We love our readers. Not only are they often smarter and more knowledgeable than us, they also have no qualms in letting us know when we're wrong—always pushing us to be at the top of our game.
Like the time I mislabeled a parquet floor pattern in Love Story: At Home with a Pair of Parisians and a reader wrote in and informed me that what I had said was "herringbone" was actually "chevron." If we were splitting hairs, I wanted to know why and consulted Henry Hudson from Cheville Parquet, a York, England-based wood flooring company who have just opened their first London showroom. Apparently it's all in the zigzag. "In the chevron, the wood blocks run point to point and the ends are cut at an angle to create a continuous zigzag design," Hudson says. "With the herringbone, the wood blocks finish perpendicular to each other, resulting in a broken zigzag."
Images via Cheville Parquet, except where noted.
Above: In a Botanically Inclined Interior in London, the owners selected a dark Chevron Pattern from Cheville in Double Espresso.
Above: A lighter wood (Smoked) was used for the Chevron pattern in this London house.
Above: In the Chevron pattern, the wood blocks meet point to point, creating a continuous zig zag.
Above: A kitchen in Copenhagen designed by Kobenhavns Mobelsnedkeri features a herringbone pattern.
Above: With Herringbone, the wood blocks finish perpendicular to each other, resulting in a broken zigzag. Additional details can be added like this Herringbone with Checkers Border.
Above: Cheville Parquet floors are engineered and can be laid on on overlay or over an under floor heating system. Realizing that the expense of laying and finishing parquet floors was causing them to become prohibitively expense, David Hudson (Henry's father) started experimenting with engineered floors; prices range between £58 - £87 a square meter.
Because all the blocks have to be cut at an angle to create the zig zag, the Chevron pattern costs more to produce than the Herringbone. Does this mean it looks better? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
Considering installing a wood floor? See 1473 images of Wood Floors in our Gallery of rooms and spaces to find the right one for you.