Article - Vinyl Revival

One of my favorite things to do is scour the Internet for gorgeous interiors and figure out how I could get the look for less money. It’s surprising when you shop around what you can find to replace top-end, expensive furnishings with cheaper alternatives to give a very similar look.

Lately, I've been thinking about how much of a difference flooring can make to a room. Carpets, tiles, laminate, or hard wood floors, the right textures and colours can make a drab room look bright, warm and spacious.

Vinyl flooring, or lino as it’s sometimes called, can be a really good, cost effective option if you want the look of wood or tile but don’t want to go to the expense or upheaval of having the real thing fitted. Far from the old fashioned rolls of tacky plastic-looking stuff that used to be all the rage in your grannies day, today's vinyl flooring (or vinyl tiles, in some cases) is much nicer stuff, and if fitted with an underlay provides insulation and reduces noise. And that’s just a couple of the benefits.

It’s easy to fit, even for a novice, easy to keep clean, simple to change, and won’t warp like laminate can. And nowadays, you can get such a great variety of finishes, you can easily ‘fake’ a wood floor, laminate or tiled floor look for just a fraction of the cost. In fact, some of them look so good, I’d challenge you to spot the difference without getting down on your hands and knees and touching the surface.

And because it’s so cost-effective, if you redecorate and fancy a change, you can just rip it up and start again.

I’ll show you some examples of the types of vinyl flooring available below, but first, here’s a few handy tips on choosing and fitting:

Decide whether sheet vinyl or vinyl tiles would work best for the area you are working with. Tiles can look really effective, but bear in mind that they’ll take a bit of extra planning, and time, and fiddly cutting! Sheet vinyl can usually be fitted as one piece, unless you have an odd shaped room.
Go and have a look at some examples. Don’t rely on images in a brochure or on the Internet. You need to see and touch the material in order to make a good decision.

Consider underlay. Think about the surface you will be laying the vinyl onto. Underlay will afford you better insulation on concrete or stone, and soundproof if it’s going in an upstairs room.

Save some money by fitting it yourself. Look up tutorials on the Internet to see how. But be confident in your ability if you choose this option, as the old saying goes, measure twice, cut once!

Here are some of my favorites:

Mercury 547 Spotted Gum - £8.09 sq/m, Carpetright.

Art Deco Vinyl Tile - £5.49 sq/m, Homebase.

Black Vinyl Tile - £14.99 sq/m, Wickes.

Remember, there are plenty of options out there, but you need to shop around. Happy hunting!