Simply Amtico’s sister shop Floorbay.co.uk has now been launched. Floorbay offers genuine high-quality flooring from major manufacturers at a price you can afford.

If you’re looking for an alternative to Amtico and Spacia such as Polyflor Colonia, Cavalio Terrini and Karndean Flooring ranges.

Floorbay offers flooring products at Cleanance prices and special offers from time to time.

Floorbay is managed and run by the same team at Simply Amtico, so you can be assured of quality products, great service and satisfaction guaranteed.

Give us a call on 0800 111 4332 to find out more!

One of the most obvious ways of recreating this natural look would be to use bamboo or hardwood flooring, but unfortunately these materials are neither very affordable nor very practical. As well as costing the earth, real wood floors are also complicated and time-consuming to install and are prone to moisture damage once they are fitted in your home.

A much better solution would be Amtico flooring, which offers an incredibly realistic replica of each natural flooring material, but in an affordable package. This way you get the aesthetic appeal of wood or stone flooring, as well as the sense of nature indoors, but without the huge price tag.

Amtico flooring has other benefits too. You can install it yourself very easily, and it is also simple to clean and maintain. It is known for being durable and long-lasting, as well as resistant to all kinds of substances.

The following are a few of the most popular wood-effect choices from the Amtico Essentials range, which should help you to find the perfect flooring solution for your home.

Amtico Essentials Woods

• Antique wood. One of the main benefits of Amtico wood-effect flooring is that you can get a look that you wouldn’t normally be able to afford, and this is the case with the luxurious-looking antique wood Amtico flooring.

• Farmhouse oak, golden oak and light oak. Oak is famed for its ability to endow a room with a certain warmth, and there are so many shades and tones to choose from it is no wonder it is such a popular flooring option.

• American cherry. Floor coverings with a reddish hue are often very popular, mainly because they have the power to add warmth and vivacity to a living space. This American cherry Amtico floor is no exception, with its rich tones and contemporary style.

If wood-effect floors aren’t for you, why not look into Amtico’s range of stone or tile effect floors?

Due to its sheer popularity, there is a fantastic range of Amtico woods options to choose from. Let’s take a look at the most popular:

Amtico Spacia Woods

• Mahogany. This material is known for its rich, luxurious appearance, but also its price tag. This is why opting for Amtico mahogany flooring is such a good idea – you can impress visitors with your fancy floors, but without breaking the bank.

• Pale ash. The light tone of this flooring option perfectly suits a minimalist design scheme, but it also has a delicately warm feel about it.

• Walnut chocolate. The rich, deeply warming tone of this material makes it a perfect choice to liven up a living room or bedroom.

We will take a look at the most popular wood-effect Amtico flooring choices in the Essentials range in part two of this guide.

Unless you order your Amtico tiles pre-cut to your particular specifications by the manufacturer or supplier, you are likely to need to cut your flooring to shape at some point during the installation. It is important to get this vital part right, otherwise you may end up with unsightly gaps in your flooring or a less than professional finish.

The following are a few top tips for cutting Amtico tiles, for those who decide to do it themselves:

1. Get your equipment ready; you will need a utility knife, carpenter’s square, a tape measure and a pencil
2. Lay out all other tiles without adhesive, so you can see exactly where the cut tiles need to go
3. Take careful measurement of these spaces and transfer these to the tile using pencil lines and a carpenter’s square (to ensure perfectly straight, accurate lines)
4. Use the utility knife to score the surface of the tile, using the pencil marks as a guide
5. Repeat several times until the blade cuts cleanly through the tile
6. Install the cut piece of tile into the floor

Amtico floors are vinyl-based flooring products which can be designed to realistically recreate the appearance of other popular floor coverings. The most popular effects are hardwood flooring and stone, of which there are a multitude of different style, texture and colour options available for customers to choose from.

One of the main things Amtico flooring is known for is its incredibly realistic finish, as many products feature details such as inlaid patterns and textures and real wood grain effects.

This has prompted many homeowners who are redecorating or renovating their homes to choose Amtico over the real thing (i.e. hardwood floors), as it has the same aesthetic appeal but with a whole range of other benefits. For instance, Amtico flooring is much more affordable than stone or real wood flooring, and it is also easier to install (many homeowners undertake the job themselves, without professional assistance).

Despite its lower cost, there is no drop in quality with Amtico flooring compared to other products. It is known for being durable, hard-wearing and long-lasting, making it great value for money.

To save homeowners the expense and hassle of hiring a professional, some flooring manufacturers have come up with products that you can install yourself. Solutions such as Amtico flooring require no specialist knowledge or equipment to install; you simply need a bit of basic DIY know-how and access to a few simple tools.

There are a few simple steps to follow to install your Amtico floors yourself:

1. Lay out your floor (without adhesive) to ensure everything fits where it should and that the layout plan is correct
2. Cut your flooring to the right sizes and shapes if necessary (some Amtico flooring suppliers will pre-cut the flooring to your specifications), or lay out your Amtico planks in the right order
3. Apply adhesive to a small area of the floor
4. Wait a few minutes until the adhesive becomes tacky, then begin laying out your tiles or planks in the design or pattern during your dry layout
5. Make sure to keep the planks close together
6. Wipe any excess adhesive from the surface immediately using a damp (but not wet) cloth
7. Add any finishing touches, such as molding or transition strips

Flooring is a huge part of this look, and luckily there is a solution on hand to help. Amtico flooring offers many product ranges that would suit the minimalist look, all of which have the slick, polished you’re looking for, but with a touch of warmth and class.

The best colours to opt for are either white or black, but other block colours will also work as part of a minimalist design scheme as long as they are simple and without frills.

Amtico stone-effect flooring will give you the most options to choose from, such as black slate, bottocino grey and ceramic frost. Stone Amtico floors also come with a lustrous finish, enabling your living room to look as if it has come right from the pages of a glossy interior design magazine.

Whichever flooring finish you choose, make sure to keep it flawlessly clean and polished at all times to sustain the high-end look.

There are so many varieties and finishes of Amtico flooring available that at one end of the scale you can find a colourful, practical and child-proof floor for a kid’s playroom, whilst at the other end is a sleek, sophisticated solution for the master bedroom.

One of the most popular choices for bedrooms is wood-effect Amtico flooring, which perfectly replicates the authentic and beautiful natural appearance of hardwood flooring – but at a fraction of the cost. Amtico wood floors are easier to install, clean and maintain than real wood, as well as being much more affordable.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ option with Amtico wood-effect flooring, meaning you will be able to get a look that is truly unique. Choose the style of wood you would like (i.e. oak, walnut, mahogany etc.) and the hue, and then you can customise even further by picking out a grain or texture effect that interests you.

Other popular options for bedrooms besides wood include Amtico tile and stone floors, which offer a truly original look.

If you have children or pets, or both, there is no getting away from the fact that your floors will see a lot of use. They won’t stay pristine clean all the time, especially when you factor in muddy shoes, dropped food and other spills and stains. This is why it is important to get a practical floor that is easy to clean.

Floors in busy family homes are also at risk from being scratched, marked, scuffed and generally worn out. This happens particularly in what are known as ‘high traffic’ areas where people walk a lot, such as hallways, landings and near front and back doors. To prevent such damage, you need a floor that is durable, strong and easy to maintain.

On top of all this, you also want flooring that is attractive and suits the décor in the rest. You may be surprised to learn that such a product does exist, and it is at once aesthetically appealing, durable, and easy to clean and maintain. This product is Amtico flooring, and it is practically made for family homes.