Flooring ideas?

Hey, the bar will be going in this winter and I have a couple of ideas floating around in my nearly empty head about flooring. I fo' sho' don't want carpet. Probably do a tile of some sort with a cool area rug. Throw me your thoughts/ideas on flooring. You know, just so I'm not missing out on anything super cool. Oh, it'll be in the basement, over concrete.

The flooring in the lobby of Disney's Polynesian Resort, as well as the floor of the Molokai Bar at the Mai Kai, is made of irregular slate flagstones. It works very well with the tiki decor.

Do a Google search for pics of the Polynesian Resort. This past summer I had to choose floor coverings for a fictional hotel in one of my interior design courses and that is what I used in the elevator cabs. The hotel was called "The Polynesian Deluxe", set in San Fran.

:) Good luck!

[ Edited by: Deery Luau on 2004-12-31 12:12 ]

I have seen a Bamboo tile which was about2 ft long and 6 " wide that really looked super. There is also Bamboo wood flooring. I have a few pieces in my garage. The pices are t&g, 4" X 36" X 3/4" thick. It is bamboo strips laminated together and really looks COOL. I'll see if I can get some pix.

If it's a basement w/unfinished concrete floor I'd consider using woven matting like the rice and jute sold at Pier 1 - they come in 12X12 squares woven in larger sheets. They work well and add a Polynesian touch to what would otherwise be gray concrete. Before you make any costly decisions you need to consider the moisture in your basement. If there is no moisture problem you could go all out and do anything but you'd hate to install decent carpeting, or Pergo or tiles and have them get destroyed when the sump pump decides to quit during a steady downpour. With the matting you could just pull it back up - let it dry out and throw it back down.

Six cubic yards of beach sand would definately give you a tropical look. Easy to install too.

I concur with the bamboo flooring.

It looks killer and takes abuse well.

Cool project!

I wouldn't do the sand thing if you happen to have cats as pets...

Thanks for the great ideas guys... keep 'em coming. As tempting as the sand sounds, I've got cats, plus our laundry room is down there as well. Might create a bigger mess. : ) I like the bamboo laminate... I'll have to check it out.

Oh, the basement is dry as a bone. Poured walls.

The seagrass rug is the way I was headed as well. Oceanic Arts sells one. 9 x 9 I think. 1 foot squares. Heavy for bare feet on concrete. It'll keep the cold away.