Getting new flooring - could do with some tips please!

[Birdly]

The man who came round to measure up told me that he wouldn't recommend laminate flooring for 'wet' areas (eg bathrooms and loos) as if it gets wet it can expand and buckle at the joins.

He suggested vinyl as an alternative and left a book full of samples, some of which have a very, very realistic laminate floor print. But... is vinyl that looks like laminate naff? I was very sceptical, but the samples he brought are incredibly good.

I have absolutely no idea what is cool and what is not in the murky world of flooring, so any advice is very welcome!

have you considered slate? I have just put walnut in the kitchen and hope I'm not going to regret it. My only advice is to shop around I got walnut cheaper than a carpet in the end. Go and google..

Try Amtico - it's a sort of vinyl but really good. My sister just had some in her bathroom and it looks brilliant - it actually looks much more like solid floorboards than either laminate or vinyl. I think it's quite in vogue too!

There is a vinyl type floor called Karndean (think that's how you spell it!) which had supposed to be good - my friend has just had it in her kitchen and I thought she had slate tiles because it looked really realistic. We've had laminate in the kitchen for a couple of years and had no problems - I think its more if your mashing machine leaked or some major flood like that. Think Karndean is a bit more expensive than laminate.

I have Karndean (black slate tile look) in the bathroom and kitchen, and think it looks really good. The kitchen/bathroom fitting company recommended it, and I'm glad they did. Also Amtico in the hall. I don't think I'm naff

Thanks all. Sorry, Captain K, am sure you're not naff! Was just a bit worried that I was!

Love the sound of slate...

I would definitely recommend Karndean or Amtico over laminate, even with regular mopping or just wet feet by the back door the edges of the laminate can lift. I would choose flooring that looks like wood, not laminate.Are the samples tiles or sheet, tiles are better.