Greenhouses, Sheds and Sun Rooms - Front Porch

Our front porch is a concrete slab. We'd like to make it look "prettier" and make it smoother to the touch so we can walk barefoot on it.

One thing we thought of is ceramic tile, another is painting it, but we don't know how to go about any of this, particularly making it smoother.

Thanks for any suggestions

Either method is fine, just be sure your finished surface has some sort of anti slip properties. If you use a fired ceramic tile, you may not be able to stand on it when it is wet. Likewise, with a good porch paint, there are grit additives that will help in making it slip resistant. In either case, make sure the surface is clean and free from any grease, oil, or other substance that will interfere with adhesion. Use a good primer (if painting) and allow it to dry properly.

There are exterior tiles that aren't as slick when wet. Painting is cheaper but paint can complicate putting down tile later if you change your mind. I'm not overly fond of the grit you add to paint. It always seems to wear off where you walk the most.

A friend of mine said there was a thinset type of concrete to help make it smoother and fill in the cracks and holes, etc.

Anybody have any experience with this? What is the material actually called?

Use concrete patcher for the indentations and holes. Over groove the cracks and fill in with a butyl rubber in a tube. I find that it will expand and contract with the crack. That way when you do your final coating, it will be relatively smooth.