All Hail the Beautiful Parquet Floor!

Ever since I moved to Sweden almost fourteen years ago (wow – that’s crazy!) parquet wood flooring has been on my radar. This is because many older Swedish homes feature beautiful, original herringbone floors which have aged gracefully over time. In fact, you might even experience a squeak as you cross the room which all adds to the charm! So what is parquet flooring exactly? The word ‘parquet’ derives from the French “a small compartment’ and the flooring is recognised by it’s angular, geometric mosaic pattern in the form of squares, triangles, and lozenges. Over the past five years, I’ve noticed a major revival across the design world with many people opting for parquet flooring with a modern twist. And what wonderful news, don’t you think? I thought I’d pay homage to the classic feature today, here’s a round-up of some of my favourites…

AVW Arquitectura / Whyte Lilja: Impremta Garden,

Karel Balas

Courtesy of: Compass

Eve Campestrini

J Contemporary

Janne Olander

I mentioned the other day that my childhood home was built in the 60’s and we had parquet flooring in a square formation . I spent so much time sitting on that floor as a toddler and I remember some of the pieces were loose and made perfect building bricks! I’m not sure how popular this was with my parents though!
Do you have any experience of parquet flooring? Would you consider it for your home?

Just in case you’re tempted, here’s a round-up of some of the beautiful patterns you can create:

Not ready to re-do your entire floor? You could always paint a beautiful pattern directly onto the wood in the meantime! I love this geometric formation below created by a local Malmö shop Byggfrabriken who sell the most beautiful classic Swedish items for the home. And don’t miss the hallway floor in this lovely home tour!