+1 with Michaelscustomhomerepair- does this translate into Polished Concrete, if so, that is my opinion.

I found this product when I was looking for an alternative to acid staining cement. I don't see why you couldn't roll this over your hard on the eyes tile floor. Check it out at http:www.daichcoatings.com

If you have a Sam's Club near you they have amazing laminate flooring that a beginner can install. The backing comes attached and the tiles snap together. It could go over your existing vinyl and runs about $1.57 a Sq Ft. It is called Traditional Living premium laminate flooring. Certain patterns like the Rustic Oakwood are textured with woodgrain and looks unbelievable when installed.

Paint some or all with tile paint!

I don't know why people are babbling on about concrete stains, etc. The question was regarding floor tile.

Linoleum: not a good option over tile because the grout lines will telegraph through.
Carpet: not a good option unless you do a dricore subfloor first, because of moisture.

'inexpensive' is a relative term, so here's two options. Super cheap and relatively cheap

Cheapest: You said 'floor tile' - so I assume you mean ceramic - you could paint the tiles with an epoxy paint. They sell this stuff for resurfacing bathtubs, so it's fairly durable. You'll have to prep (ie clean properly) the tile, and you'll want to avoid painting the grout lines. You could probably buy two colors, and do a rag-rolled or sponged effect to look more like stone/ceramic tile.
It won't last forever - it will eventually come off.

Cheap: laminate floor. As another poster mentioned, moisture in basements can be a mold sandwich underneath. You need an underlayment that will act as a barrier to the moisture, yet still allow air to circulate and prevent mold buildup. Dricore is one option - but expensive ($2/sq foot - just for your underlayment). A better option is a dimpled membrane - I've used Delta FL and DMX 1-Step (which has a layer of foam as well). Much cheaper than dricore, and easy to install.

Dear Kenneth- we are babbling on about concrete stains as they are looking to update the tiles on the cheap. Not only replacing them with tiles. Read the topic heading over before you babble on...for pitysake!!

You can't use concrete stain on tile 'for pitysake'!!

You take out the tile first "FOR PITYSAKE" lol

OMG- did you really think someone would put concrete stain over tiles?

No - I just never considered someone would suggest to someone looking for an inexpensive fix, removing an entire basement of tiles (ie mortared onto concrete), just so you could stain the concrete. Perhaps you're a hard-rock miner, and consider this a little light exercise? :-)

You seem to know me well...aaah a little sweat equity can be so rewarding. In the end it would be a solid choice!

Margo, Kenneth.....
Positive suggestions...not negative criticisms please.

Kraft paper floors are very inexpensive, easy to do and maintain. And if you get to a point where you decide you want to do something different you can go right over them.

jhperree- I have given postitive suggestions. Kenneth and I are just having a bit of banter with a little humor!

I agree with others about paint the walls first. You want contemporary...your floor could really work with that. Pick up the floor colors in your furniture, art, etc. I would play up the squares that are in the floor perhaps in the artwork and furniture as well. Place an area rug - square of course - in the middle of the sitting area. Square lamps shades, Could be very nice.

Not sure any wall colour could save that tile - it's just too busy. I'm with those who say paint the floor with the appropriate paint and then throw over a large area floor rug.

Agree with Design guidance. Walls first than a great grass cloth rug (get one made for outdoor use so dampness won't be a problem ...by the time you put in furniture and accents you won't even see the floor. I kind of like it. Quite artsy.

The other thing you could do is to buy four cheap long wall mirrors(Wal-mart) and place them under the window. Then hang 4 bamboo shades over them. you could also add drapes on the side. Dress it like a Bay window. Any light will reflect off of the mirrors and create a full window effect. I think I see taupe in the floor so I would use that color and then pick up one of the brighter colors...hard to tell what it is from the picture.

"I don't know why people are babbling on about concrete stains, etc."

Kenneth Robeson:

My time is very valuable and I don't spend any of it on babbling. If you read my comment, you will find that my suggestion begins with coating the tile with a self-leveling concrete/polymer mix, and there is no mention of removing the existing tile floor. My entire point is to provide an aesthetically pleasing surface and avoid the moisture pitfalls that accompany most flooring suggestions. This is something that can be accomplished as a d.i.y. project with a little U-Tube homework.

With the right colors and furnishings, the tile might be quite attractive.

I just did my basement flooring with Allure from Home Depot...it was easy and I like the look

Be careful about trying to match walls, furniture etc. with the tiles, making the tile colors the dominant feature. It only adds to problem. Do make a companion background color match for the walls and then create your color palette.

get a large roll of brown craft paper. Tear it so the pieces look like large flagstone pieces. Leave the natural torn edges and overlap them on the floor. Roll several coats of polyurethane over the paper. It looks like flagstone tile!

A cheap and fast way to cover them would be to lay down plywood, which have been "groowed" to make them look like planks of wood, then stain or pain any colour you like, fast cheap and easy to remove for when you have the money to get rid of the tiles all together

I can see this looking good with a cottage style, paint a faux wainscoting and add a chair rail. But otherwise, a floating floor in some wood or tile look would be an easy fix. The thing is, it looks like 50's style I've seen, which could be asbestos (you don't want to even go there if it is.) I just had marmoleum installed myself last year and LOVE it. But you need a perfectly smooth surface to lay it on and from what I learned you cannot just lay it over existing tile unless it's very smooth.

