Guide
Herringbone, chevron and parquet explained
Pattern floors have come back into fashion and are the single most requested thing we are asked about. Here is what the names mean and what to look for.
Herringbone
Rectangular blocks laid at ninety degrees to each other so the ends step past one another in a zigzag. It is the traditional English parquet pattern and the most forgiving to lay because the blocks are simple rectangles cut square at both ends.
Available in engineered oak, solid oak, laminate and luxury vinyl. The vinyl and laminate versions are the practical choice for kitchens and bathrooms and look remarkably convincing in a matt finish.
Chevron
The blocks are cut at an angle, usually 45 or 60 degrees, at each end, so rows meet in a continuous point rather than a step. The effect is more formal and more French, and the arrow lines draw the eye down a room, which works beautifully in a long hallway.
Because the ends are mitred, chevron is less forgiving: any error in the setting out multiplies down the room. It is worth asking to see a fitter's previous chevron work before letting them near yours.
Versailles panels
Large square panels, each made up of an interwoven pattern within a border, originally made for French chateaux. They come pre-assembled and are laid like large tiles, which makes a spectacular floor achievable in a big room without the labour of laying every block individually.
What makes a pattern floor look right
Setting out. Before any adhesive comes out, the room is measured and the centre line found, and that line is squared against the wall or the sightline that matters most, which is not always the longest wall. Getting this wrong by a degree shows as a widening triangle of cuts down one side of the room.
The border also matters. A parquet floor can be run straight into the skirting, or finished with a plain border of one or two planks that frames the pattern. In an irregular room a border hides the fact that the walls are not parallel, which in a Cornish cottage they never are.
- Centre line found and squared to the main sightline
- Dry-laid and checked before anything is glued
- Borders used to deal with out-of-square rooms
- Glued down for a solid, quiet floor without hollow spots