New build here and we are starting stain tomorrow. Met with our stain guy today, and he made it very clear that tape shouldn't be put on the actual concrete floor at all for any reason. He said it would ruin it. I have a friend who has stained floors and the tape marks were very noticeable, they had tapped her floor as well instead of doubled paper then taping the paper down. I am afraid that you will see the tape marks with any color of stain. Hope you find something to fix it. I am sorry that they ruined your floor plan of stained concrete. It is beautiful.

This home is lovely. Nothing is wrong with the trim or floor color. It is classic - and will never become "dated' - one of the perks of owning a well preserved older home. Do not turn it into something "2017" because then it will become dated. Lighten the walls and enjoy your lovely home - and turn off HGTV if you watch it much:)

Hmmmm. Doing the math shows me this is $3/sf. I'm leery of ANY concrete floor finish that is less than $5/sf. And even then, I prefer to see $10/sf to ensure an low/no maintenance epoxy (clear epoxy in your case) finish. To grind down/off the brown to the point of being READY for a finish, I would expect $3/sf. Which indicates that the professional is simply going to offer raw concrete floors - no finish. I would ask for several quotes from him/her. One = 'polished' (ground to a lovely glow) WITHOUT finish (probably your $3/sf). And one with an epoxy finish that is low/no maintenance (probably $7-$10/sf). If I'm correct and the $3/sf is simply ground down, then you will have plenty of fun with staining, etching, pitting, etc. Unsealed/finished concrete is more difficult to deal with than marble...it is much easier to stain. And as a heads up, "general contractors" are NOT the professionals who deal with concrete flooring. A professional concrete expert who is an epoxy specialist is the person you want to deal with. General contractors can and will mess up a concrete floor faster than you can say "do it again".

I have (had) painted my stamped concrete twice now, two different colors since the original, and it comes out great and lasts a few years. It just needs to be a specific kind of outdoor paint.