Michele, We wound up going with Milliken's Tesserae. It does have integrated padding. Here's a copy of my post about it (which is now on the next page--I also have pictures there): "We used Milliken Tesserae carpet tiles (panels) in our basement. Our situation sounds a lot like yours--we put them down over bare concrete in a basement that is half children's playroom half media room. We've had them down for 1 1/2years and have been thrilled so far. They keep the floor warn; they are very comfortable (surprisingly soft and padded--we went with the highest end ones--I believe they are called "Tesserae Spectrum". We wanted the thickest possible pad, so we were willing to pay a little more. We orderedl them from fastfloors.com. They carpet tiles are fabulous when we (about once a year) get a slow leak from under our basement stairs. This happens during torrential rains, and we just pull up the relevant panels, let the concrete dry out, and then replace. We used wall to wall frieze on our stairs--there's no real way to use the panels. We took a panel into a carpet store and matched it as close as possible. It's not perfect, but if you weren't looking for a difference, you wouldn't notice it. Laying them out is pretty easy, although trimming the edge tiles is a bit of a task. But slightly raggedy cuts don't show at all, thank goodness, as long as the tile is cut to the correct size. Let me know if you have any more questions. Menards never used to carry these--that's great that they now do! Home Depot sells the Legato, but the Tesserae is usually only carried by carpet stores or on-line places."

marcolo- Thanks! I really don't want to price things if they don't look right to begin with. I want to know what I want before I have the GC go searching a million things. Right now, a rectangular casement is in the building plan with a Colonial or Modified Colonial Grille pattern. Same for the glass side door to our deck. I just thought the above was pretty but figured you might say it doesn't "fit". (which is fine.) There's also the "prairie" grill pattern for window and door but I doubt that works either? Do you think colonial? Suggestions? I AM thinking of doing some upper cabs with glass- I was thinking leaded but may change that based on budget. Like these: or this, but I like the glass better-- even if it's more simple than above? I appreciate any suggestions... I'm willing to let the arch look go or perhaps I'll just do the arched valance over window (depending on window) which the cabinet guy said is no problem...

If it is really wet while you are running on it, then "... glossy is bad for floors". Only if you are running or shifting your weight a lot, like darting back and forth or side to side. When you take a step you aren't incurring massive risk. In a small room you barely have enough space to shift your weight from your left leg to your right leg. You move nice and slow, like an average person on an average day in a small room. Another significant point is this: it's when there is a lot of water that things get slippery. Any tile, any kind, any roughness. Think of swimming pools. They aren't surrounded by high gloss tiles but people slip there, often. Rough surfaces are no good as antislip surfaces, when wet. Then some people say the grout lines make it antislip, and that therefore you need small tiles. This is more BS, now piled higher and deeper. ("p.h.d.") People get a subjective feeling that their toes can grip onto grout lines, but this doesn't prevent much in the way of accidents, if they are darting around. Executive Summary: Relax, drop the concern, and move on to the next thing to think about.

I welcome all rains! But, I suppose my climate is one where the rain avg. is low in the summer. I couldn't imagine a scenario where I would cover the garden unless the plants were very young and would get damaged from a storm. Right now, for example, my indeterminate tomatoes have topped their concrete wire cages, even with a hail storm (which are fairly regular here in the summer) it would be entirely impractical to attempt to cover them. When I have seedlings that were started indoors, but outside to harden-off and take advantage of the sun, I do bring them in during nights and cold weather, and I put them on the roofed porch during daytime rains. I want to control the water and soil conditions of my seedlings, and being tender, they can damage easily. If, over time, you create soil conditions that drain well, the main issue with drenching rains is the temporary runoff of soluble fertilizer. That's easily replaced, so I personally don't see it at an issue. That said, there are areas where too much moisture (especially surface moisture,) can create conditions for fungi, bacteria, and disease. Also keep in mind that gardening is a win/lose proposition from the start. Some years, depending on many factors, you gotta just cut your loses. Knowledge and experience will help you act and react to prevent problems, but even the best take big hits time to time. One trick I like to employ is to watch for a light rain. Then, if the conditions are right, I'll get out there and water the garden. Use nature to jump start and share the water burden. I don't think anyone mentioned it yet, but you can pick up a cheap rain gauge, That will help you monitor water amounts. Also, and I think I read someone else mention this... if you overhead water, set out a cup or an old pan and keep it in the garden. By measuring the depth of water in the pan, it will help you get an idea of how much water the garden has received. It also has the added benefit of attracting wasps and solitary bees.