I would have to recommend against cork in a basement of high traffic area.Cork originally came up and was installed for low traffic quit cheap rooms.Manufacturers are bringing it back now cause it can be looked as kind of exotic.It is honestly a cheap product.I don't care how well you seal a cork is nothing but pores.Which means installing below grade I would not recommend.It's gotten moisture was and do you think a porous material such as cork is really gonna hold up that well.I mean come on it's cork.A very soft and porous material

We had cork floors for 18 years in kitchen, dining room, entry way and bathroom (same material/color). I loved it and it wore well. It was light colored and almost impossible to see dirt/hair on (we have a shedding dog). After awhile there were very slight raised ridges between tiles that probably was due to washing and letting water soak in. These slight ridges were probably only noticeable to me. When we remodeled, we didn't get cork because we felt like we needed a change and we couldn't find the right color of cork for our new cabinets. I would definitely get cork floors again for the areas you are considering. My preference would be for the floating installation. If you or someone decides to remove the floor, this would definitely be easier to take out. I have a friend who just installed a high end glued down cork floor. Can't remember the reason, but she also would get a floating one next time.

I'm very interested in this thread, as we're considering cork for our family room remodel. I am not a fan of carpeting or tile. We have laminate in our kitchen & entry and do love it. If the same laminate was still available, I would put it in our family room and add a large area room. Alas, it is discontinued, so I have been hunting the past 2 wks for other options. I've looked at the corks from USFloors. They are a good company; their products are "green" which appeals to the earth mother in me. :) We put USFloors bamboo in an upstairs office last month; love it. Wicanders is another good brand. While my family is fine with carpeting in our family room, I'm not. I want something cozy, warm, green, easy to clean & unique. Enter cork! However, I want an area rug as well, so I don't want to break the bank with the cork since a fair amount of the flooring will be covered. This week I went to Lowes & Home Depot; they have a similar selection. We really like the Sage Cork at Lowe's (similar one at Home Depot). It's more of a beige, not as "amoeba like" as a lot of other corks, and doesn't look like a bulletin board. If we get it, we'll try to install it ourselves & save $600. It's $3.99/sq ft. The least expensive one I found from USFloors is also $3.99; colors don't work as well though. Laminate is another cost effective option we're considering. So many laminates these days...patterns in wood, tile, slate, bamboo, marble, etc. I brought home samples today. Nice, but I love the comfy, softer feel of cork. I do worry about scratching it (moving furniture around, dog, etc.) but we would use pads or cups under items. Honestly, I am so overwhelmed today with all the choices that I'm thinking about just picking the wall color (another overwhelming task!) and taking my time. I will try & post a photo of the Lowe's cork a little later. Wags

Great feedback! Yes I am starting to realize how ugly those stair treads are. I have a dog who suddenly avoided the stairs, so I did something kind of quick. I like that they have a rubber/silicone backing so you can pick them up and throw them in the wash as needed. Unfortunately that’s a new enough feature that there are not any nice designs with that feature yet, but I will keep looking. For the same reason, that’s why I don’t want a full runner - need to be able to clean dog tracks. I love the part about hyperfixating! Yes! That’s exactly what I’m doing! Haha. I considered beadboard or board & batten. My home is a federal style row home and the original ones have an enclosed space (two sets of doors) often with tile between the inner and outer doors. I considered trying to recreate a look like that (without extra doors) by doing beadboard for a small entry with some coat hooks, etc. then I thought about pulling the beadboard all along the left wall and to the back garage door to disguise it, but that may not be a good solution either. The right wall that goes up the stairs is part of what is called the tower or the stack. All the floor stairways are in the same location and they’re all open to the floors they’re one, so it was a challenge finding a place to stop one color and where to start another. That color goes all the way up to the third floor. It looks amazing on the second floor where there’s more light, but it’s true - it’s not flattering on the first or third floors, which are basically just hallways. I guess I should consider different paint too.