I think its pretty cool. Actually, it is not much more to do this than a lot of materials that are commonly used, maybe cheaper.
No, not dull. It would just turn black. Bad idea IMO to use any coins for that. Copper, silver whatever, except maybe gold, and if you walk on it barefoot you're going to track ugly stuff all over the house. Probably ruin your carpets.
Now if they had used the variations in colors to produce a "painting" such as the family members or even A. Lincoln, that would have been something.
Based on the color in the picture on the right, they "sealed" the coins in. Otherwise - as Doug said - you will track nasty all over the house. Sweeping the floor and cleaning up spills would be... eewwwww!
Carpets? If I'm going to make my kitchen out of pennies I'm sure going to make the rest of the flooring in my house out of some sort of coinage
covered with that acrylic stuff or shatever they use to make tables, etc. that would be some pretty sturdy flooring
If you would give it a clear coat it should stay pretty shiny. If not, just dump some Acetone on it every once in a while.
If a coin floor is left unsealed, the high traffic areas where feet regularly make contact would be shinier than the edges of the room. Since the coins are round, fitting them next to each other closely still leaves gaps which would catch all sorts of grit if not filled in with some material, like a grout, but I'm not saying to actually use tiling grout. So then a thick clear acyrllic seal, perhaps, poured over the entire floor to create one flat smooth surface to protect the floor, your feet (when bare) and make cleaning the floor easier seems the most practical way to maintain the coins on the floor. Without that surface binding, especially in a retail environment, shoes are likely to tear off coins now and then, meaning there will be need to regularly repair the floor where coins have come loose. Things to consider about orientaiton when installing: should the coins be installed face up or face down, a mixture...? It seems much could be done with how they are installed due to the number of the coins effectively creating a pattern from all those rows of heads or tails, the natural colors (which may be retained if sealed) and so on. Randomly putting them down will be just that, random. Even general color arrangement could be used to introduce patterns, if not pictures or words similar to what was mentioned above. Given the constants of defining one's room size to be covered in coins and th constant size of the coins themselves, determinning the cost to do this should be pretty easy before starting such a project. Why stop at the floor? Try walls and ceilings too, if one were to do this in the bathroom they could get a coin toilet seat to go with it...
I'd imagine they put a clear laminate or clear coat on top of the pennies to make it smooth, etc, not them walking on bare pennies exposed to cleaners, feet, etc.
Looks pretty cool. I think as long as its coated with a sealer it should be fine. Just wondering if anyone checked for variations first.
Think I'd like to see it on a coffee table or counter top before I jumped "feet first" into a project that big and that time consuming...The coin collector in me thinks it is kinda cool though.