Instead of the black and white, you might consider two shades of beige - a very light cream and a camel tan color. That's what we have in our kitchen, and while it has the interest of being on the diagonal and expanding the space visually, it is not as stark or as limiting as the black and white. Plus being neutral, it works with any colors that you might put with it, including black.

I love b&w checkerboard tile. It's a classic. IMHO it looks great with a fresh green.

You can always throw a rug or FLOR tiles down on the tile for a softer surface that can be cleaned. I love the tile idea and think B/W is classic and works with many colors and styles. It's a high contrast look so it is an eye grabber - not good not bad, just what it is. Les's tone on tome idea is also versatile, a calmer look, less visual impact. Again, not good not bad, just two different looks but either one would work. What kind of decor do you gravitate to? High contrast or more subtle?

The basement appears to have concrete walls, not sheetrock...does the room have a tendency to be cool and damp? What do you tend to use the basement for? Is it a family room or just a bonus room? Planning to sell in the near future?

I would probably go with neutral tiles, as Les suggested, and a large throw rug in the seating area for warmth & comfort. I think the b/w tile would be too overwhelming in the space, particularly with the black ceiling. My personal preference would be to nix them anyway...in a basement they just seem cliche, sort of retro-wanna be.

We used 2 shades of gray with black for our kitchen and den floors and it looks really nice IMHO. Very long story short, they need to be replaced (not due to the look) and we will go with a similar style in different materials. I think the high contrast can be visual overload in a large space. If you want the black and white, perhaps a 3rd or even 4th color could tone down the mix.... We went for a basketweave pattern instead of the checkerboard.

Instead of black and white, how about tiles that look like concrete? You can always add an area rug.

Thanks for all of the comments!

We use the basement for all of our TV viewing, playing games, and working out. Plus laundry (obviously). The laundry room is really a different room, but I don't have a wall or door up.

Some parts of the basement have concrete walls, but most are paneled.

Dianalo---I love that basketweave pattern!!! I'm just not sure I want gray, as the basement is literally chilly, and grays always seem cool to me. But I really like that look!
I don't think we are selling in the near future...but one can never tell, the job market and economy being what they are.

If I went with B/W on the diagonal, I'd definitely have a big throw rug by the TV viewing area to break up the space visually. Plus, we'll be getting a new couch, so that will help as well. (Right now it looks like a bomb shelter down there, I realize!)

I guess my issue is that B/W are the only colors of VCT that I can visualize as looking classic. I do have lots of B/W throughout the rest of the house, but none are checkerboard--mostly floral, paisley, etc. And I have MCM furniture throughout as well. Here are some pictures of the rest of the house (which are all works in progress, trust me, but it will give you an idea of my style)

Living room

Bedroom

Guest BR

2nd living room/family room (whatever)

exterior of house

Our first basement we went with self-=stick tiles that had a granite look. They worked great. We had a split so the basement wasn't dark and we had nice windows. We also put in a gas fireplace and then had a nice piece of carpet bound for an area rug in the family room portion. Bottom line do you want the room to get used? It has to be warm, bright and not dark and basement=y for that to happen. With your allergies you many not find the basement a space you are ever comfortable in. What would your family need to be comfortable in that space? The tiles you suggest would be dramatic. As suggested a bit more neutral might be safer?

My sister just had her basement finished w/drywall, made extra bedroom, kitchenette,etc. They used a beautiful wood look laminate. It's fairly light w/some gray black in it and knot holes - it looks very real. The bedroom and tv area they put in carpet. It all looks very nice and the carpet helps break up all the wood look.
I am not keen on checkboard or black and white - I think I would tire of it very quickly.

My neighbor put b&w flooring in the front hall & kitchen. She loved the look but was unhappy with the maintenance. She felt both colors always showed so much dirt. Maybe that was just her & her fussiness, but I toss it out for consideration.

Maybe dianalo doesn't have that experience with her cool looking patterned floor.

What about doing the dianalo pattern but with another color combo?

BTW, your other rooms are charming.

I like the ceiling and think you are on your way to a great place to hang out with the family.
Looking at the gallery of rooms with VCT tiles on armstrongs site, I think the black and white will be very busy and I would tire of it quickly. But on their site of photos that I linked to I really think the one called artifacts would be quite nice in that room.

Here is a link that might be useful: Look here

Lyban, that is awesome! I do like those. I wonder how much more my flooring people will charge if I ask them to do this?

My very good friend came over today and we started ripping out the existing crummy tile. OMG our backs hurt!!!!!! But this means that we can put the VCT through the whole basement, eliminating the need for carpet.

I'm going to go drink a beer now. I really, really appreciate everyone's ideas and thoughts. At this point, I'm almost rethinking the VCT and just thinking of doing an acid stain, which I love to death. However, I do not think I have the physical resources to complete that job by myself! So I think it will be VCT no matter what.

VCT is a great product. I think it will be wonderful! Just be certain that whatever glue y'all use is compatible with the nasty black mastic left behind by the original tile. (I had to put down a coat of Ardex feather finish to isolate my floors from the asbestos containing mastic...which is also a bond-breaker.)

melanie

OK guys. It's decision time. I really need to order the stuff tomorrow.

As I posted above, we are just ripping out all of the existing tile. So I can put tile over it. For cost reasons (and style reasons too I guess) we are going with Armstrong VCT. It's commercial vinyl tile.

I want to avoid looking like a church basement or school floor. Our ceiling is black with can lights. Basement used for working out, laundry and TV watching and will be an entertaining space (I hope).

What about mostly white tiles (classic white, with some balck variegation in it( and charcoal gray tiles thrown in here and there?

Tell me what you think of that, please--if you don't mind! I am just trying really hard to get tis figured out.

I like Les' suggestion best. Doing the shades of beige would give it a warmer feel to it and most likely be less maintenance as well. I just have to say though, I'm very envious of your basement! Very few have them here in California.

If that were my area, I wouldn't hesitate to do black and white checkerboard tiles. And I think throwing in some gray if you wanted would be fine, too, but I wouldn't flinch to do the B&W.

I personally still like the idea of staining and sealing the concrete. I can't remember who but someone on this board did a wonderful job with theirs and you never had to worry about moisture.

camarodreamer--removing the black cut-back mastic is a messy, nasty project that would involve SERIOUS chemicals. (I know, I researched it a couple of years ago.) And it is almost impossible to get it to the point where one can really stain it...