Cheap but not-too-hideous vinyl flooring?

[DorcasthePuffin]

My bathroom floor is just manky - I can't afford to tile it properly yet, and so a couple of years ago I put down a vinyl that was a big mistake (I thought it wouldn't show the dirt; in fact, it never looks clean no matter how hard I try). I've looked at the Harvey Maria range, and I've looked at cheaper vinyls in John Lewis and Carpetright. They're all a bit hideous, aren't they? But I can't stretch to Karndean etc. Has anybody found anything that is liveable with? Neutral would be good, or a bit retro.

[Decorhate]

I've got the Neisha Crosland ones from Harvey Maria & love them. Not particularly cheap but our bathroom is tiny

[DorcasthePuffin]

So's mine, Decorhate - do you mind me asking roughly how much it cost, including fitting? (Or are you a DIY whizz who did it yourself?)

I do love the Neisha Crosland design, maybe I should splash out.... are they hard to clean?

[Decorhate]

I think they were around £40 per square metre? I was having my whole bathroom done so don't know what the labour cost would be, possibly similar? They are very low maintenance- I just clean them with those floor wipes

[SavoyCabbage]

We have this luxury Vinyl flooring.

[DorcasthePuffin]

That's very nice, SavoyCabbage. Hmm, perhaps I'm being too ambitious to try to find something substantially below the £40 mark.

[DorcasthePuffin]

Right, if anybody else looks at this thread because they too want cheap-but-not-hideous vinyl flooring, take a look at Best 4 Flooring. They have a section on retro and vintage style sheet vinyl flooring which look pretty good... I'm getting samples, hope they won't be a huge disappointment.

[WetNovemberDay]

Have you considered vinyl planks. B&Q do them.

[mogonfoxnight]

The thing that makes a difference is the underlay, I think. If you put down ply or good decent thick underlay made to go under vinyl it makes the floor look and feel flat and solid, which means even cheap vinyl sits well, and looks better. It isn't very expensive but you'd probably want a decent tradesperson to do it.

We had to rent a house temporarily for six months and the bathroom had 20 year old carpet (I never got to see round the toilet when it was taken out but remember the pale ashen faces of those who did...) and so we put down a cheap as chips vinyl from ebay which i think in fact was from best 4 flooring. It was fine - looked clean and nice and was quite thick. If it is the same company I think they do really nice things for kids rooms - colourful jigsaws and roads and things.

[DorcasthePuffin]

Great advice, WetNovemberDay and mogonfoxnight. I'm waiting for all my samples to come in and will then try to find a good local tradesperson who can make sure I have the right underlay and fit it really well.

On Sunday I attacked the current floor with mops, scrubbing brushes and even an electric toothbrush. It is as clean as I can possibly make it and still looks hideous - so I am determined to get this sorted.