I said "most." The custom parquet in the first pintrest link and the
end-grain "tiles" are very cool and look well crafted. I think there
was one other of those "barn wood" type plank floors that looked
finished, and like it had been completed someone who didn't buy his
tools last weekend.
Un-sanded wood and freakin finish screws! Are you kidding me? Many
looked like they barely had a top coat on them. Big, uneven seams
between most of the boards.

Personally I don't find most barnwood style floors appealing but it
does depend on the look. I lean more toward modern and industrial.

So are you saying you don't like the "look" of stone or you just don't
like laminate because it's fake? Because one of those pics is a
laminate that "looks" like your first set of pics, ugly wood planks put
down on the floor. I'm not being a smart ass, I'm really asking.

I like stone. It's just I usually see more of it I like on the outside
of a house than inside on the floor.

That multi-colored laminate planking does look kinda ugly. It would
probably be good for a bar, restaurant or game hall doing a theme.

You can have originality AND quality. The first pics you posted reflect
a trend that can probably be blamed on all the home and garden
television shows in which artistic interior decorators who look good on
camera but have as much experience and craftsmanship under their belt as
the 17 year old fry cook at the local Mickey-Dees go into a home with
ideas that certainly qualify as "original" but severely lack any
functionality and longevity, and remodel it.

I agree and blame H&G all the time. I hate shopping for furniture for
that very reason. I loathe sales people who stand there and try to
tell me why I should love a particular piece.

When are current couch was delivered, I stopped the delivery people
from bringing in more pieces because the color was wrong. We chose a
light brown/tan. What arrived was off white. The men said call the
store. So I did. Get this, the sales woman said to close the window
shades as I was probably getting too much light in and not seeing it
right. WTH? I had her on speaker phone and the three guys delivering
were shaking their heads and trying not to laugh. I made them take all
the wrong pieces back. I won't be shopping there ever again.

I like real wood, not particle board. I admit I do have an
entertainment center made partially from some manmade stuff which was
painted and not properly coated. It scratches easily. Worse, they make
them all in white then paint over for your preferred color. We're not
watching TV much anymore so ultimately we may get rid of it and put
the LCD on the wall for movies.

There seems to be this pervasive ideology in interior design that
because you're using old, rustic, oft-recycled materials which are rough
and imperfect in appearance that the installation of those materials can
also be rough and imperfect. There's a reason that $h!t started out of
a barn you numbskulls. :-)

LOL. True. I appreciate the rustic look, it's just not my style. I do
however try to recycle when possible. I think we waste too much.

I've seen recycled barn wood done properly, with excellence in esthetics
AND craftsmanship, combining durability and functionality. And I've
seen stuff like in most of those first pics you posted.

I think the end cut boards look interesting but I don't know about it
as flooring. A restaurant near us has some on walls and it looks neat.
I'm certain it's easier to clean on the wall than floor but I'd rather
not be the one trying to dust.

The big trend now is to put barn wood up on a wall for wainscoting or
all the way up on say, a fireplace wall. They just put it up with
drywall screws. I mean, if you're going to try to make your living room
look like a stable, at least use period fasteners.

Agreed.

I totally agree. Like my grandfather used to say, "If we all liked the
same things, everyone would be chasin' after your grandma."

LOL! Your grandfather sounds like a wise man.

.. it had better be well made and installed with skill and experience
to insure it functions properly and for a long time.

I hate having to redo things to fix a bad job.