25 June 2014

spotlight on: patterned wood floors

Reclaimed wood is so beautiful and I'm so glad it's really trendy right now, because it's a great way to be sustainable when renovating or building a home. Reclaimed wood floors are also lovely because they add character and are durable. If you're looking for that wow factor for your flooring, getting to know the difference in patterns, and then spending some time handcrafting and laying the reclaimed wood in a patterned design is the way to go.

understanding patterned wood floors
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An interesting look is the herringbone pattern; it reminds me of the villas in Italy I saw when visiting a few years ago. With equal sized planks laid with the straight edges butting together, it creates a long zig-zag that looks great in a large space to make it feel even larger. It's harder to pull off in a small room though, as it can make it feel to busy and cramped.

reclaimed wood patterned floors
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herringbone floors in kitchen
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gray-stained herringbone floors
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Then there's the chevron pattern, where the planks are cut at a diagonal. This makes a more pronounced and straight-lined zig zag. Both the herringone and chevron pattern do create more waste than simply laying straight planks, so be conscious of this if thinking about doing it throughout your whole home. Or perhaps use the waste for an art project?

chevorn floor from reclaimed wood
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modern rustic chevron wood floor
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Parquet is technically a floor composed of short strips or blocks of wood forming a pattern, with inlays of other wood or materials. So while it could describe many different patterns including chevron and herringbone, when I think of parquet I think of the classic box shapes. I like this traditional look, which can be updated by staining or whitewashing. The sky is the the limit with parquet patterns, and it really is an art to show off.

dark stained parquet floors
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large box parquet flooring
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Another option for hardwood floors is to break it up so that the directions are switched between spaces. Not something I usallly recommend as it will break up the flow of a small home, but in a grand space it looks kinda neat.

wood flooring laid in different directions
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By far my favourite is reclaimed wood plank flooring laid in a rustic and mismatched way. It's just so natural, simple and elegant at the same time.

modern rustic reclaimed wood floor
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reclaimed wood plank flooring in ktichen
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rustic wood flooring
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Which is your favourite?

4 comments :

  1. I love the very rustic reclaimed flooring laid in random lengths. Btw, I recognize the kitchen from an unknown source- I have saved the same image. It's the kitchen remodel from House Obsession.
    http://houseobsession.wordpress.com/2008/07/13/the-big-kitchen-reveal/

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    1. Thank you so much for the source- I had the hardest time finding that and have now updated the post. The rustic random lengths are my favourite too, and I really like the old large nails showing in the last pic too. Thanks for reading- hope your week is going well.

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  3. These flooring looks fab! While many modern homeowners choose reclaimed wood floors to take advantage of their environmental and aesthetic benefits. Reclaimed Wood floors can be used to complete a historic renovation or simply to complement a vintage decorating style. I have viewed some amazing real wood engineered flooring, superior range of real & natural reclaimed wood flooring products which are hand-made patinas, painted & weathered driftwood flooring & period home restoration parquet, planks & panels. Looking forwad to it... Thanks @Tristan.

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