouble as well as always looking nice and in style. BUT you cannot put it over the tile unless you cover the tile with cement boards or something similar. Cement itself is perfect. As has been mentioned, this is not a floor you will want to go barefoot on, too cold.

Tile has a reputation for being extremely expensive. It can be, but it can also be VERY inexpensive if you pick a lesser-expensive tile or one that is on sale. To keep costs down, you have to avoid much of the add-ons that they sell. With a good surface under it (perfectly flat cement), all you need is the tile, the mastic (the "glue"which bonds it to the underlying surface) and grout (fills between tiles). What really racks up the cost is the labor, but if you are doing it yourself, that suddenly becomes $0 - and that's how it becomes the cheapest quality floor. Fortunately, installation is not especially difficult and for special tools, all you need is a tile cutter which you can rent or buy for $1-200.