I love the luxury and grandness of parquet flooring.
Timothy Corrigan’s beautiful kitchen featured below in Architectural Digest has inspired me to share about patterns in fine parquet wood flooring.
The flooring represents the luxury & grandeur of Versailles. Developed to replace marble floors in 16th century France, they were labor intensive. Each piece was cut and fit by hand, nailed to a subfloor, scrapped, then varnished.
The downside was that it was expensive.
It was so expensive only the wealthy & royalty could afford. Today, parquet wood floors are used in both traditional & modern homes.
The term parquet refers to wood flooring that is angular & geometric. Some of the floors created with this wood look like a piece of art!
Almost too fine to step foot on, but the wood is durable & robust.
The most famous example of a parquet floor is in Versailles’ Hall of Mirrors. When King Louis XIV installed this exceptional floor at Versailles – it became all the rage! The fashion became a universal trend.
Ever hear of the Bostin Celtics? They have played on a parquet wood floor in the Boston Gardens since the beginning of their franchise. They won 16 world championships on it! It’s so famous that when they rebuilt the garden the original floor was saved and installed! The floor finally wore out & they replaced it with a replica of the old floor. Fans were allowed to purchase pieces of the old floor!
Traditional Parquet Wood Floor Patterns
There are many patterns for the panels that make up a luxury wood parquet floor. Each pattern is based on specific historical precedents. Three of the most popular are:
- Aremberg
- Chantilly
- Monticello.
Aremberg Parquet Pattern
The Aremberg pattern gets its name from the D’Aremberg castle located in Belgium. It is named after the family that reigned in the Western European country from the 17th century until the First World War.
Here’s an example of the Aremberg panel pattern, created for a library in Paris by Atelier des Grange.
Imagination is the only limit to these parquet wood floor designs! Lay it wall to wall to create an easy flow. Or, drop in a border or inlay in a different type of wood design or finish to achieve a high-end look.
Discover your inner artist! Parquet wood floors give you the freedom to express your individuality. This design was created by contrasting colored species of wood.
Monticello Parquet Pattern
The Monticello pattern (Monticello is Italian for “little mountain”) is a classic French pattern from the Baroque period.
Monticello was made popular in the United States by Thomas Jefferson who, when visiting France in 1760, was inspired by this parquet pattern design. He liked it so much that he named his Virginia mansion Moneticello & used the parquet pattern for his floor.
Here’s a close up of the Monticello parquet floors pattern as drawn by Thomas Jefferson, circa 1803, for Monticello. The original of this drawing is in the Coolidge Collection of Thomas Jefferson Manuscripts at the Massachusetts Historical Society.
Chantilly Parquet Pattern
The third classic parquet pattern is the well-loved parquet de Chantilly pattern – as shown below in oak, the most commonly used wood in parquet floors. It adds depth to this stately room. The floor stands out as a combination of individual & unique wooden pieces.
Here is a closeup of the traditional parquet de Chantilly pattern in walnut. There is a lot of movement in this floor and the knobs provide character.
The Chantilly floor in this kitchen is the icing on the cake to this French Country design!
Contemporary Parquet Wood Floor Patterns
Three of the most popular contemporary parquet patterns are:
- Herringbone
- Chevron
- Hexagon
Herringbone Parquet Pattern
A diagram of the many variations available within the Herringbone pattern. It is so versatile that many designs using the herringbone pattern have been named.
A beautiful example of the herringbone wood parquet floor pattern as executed by Atelier des Grange in Paris. Herringbone planks are slightly staggered zig zags.
Modern homes opt for non-traditional wood shades like grey, white, & black. Here you can see the herringbone parquet floor in white and how it makes the room look sleek & elegant.
Chevron Parquet Pattern
Notice the strong stripe effect, again executed by Atelier des Grange in Paris, in this Chevron parquet pattern. The diagonal wood pattern creates the longest lines and makes the room look larger.
Chevron planks make a perfect point, like an arrow. This floor appears to be pointing towards the windows!
Hexagon Parquet Pattern
Hexagons are gaining in popularity as a wood flooring pattern today, as are other geometrics.
This entry way has a parquet floor with an intricate design. A beautifully crafted mosaic of shapes with distinct repeating patterns.
Here’s another parquet wood floor entryway. Is shows off a free flow form parquet floor (wow- that’s a mouthful!). Its absolutely stunning.
Don’t despair ! If the before of your own wood floor restoration looks like this…
Because one day, it will look like this..
What is more gracious, and more beautiful with sunlight dancing across it than a polished wood parquet floor like the one above?
~~~~~~~~~
Leslie Hendrix Wood
Founder
Editor in Chief
Hadley Court
Interior Designer
Leslie Hendrix Wood Interiors
Gracious Living,, Timeless Design, Family Traditions
Photo credits: http://en.chateauversailles.fr/discover-estate/the-palace/the-palace/the-hall-of-mirrors || http://explorer.monticello.org || http://www.antiquefloors.co.uk/antique_gallery04.htm || http://www.pittorifamosi.it/fai_da_te/tipi-di-parquet-manutenzione-installazione-e-costi.php || http://atdg.com || http://element7.co.ik || www.frenchversaillesparquet.com, better homes & gardens, architecture diges, Greg Hume, Studio S Squared, Elad Gonen photography, Creative concepts.com, Connor Sports
