What is parquet flooring?
Parquet flooring is formed by fitting together individual pieces or blocks of wood to create a patterned floor. This pattern and style of timber flooring is also called parquetry in the flooring industry.
Parquetry is one of the most tried and tested styles of wood flooring available. It has been used in public and private spaces since the villas, porticoes and monumental building programs of the Roman Empire. Parquet flooring as we know it developed in France, and was used throughout Louis XIV’s grand palace Versailles, possibly the most well known parquet wood floors in the world.
Are parquet floors and patterns coming back in style?
In actual fact they never left! Traditionally the complexity of installation meant that parquetry was a sign of wealth and status. This made parquet floors highly desirable among the European elite, particularly in France and Italy, which helped the style persist into the twentieth century.
Parquet floors are now a modern favourite and they’re manufactured in a variety of patterns. Some of the most popular parquet timber flooring styles include:
- Chevron: Prefinished floorboards and blocks where the short ends are cut at an angle, which adds an intense and vibrant talking point to your space.
- Herringbone: Perhaps the most popular style of parquetry, favoured by the Romans for the simple rectangular shaped block, and versatility of application.
- Versailles: Also known as ‘French pattern’. A mix of various sized timber blocks laid in a classic geometric pattern. Now commonly supplied in pre-assembled square foot ‘tiles’, making installation much faster and less costly.
Can you paint parquet floors?
It is possible to use paint to cover a damaged or aged parquet wood floor, depending upon the shade of timber and paint colour you wish to use. It will be more difficult to cover darker shades of timber with lighter paint colours such as white, beige and pale grey.
The quality and durability of timber flooring products these days is so high that many modern floors do not need to be sanded back and recoated as solid timber flooring previously needed in order to be maintained. If modern timber flooring is accidentally damaged, it can often be repaired by spot-fixing with oil or lacquer, dependant on the product, or by simply replacing that one timber plank within the floor.
Why use a parquet timber floor in your design?
From a design perspective, there’s a range of benefits to incorporating a parquet timber floor into your design plan:
- Aesthetics: Timber parquetry offers any space a classic and subtle beauty, or a modern talking point. Parquet floors are highly popular for their aesthetic value.
- Durability: Prefinished parquet flooring blocks or boards are treated with an industrial grade finish, which means it will last longer than floors made with other materials.
- Easy resurfacing: Spaces change over time. If you have the time and tools, timber parquetry is simple to sand or resurface.
- Stability: Because an engineered parquet floor is made from three layers of wood, fitted together at 90 degree angles, movement between the boards is reduced compared to other timber floors. This means that an engineered parquetry timber floor is less susceptible to cupping, bowing and warping that a traditional solid timber floor.
- Cost-effective: Particularly relevant for larger commercial projects, or open residential floor plans, prefinished parquetry is a cost-effective flooring solution. It can also make for a fantastic feature wall when used as cladding too!
Why choose a parquet floor from Havwoods?
At Havwoods we pride ourselves on providing the best quality wood floors for our clients and customers:
- We source the best European oak: Our parquetry flooring products are manufactured using high quality wood from the most reputable European timber mills.
- Delivery Australia-wide: We’ll deliver your engineered timber floor to any safe and accessible site in Australia, Monday-Friday, between 8:00am and 5:00pm.
- Sustainability matters: We source our timber parquetry from environmentally responsible mills because they are the most intensively managed in the world. By choosing timber, you are choosing the environment.
- See our parquet floors before committing: From a design perspective you may be unsure if a parquet floor will suit your concept or vision. This is why we allow you to order free samples of all our timber parquetry products.
Visit a flooring showroom and visualise a timber parquet floor in your space
Visualise a Havwoods parquet floor as part of your design concept by visiting one of our timber flooring showrooms in these Australian cities:
Alternatively you can order a free sample of our products online, which will be delivered to any Australian address.
Have a question? Get in touch with our friendly team and we’ll help you decide if parquetry is the best design choice for your project or renovation.
