If you are sure the outside drain is the culprit, I suggest you contact a professional waterproofing contractor to either re-route the drain or install a sump pump for your protection. This is nothing to mess around with, and it is only going to get worse over time and lead to bigger and costlier problems.

Laminate tiles. When we redid our kitchen in our old home before we sold it, we replaced the old worn laminate flooring with a laminate tile by Armstrong that looked like slate tiles. Something like this:

http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?productId=100493366&storeId=10051&langId=-1&catalogId=10053&ci_src=14110944&ci_sku=100493366&cm_mmc=shopping-_-googlebase-_-D23X-_-100493366

and they were great. The tiles were even textured so that it felt like slate with grouting. The buyers loved the flooring and thought it was great (with an active 3 yo, they were grateful for the easy-to-clean and care for flooring). It was especially important because the utility closet including the washer/dryer, furnace and hot water boiler was along one wall of the kitchen and the laminate flooring was important at one point when the water boiler leaked water all over the floor.

Cork. You'd be amazed at the different looks available in cork now and it is very good in basement. Also very eco/health-friendly if your kids are going to be playing on it/spending time in a room with it (no stinky glues or finishes, just floating, lock tiles). We had it installed a year ago and LOVE it...people always comment on it too. They don't even realize it's cork.

On the other side of our basement where we just have laundry and storage we had a special vinyl installed - can't remember the name of it but it looks like ceramic, comes in a roll, and is very budget friendly.

This is somewhat off-topic... but this was happening to us as well.

Got one of these, and problem was solved (from drain clogging POV):
http://www.lowes.com/pd_110855-676-70_4294935952_4294937087_?productId=1002675&Ns=p_product_qty_sales_dollar|1&pl=1¤tURL=%2Fpl_Drainage_4294935952_4294937087_%3Fpage%3D3%26Ns%3Dp_product_qty_sales_dollar%7C1&facetInfo=

BTW, we have laminate flooring in the basement -- and it was a pain when it flooded. But have stuck with it now that we have the drain issue resolved.

There are types of ceramic tile that look like wood - sizing, grain, and all. Like these - http://www.woodlooktiles.com/
I get them at Architectural Ceramics for my clients. But they probably have less expensive ones elsewhere.

tile is the best. The funny part is that ever since we installed tile and fixed the foundation draining issues we never had a leak again to utilize the tile.

MommyFTW wrote:We used carpet tile in ours so we can remove parts that might get any water damage.

I considered this but am too worried about possible mold growth. What I discovered this Sunday morning is that there are often portion of the padding that gets wet and moldy without it being obvious by touch the carpet.

We have porcelain tile with area rugs where needed.

Cork would be a good option.

We have a beautiful laminate after learning the hard way TWICE!

We also now have four sub-pumps. High water table.

Sigh.

We have ceramic tile with smaller area rugs in strategic places.

Cork tile. It's awesome.

Basement got flooded during the Friday afternoon rains. Just paid a small fortune to removed soggy carpet and padding and really do not want to go the carpet route again. What do other use in their basements. The affected portion is used as a playroom and will likely stay the children's domain until they move out. BTW, the flooding was from a blocked drain outside the basement door so there is no issue with the walls, etc.

Thanks!