Oak Herringbone Flooring NZ
Real European oak herringbone flooring, 20mm engineered, in all twelve colours. Sometimes called herringbone parquet, laid block by block in the traditional pattern rather than printed onto a plank.
Supplied throughout New Zealand from studios in Christchurch, Auckland and Queenstown.
Herringbone flooring NZ, in real European oak
Herringbone flooring for New Zealand homes, cut from the same 20mm engineered European oak as our planks, in the same twelve colours and the same finish. A herringbone entry or living room runs into plank through the rest of the house without a transition detail, and the price is the same per square metre as straight lay: one rate across the range, so the pattern is a design decision rather than a budget one.
Herringbone timber flooring in real oak, not a printed pattern
Much of the herringbone sold in New Zealand is laminate, hybrid or vinyl with the pattern printed on the surface. Ours is engineered European oak with a solid oak wear layer, which can be sanded and recoated rather than replaced, and it ages the way a real timber floor should: the grain deepens, the colour settles, and the blocks catch the light differently through the day.
Herringbone parquet flooring, and how chevron differs
Herringbone is a parquet pattern, blocks laid square to one another. Chevron is cut on an angle and meets point to point in a continuous V. We have supplied chevron on request, though it is not a stocked item.
Where herringbone works best
Entries, hallways and living rooms, where the pattern has room to read. In a compact room herringbone can feel busy, so we often suggest herringbone through the entry and living space and plank in the bedrooms, in the same colour, so the house reads as one floor with two rhythms. Pale colours such as Blanc, Clair and Picasso keep a herringbone quiet; the deeper browns, Chocolat and Bordeaux, give it presence, as at Dorset Street below. Every colour in the colour guide is available in herringbone.
Herringbone flooring installation and specification
Herringbone asks more of the subfloor than straight lay. Blocks meet at right angles, so deflection shows at the joins rather than along a length, and a flat, dry, primed slab matters more here than anywhere. Set out from the centre line of the room, allow for the additional perimeter cutting, and carry a higher wastage allowance than a plank floor, typically 12 to 15 per cent against 10 for plank. Installation sits at the upper end of the usual range, about $70 to $80 a square metre, because of the set-out and the cutting.
Samples are free and unlimited. Send a plan and we will take off quantities and wastage for you, or use the interior finishes calculator for a first number.
Dorset Street, Christchurch
Chocolat Oak, laid herringbone
The project
Herringbone flooring at Dorset Street, Christchurch
Chocolat Herringbone runs through every room, paired with soft linen drapery, natural stone and custom joinery matched to the floor. The pattern adds movement; the deep brown tone keeps it calm.
Interiors by Mr B Studio. Built by Ainsworth Builders. Joinery by NZ Panels. Photography by Anna McLeod.
Common questions
Herringbone flooring, answered
Yes. It is engineered European oak, 20mm thick, with a solid oak face that can be sanded and recoated. It is not a printed pattern on laminate, hybrid or vinyl.
The oak is the same rate per square metre in herringbone as in plank. The difference is in installation and wastage: allow about $70 to $80 a square metre to lay and 12 to 15 per cent wastage against 10 for plank, because of the set-out and the perimeter cutting.
Yes, and it is one of the most common ways we specify it. Herringbone through the entry and living areas, plank through bedrooms and halls, in the same colour and thickness, so there is no transition strip and the house reads as one floor.
Herringbone blocks are rectangular and laid at right angles to each other, so the joins step. Chevron blocks are cut on an angle and meet point to point in a continuous V. We stock herringbone in all twelve colours and have supplied chevron on request.
Yes. It is laid glue-down over a flat, dry, primed slab, and the cross-bonded core holds its dimension under underfloor heating. Flatness matters more for herringbone than for plank, because any deflection shows at the block joins.
All twelve, and the choice is about the room rather than the pattern. Pale oaks such as Blanc, Clair and Picasso keep herringbone calm in a smaller space; Chocolat, Bordeaux and Lune give it presence in a larger one. Order three free samples and see them in your own light.
Dorset Street in Christchurch, laid in Chocolat, is on this page and in our projects.