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orangecamera Laminate is the way to go. It's very durable.

olldbobbi For somthing attractive and as permanent as can get, I would look into the porcelain wood look tiles. They're impervious to kids and pets, easy to clean and they look just like wood. I ordered some free samples (free shipping, too) from this company and I'm impressed: http://www.builddirect.com/Porcelain-Tile.aspx

olldcan What's this space going to be used for?

Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders We have laminate in our bonus room over the garage. It is cold and it makes a hollow sound when you walk on it with hard sole shoes. I think tile would also be cold and it would be more expensive than hardwood -at least in our area. I would use carpet for the room over the garage.

tntw The space will be used for short term temporary guest, it does have a mini kitchen in the living space, so I can expect some spills...

Dytecture Personally I like to use Sisal carpet in areas such as above the garage as they are non-directional and have a rugged look.

olldcan Take a look at cork flooring. I was all set to purchase it for above our garage (rec room/lounge/ping pong/ shuffle board/ fooseball/ bar/tv/ sofas etc etc 800 sq.ft) for many reasons but got talked into laminate. BIG MISTAKE, the laminate is a disaster all day every day

Deborah Butler, Brickwood Builders You could do tile just in the mini-kitchen area and something warmer in the remainder of the space.

Linda If you use carpet tiles, it is easy to replace a piece if necessary. Some of the new carpet tiles look really nice and are easy to work with. If you let the adhesive dry until tacky, the necessary tiles can be peeled off for cleaning/replacement.

tntw Thanks for all your ideas, I will look into the sisal and carpet squares