Parquet Flooring: Some Floors Deserve a Second Look

Parquet flooring has an unfair reputation. Mention it to some homeowners and they immediately picture an old house, a grand European residence, or those little square wood tiles popular decades ago.

Fair enough. Parquet has been around for centuries. But treating it as something belonging to the past ignores what craftsmen are still doing with wood today.

In March 2025, Dutch flooring craftsman Jakko Woudenberg unveiled his recreation of Rembrandt's The Night Watch in Amsterdam. It took four years, 195,000 wooden pieces, and 45 different species to reproduce the painting.

The individual pieces measure just one centimeter square. More than 17,000 had to be replaced after assembly because their colors didn't produce the intended effect.

Imagine spending months assembling thousands of pieces, stepping back to examine your work, and deciding that 17,000 of them need to come out.

And yes, people can walk on it. That's what the artist intended.

It's an extraordinary project, but it also reminds us how much can be accomplished with wood, patience, and exceptional craftsmanship.

The Craft Behind the Pattern

Parquet has a long European history. The famous Versailles pattern dates to the reign of Louis XIV, when elaborate wooden panels replaced marble flooring at the palace.

Those floors required exceptional joinery and careful planning. Centuries later, the tools have changed considerably, but the work still demands precision.

We've worked with herringbone, chevron, traditional parquet, Brittany, and three-dimensional designs. Herringbone and chevron remain two of my favorites. They have enough character to transform a room without demanding everyone's attention.

Herringbone uses rectangular pieces arranged at right angles. Chevron uses pieces cut at matching angles to form continuous points. They may look similar in photographs, but they're different to manufacture and install.

The dimensions of each piece, milling accuracy, tongue-and-groove configurations, routing, and alignment all matter. Depending on the product, herringbone may require left- and right-handed pieces. Borders and changes in direction introduce additional work.

But good milling alone won't save a poorly planned installation.

Where does the pattern begin? Will it be centered on the room, a doorway, or a prominent architectural feature? What happens when the pattern reaches the opposite wall? Will the borders look balanced?

These decisions need to be made before installation.

A small layout error can become increasingly visible as the work progresses. With herringbone or chevron, the repeating geometry makes misalignment particularly unforgiving.

That planning, along with additional cutting, material handling, and specialized installation, helps explain why these floors can cost considerably more than conventional straight-laid flooring.

The Room Is Part of the Design

Parquet can make a statement without being extravagant.

A well-proportioned herringbone floor can look beautiful in a contemporary home. Chevron can bring movement and direction to a room. Brittany and three-dimensional designs offer entirely different possibilities.

But scale matters. So do wood species, grain, lighting, furniture, and the surrounding architecture.

A complicated pattern in the wrong room can look busy. A simpler one, properly proportioned, can be exceptional.

I've also seen older parquet floors that deserved restoration rather than replacement. Some homeowners see an outdated floor; I see craftsmanship that would be difficult and expensive to reproduce today.

That doesn't mean every old parquet floor is worth saving, or that every expensive design is beautiful. The quality of the work and how it fits the home still matter.

Beyond Traditional Patterns

Modern manufacturing has introduced engineered parquet, precision-milled components, and prefabricated panels. Some are relatively practical to install. Others are remarkably complex, even with today's equipment.

And there are craftsmen taking the possibilities much further.

There are companies that specialize in custom wood mosaics. Woudenberg's Night Watch takes the idea to another level, using individual pieces of wood almost like pixels in a photograph.

These projects involve technology, certainly, but they also require an enormous amount of judgment, preparation, and patience.

It's difficult not to admire work like that.

I have a particular appreciation for floors made by people who clearly enjoy their craft. Whether it's a carefully installed herringbone pattern or a custom mosaic assembled from thousands of pieces, you can recognize the thought behind the work.

Parquet isn't for everyone, and it doesn't belong in every room. But calling it dated ignores centuries of craftsmanship and some remarkable work being produced today.

I've seen floors so beautiful that walking on them almost feels like a shame.

Then again, that's exactly what they were made for.