If the concrete is in any way in a shape that you would be happy with, I would for sure do the stained (not painted) concrete.
Although I do not have any interior projects that I have done, I have many outside ones and would not hesitate a second to do inside as well.

Here is a link that might be useful: some of my concrete projects

Wow punamytsike!!! Those are some awesome cement projects. Just how did you do it?

Tere, punamytsike!

Not only is the cement fabulous, but her ceilings are amazing too (did you click the link at the bottom of the cement page?). Punamytsike, when are you coming over to my house?!

Seriously, I'd love cement tips as well. I would like to yank up my light beige carpeting and stain the cement underneath a tortoiseshell brown. I hear very varied responses to this idea: some say it's easy to do and will look terrific, others say that it's hard to DIY stain "old" cement (as opposed to newly poured) and that I might need to sand off the top layer for the stain to take...

Tere, tere :) and thank you for the compliment :)

as for old concrete, you will never know until you try. Fresh concrete should cure at least 30 days before you attempt staining.

I will copy and paste the questions / answers that I have gotten about my stained concrete, if you have more, please let me know...

How did you learn how to do this? Does the stain you buy have some kind of detailed instruction?

By doing. The place that I bought the stain from, at least used to sell starter kit that contained little samples of all their stains and a video showing how to do it.

Where do you purchase the stain from?

I just call them up. Their website is www.decosup.com.
HD says that they are also selling some kind of concrete stain, but I have not tried it and do not have confidence that they know what they are talking about. When I was looking for blue that actually would work, they were trying to sell me a concrete paint, telling that this
was stain, it was not.

How long did it take you to do the front porch area? Is this a long, time consuming, labor intensive process?

I can try to give you the steps and approximate time frame.

1.design itself I cannot tell, as this was off and on creative activity.

2. Cleaning and prep of the concrete - This is the entrance that is mainly used, so there were some spots that I needed to grind, you cannot use chemicals for cleaning, so maybe 2 hours or so, as it is not large area. You can clean it as much or as little as you like, knowing that the stain does not cover anything. I think that with my design I could have been able to get by with less cleaning, as the busy design
fools the eye.

3. Drawing the design and etching - 2 -4 hours. You wrote 'Ray cut the design'- what does that mean? Is the concrete etched in some manner?

you are correct, the 'cutting' is in correct concrete terms
'etching' I believe. All the patterns, everywhere that you see two different colors touching each other, there is line sawed / etched into the concrete. That was the part that my husband did. I first drew the pattern on the concrete with a pencil. Then he etched it using small 4' grinder.

4. Staining - no more than hour for the darker color and 1-2 for the lighter color, both were done twice and I used the cheap foam brushes from HD.

Colors I used:

Lighter brown - Aged Leather
Darker Brown - Rusty Brown
Yellowish - Bronze
Almost black - Espresso

5. - After last color had dried 24 hour or more, I neutralized the chemicals with baking soda water mix. I just made half bucket, threw on the slab and used garden brush to agitate it all over the slab then rinsed with water - no more than 30min.

6. After slab was try, I sealed with the sealer using regular paint roll. This did not take long either. I sealed also twice.

How often does it need to be sealed?

I do not have answer to this question yet as my oldest project is 5 years old and it is going strong, no visible need for resealing yet. It is supposed to be very durable, in our Florida sun, things tend to last less. I will see, I guess.

What cost was involved?

I believe the stain is about $45.00 per gallon and gallon covers 200SF. The sealant I bought in 5 gallon and it was less than $ 100.00. Again, it is supposed to cover 200SF per gallon. For all my projects together I have bought 2 5-gallon buckets and I have still a little left.

I you can calculate yourself. Both stain and sealant you would use at least 2 coats. The darker brown I used in some places 3 coats, but each successive coat takes less stain.

Hope this helps. If I did not answer some questions, then just let me know.