Go for full tiles

are their cheap yet attractive substitutes for tiles?

Vitrified Wooden Tiles or Planks will be best suitable for your Room as it has greater strength. It available in 200x600 mm. and 600x1200 mm. Nowadays the wooden planks tiles are very popular due to their aesthetic feel and unique designs concept. An infinite number of tile possibilities can be achieved with the help of inject technology. Realistic wood patterns are also available.

@Rock Doc: Are you addressing this to me? I haven't actually bought these tiles yet - when I do, I will definitely be going for the handmade ones. They're a work of art and irreplaceable in my opinion. However, there are also screen-printed tiles available in the market in more or less the same patterns; the workmanship is of course different, but you get them cheaper, and they're also more easily available. You could give that a shot. I'd recommend Aakaar Flooring Solutions - they're here on Houzz and are able to provide both the above-mentioned types.