You may have your new hardwood flooring species and finish picked out, but what design do you want for your new wood floors? Here are three popular diagonal patterns to consider.
Floor Design Idea 1: The Herringbone Pattern
Do you want your hardwood floors to really pop? One design choice you may want to consider is a herringbone pattern. Used as early as Roman times, the herringbone pattern is created by arranging wood planks or tiles in alternating, zigzagging 90-degree angles. This pattern is named after the bone pattern of herring fish, which “consists of very short rows of slanted parallel lines.” You can distinguish it from chevron by looking at the end of the plank or tile; if it’s square than the pattern is herringbone, and if it’s cut at a 30–45-degree angle it’s chevron.
Why Choose a Herringbone Pattern?
Here are four benefits to this flooring pattern:
Although it may look unique and expensive, a herringbone pattern can be both cost-effective and stunning in your home.
2. This hardwood flooring pattern gives your floors more movement, which helps make the room feel more spacious.
3. The herringbone pattern makes the hardwood floors strong; the pattern actually, “spreads the load over twice as much area, absorbing high compression,” giving it a lot of structural stability.
4. Tile flooring and hardwood floors designed with this pattern have a lot of versatility; depending on the room’s design, they can be either subtle or commanding.
Floor Design Idea 2: The Chevron Pattern
Do you want your floors to make a bold statement? Here’s a hardwood flooring design idea for you: use the Chevron pattern. It’s like herringbone, however this pattern differentiates itself with planks that meet on a centerline, creating a pattern of V’s laid out row by row.
The History Behind the Chevron Pattern
The Chevron design originated in France in the 17th century, where it was used in many kings’ and nobilities’ palaces and manors. Then, in the 1800s in Paris, “Much of the city was rebuilt in a large-scale urban planning effort. Many of the new apartments featured parquet floors in either the herringbone or chevron pattern.” This is when it started becoming a choice for non-noble folk as well.
Chevron Hardwood Flooring Benefits
There are several benefits to hardwood flooring installed in the Chevron pattern, including these five:
1. The strong pattern gives the space a bold, sophisticated design, in addition to creating a “wavy, undulating relaxed feeling.”
2. The neutral color of the hardwood allows for countless decor options while still making a strong, subtle statement.
3. Although it’s most effective in larger areas, the diagonals in the Chevron pattern can help a small space seem longer and wider.
4. The design’s regularity and diagonals supply a lot of structural stability.
Want to know more about hardwood flooring design ideas? Come visit our showroom and talk to our experts! We can answer your questions about hardwood floors and more. Remember to contact us for a free virtual consultation!