A Guide to Timber Flooring Patterns

If you’re researching or planning to re-do the floors in your home and you’re researching engineered timber, then it’s beneficial to go into the project with some direction on what you want the final outcome to look like.

A well-laid timber floor is not only beneficial for the comfort and practicality of your home life, but it is a significant contributing factor to the overall style and ambience of the property. Timber flooring planks draw your eyes towards the rest of the home and, if laid well, open up the space. But, if laid poorly, they could be an eye sore.

A major decision you’ll need to decide before the project starts will be what direction you want your timber planks to face.

In this post we’re going to cover:

• The pattern of hardwood floors
• The layout of Herringbone
• Should all wood floors run in the same direction?
• Is it OK to change direction of wood flooring between rooms?
• How to choose the right pattern for you

So, let’s dive in.

Is there a pattern for hardwood floors?

The pattern that timber floor boards are laid in is known as parquetry. It creates a pattern like the examples below.

There are a large number of ways to design your parquetry, but the three most popular in Australia are below, so we’ll focus on those.

Herringbone90°

Straight board

Chevron

A popular choice that we’re going to explore in a bit more detail in this post is the Herringbone pattern

So, let’s see why this is an excellent parquetry choice.

The layout of Herringbone flooring

The Herringbone flooring pattern dates to France in the 1500s and, to this day, is one of the most popular parquetry flooring patterns across the world.

It blends well with historical properties that want to maintain their vintage roots and with newer properties that want to create a visual interest or drama for rooms that are a bit more minimalist with clean lines.

Thanks to its timeless popularity, the Herringbone pattern is unlikely to age and choosing it can help to future proof your home.

Our ranges of timber flooring can be made available in the Herringbone style, so it doesn’t limit your selection of timber.

Should all wood floors run in the same direction?

For connecting rooms and hallways, yes.

We would typically recommend to run your planks lengthways from the main entrance. Longer boards help a room appear longer. This will give you an idea on the direction your boards should run throughout your home.

For a Herringbone style we would recommend that the pattern point in the direction away from your main entrance.

Is it ok to change direction of wood flooring between rooms?

We’d strongly recommend against opting to change the direction of floor boards for different rooms. This can give a home an overall ‘jumbled’ appearance, making the ambience a bit chaotic. It costs more to install, if the initial design concerns don’t prevent you from making that choice.

Herringbone parquetry creates a lot of visual interest, so changing the direction of a floor around the house could create a messy atmosphere in your home.

How to choose the right pattern for you

So, now you know about the most popular flooring patterns and which direction would be preferable for your flooring to be laid in. But which flooring pattern is right for you?

Making the decision on which style to use comes down to the following:

• The period of your home
• Your budget
• Preference

A clean and minimalist option that’s popular in Australian homes are straight boards, so this could be a safe option to start your project with.

But, if at this stage, you’re still not sure, then we can help point you in the right direction.

To plan and lay a new floor requires flooring experts and at Suburban Flooring we know everything there is to know about

• European Oak Flooring
• Australian Timber Flooring
• Engineered Timber Flooring

Our experts can help you lay the perfect floor for your dream home from planning, to implementation, to maintenance.

Have a question about timber flooring? Get in touch.