Call me old fashioned but I like the floor. In my eyes it's the rest of the room that needs help. Go with the flow of the floor. I like the idea of picking a light colour from the floor to paint the walls but pick the dark colour for an accent wall. I know how hard it is to make these decisions because I have been trying to pick a colour for my bedroom for the past month!!! 3 walls light and one wall punch!!! What to do, what to do. lol

If can't do wood planks, do wall to wall which would be a lot cheaper. The tile is ugly.

If you don't mind, would you give us an 'after' picture. You have a lot of good ideas to choose from. (of course, mine is best!! lol) I'm very interested in seeing the results.

What about a polished ciment floor

I had simple sealed polished cement floors for years and everyone seemed to like them...until we could afford to do better. But since you already have tile, painting it would be a great solution.. be artistic, and seal it well. and cheap..be creative!

Hello, would this be a concrete slab? If so polished concrete can look sensational then you can finish it off with some LARGE rugs. Looks FABULOUS.

I have been reading all the different suggestions and I'm sure you are still scratching your head wondering what to do! lol I would take my pictures to my favourite flooring company and they probably could give you all the advice you need.

Natural wood flooring can be glued directly to the concrete using an all in one moisture barrier/adhesive. You can get wood flooring for only a few $$'s per SF if you look around. I'll attach a pic of some quarter sawn white oak that would look nice and is budget friendly. Let me know if you have any questions :-)

If you plan to change it later I would simply paint it. It is quick, easy and cheap and can look really dramatic or sort of shabby chic depending on the color. I painted wood floors that were a total mess white and they looked great.

Not in fashion favor but a great way to transform a room, wood paneling. This is mine done.

Sheets of paneling are 6' x 8' for about $20 - $30/sheet. Trim it out and you're done. I put in new carpet and the job was under $5K installed by a professional. I used a tongue and groove, you can find other patterns. Also there is no treatment or maintenance.

Be very careful about putting vinyl over the tiles. Every indentation will telegraph through the vinyl in the areas you walk. Even a hair will eventually show through on a vinyl or marmoleum floor if it is glued down. All the grout has to be built up with floor leveller before you begin, whether you are going to float or glue the product down. A better bet would be to use wall to wall carpet or carpet tiles.

If the carpet you pulled out smelled musty you have a water issue in the basement. I wouldn't bother with changing the floor in any way until you sort that out first. Water will damage any floor over time and you will have wasted your money.

Right now may not be the time to think about replacing the floor. No sense in doing it incorrectly. What if you just go with it? After all, it is just a basement. The floor (besides reminders of the bad pair of pants) looks Southwestern to me. What if you do fun, bold colors? As houssaon mentioned, it will keep your eyes up off the floor.

@M.A. Signature. You now have 93 comments, and have not responded since the first post. What are your thoughts?

As I said on another post: I think Elvis has left the building :>)

A really inexpensive way is to paint over them with epoxy paint. I did this on 40 year old linoleum with great results.

Have you thought of floating floor boards? They aren't expensive and I think they would look really nice in that room.

You can get some fantastic vinyl tiles that can be laid over the top of you flooring I installed some that looks like polished concrete so good to walk on as they are 6mm think instead of the old 2mm and very easy to clean. There is an amazing range and many different timber looking styles cant even tell the difference between real timber and the vinyl; love them.You get what you pay for so make sure you check out the better quality vinyl~sheeting or tiles.

Epoxy, cheap easy and simple to change to what you want in the future

The tiles appear to have some dark brown in them, so get a dark brown area rug to cover most of the tile. There also is an orange or apricot color in the tiles, so I would advise using that as an accent color.

2013 post

So, a few years later, but for the ones who will read this: try epoxi floor. It's not that expensive and can be very beautiful.

These colors are on their way back so I would just paint them, yes you can paint over tile you just wont see the grout lines. then you can put down an area rug if you choose to do that. the latest trend is returning back to earth tones, take the in 2018. You have so many options with painting, I just finished a powder room that was floor to ceiling tiles, however, if your floor was mine I would polish it and keep it, take the most muted color in the tile and make that you wall color, then reuse that color three times in the room in your accessories, I also agree with the molding , it seems like a good size room so use a molding that has depth and design to it When I moved into my house, I had one bathroom with an avocado tub ,toilet, and the tiles looked like puke, green orange yellow all mixed together. Yes I painted them you can use epoxy paint but make sure you have a ventilation mask to cover your nose and mouth, As far as I'm concerned with your basement, it has a lot going for it! I really would have it cleaned and polished. You can mute the color with what you put around it in the room. Plenty of people would love to have this up and coming floor trend! You're Ready!

How does a post from 2013 become a "latest" design dilemma. That's like a poster with 7000 replies still looking for an answer.
Where is the editor?