New Dimension Bedroom/Bathroom Carpet

Ideal Carpets have launched a new range in bedroom and bathroom versions (bathroom version is 2m wide, bedroom is 4m wide).

There has been a real shortage of bathroom carpet in recent times and nothing has come close to Cormar’s old favourite, ‘Four Star’, which sold large amounts for years. Of course nowadays bathroom carpet is well out of fashion and sales have all but died, however in recent months I have been asked more and more regularly for it and if truth be told, my selection to show customers was fairly poor.

In general shops will not put a lot of effort into bathroom carpet as you only ever sell a small amount and cannot sell accessories with it as it is not fitted with underlay.

This one is a ‘shaggy’ range in some excellent colours. The magenta seems bold and vibrant:

New Bathroom Carpet - New Dimension

Aside from that there is a black, a silver and some nice pastel shades in green, blue and lilac. Add the natural colours in and you have a decent colour bank.

It should sell between £13 and £17 per square metre and although it does not have much ‘body’ to it, it is perfectly adequate for the job. Bathroom carpet should not be seen as a long term solution, more usually it is a short term one. If you are looking for something long-lasting then just fit ordinary broadloom stuff on underlay. Bathroom carpet is pretty much disposable.

Having said that, many elderly customers like it and prefer a softer feeling underfoot. You gain comfort and warmth and you lose hygene and long-term wear – swings and roundabouts I guess. Elderly people also often worry about slipping on smooth floors so this can give added peace of mind.

Bathroom Carpet from Ideal

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Leolan Vinyls

Fantazy: This is very much Leolan’s ‘fun’ vinyl. It comes with a paltry 5 year warranty, easily Leolan’s shortest! but this is a range that sells on its designs. Having said that, there is nothing wrong with the product. It is 3mm thick and, unusually these days, comes without an R10 slip-resistant badge.

To the designs, not all are funky and quirky by any means. They have the ‘chessboard’ Alicante design as well as the plain marble Avalon design to cater for the more mainstream customer, but if you are looking for something a little different then Fantazy is a good bet. We’ve seen people use it in kids’ playrooms, bedrooms and home offices.

The ultimate in little boys’ flooring choice has to be this:

Route 66?

 There is also a cracking ‘jigsaw puzzle’ design in there and a very ‘girl-friendly’ design called ‘Flower’:

Flower Power

 On top of that, the ‘Drops’ and ‘Gobi’ designs are very usable in bathrooms and ensuites, regardless of their lack of slip-resistance. It might be preferable to avoid them for anyone who has mobility issues though. Anyway , all are available on Yourfloors and you will probably pay £15-£20 per square metre for them.

Steps: A lower-end vinyl – this one from Leolan once again comes without slip-resistance, but I think I am right in saying that only this and Fantazy are the only ones within their ranges that do not feature this.

I do find Steps useful though. Technically it is 2.5mm thick and has a wear layer of 0.2mm, so it’s not going to compete as far as wear goes with Leolan’s higher spec (and price) products. Having said that though, it does not feel or look cheap and nasty and I have no qualms about supplying and fitting it. Like all Leolan’s products, it is a long time since we had any kind of problem with them.

The reason I often show Steps to customers is that they offer a large green and blue simple square tile, and that is hard to find these days. Once this kind of design was commonplace, but now Leolan’s Vigo design is one of very few:

VIgo 025 DesignVigo 075

Once we get past that the designs are nothing out of the ordinary, but are all steady and solid sellers. You can view them here, but a word of warning in that not all of those designs will be distributed in the UK within that range at least. Some of the designs will be available in other ranges though.

You can expect to pay £12-£15 per square metre for this product.

THIS POST WILL BE UPDATED WITH MORE INFORMATION VERY SOON!

Nairn Cushionflor – New Ranges

Nairn are a top manufacturer of cushioned vinyl flooring in the UK and owner of the ‘Cushionflor’ brand. ‘Cushionflor’ has become the generic name now for cushioned vinyl floorcovering thanks to them.

I’ve been having a look through some of their new ranges lately. I haven’t got my hands on all of them just yet, but it’s always interesting to see what they come up with.

Their budget range is Cushionflor Classic and is 2.4mm thick with a wear layer of 0.2mm – those specs put it firmly at the budget end of the market, but it’s not a bad product at all. I do quite like the small mosaic ‘Roland’ design shown here:

 

Ideal for Bathroom

They also have a tiny mosaic design in ‘Mosaico’, which have already sold a bit of shown here:

 

Even Smaller Tile

Aside from that it’s wood planks and some bog standard tile designs. Expect to pay around £11-£15 square metre for this product.

A more upmarket range they do is ‘Cushionflor Reflections’, which is a high gloss vinyl and there are not many of those around right now. Maybe 7 years ago or so we sold a lot of these and then they went spectactularly out of fashion, so it’s good to see a limited amount re-introduced. Reflections is again 2.4mm thick and has a slightly improved wear-layer of 0.25mm. You’re paying for design as opposed to heavy wear  with this one in my opinion, but there’s nothing wrong in that – how long do you want to have your bathroom flooring down? In my experience, people change more regularly now than ever. Expect to pay £16-£21 per metre for it.

Anyway, to the designs and here is where Nairn score some big bonus points. The ‘Roman’ small mosaic tile design shown below is stunning when seen close up. This pic does not do it justice, but Nairn will send you samples should you wish.

 

The Gloss is More Noticeable Up Close

I also really like the plain marble ‘Pantheon’ design (once more the image here cannot replicate how good it looks):

 

Great Colour, Great Design

I do hope Nairn don’t mind me linking to their images like this, but nobody else seems to review flooring impartially, so what harm can it do? You can buy ‘Cushionflor Classic’ on Yourfloors, but not ‘Reflections’ so far.

One note of irritation though Nairn, your new sample books are poor. They are plit down the middle and the way they have been done makes them look like they are falling to bits.

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