Dex Flooring stocks 20 herringbone and chevron floors in Melbourne — engineered oak boards laid in the short, angled pattern that turns a floor into the thing people notice when they walk in. This page covers what herringbone actually is, what it costs to lay, which rooms it suits, and how to look after it.
It is not the right floor for every room, and we would rather say so here than after you have paid for it. If you want the widest choice of straight-lay boards instead, our European Oak range runs to 17 floors.
What a herringbone floor is
Herringbone uses short rectangular boards laid at 90 degrees to each other, so the end of one board meets the side of the next in a staggered zigzag. Because the boards are short and every one has four edges meeting its neighbours, a herringbone floor has far more joins per square metre than a straight-lay floor. That single fact drives almost everything else on this page — the price, the installation method, and why the boards need to be engineered rather than solid.
Who it suits
Herringbone earns its cost in rooms where the floor is meant to be seen: entry halls, hallways, living and dining rooms, and large open-plan spaces where a plain floor would read as empty. It is also a common choice in period Melbourne homes, where the pattern sits comfortably with original detailing.
Where we would steer you away from it: small rooms, where the pattern can feel busy and the eye has no room to settle. If you want herringbone in a smaller space, a narrower board helps considerably. Bedrooms are usually not worth the extra cost, because the floor spends most of its life under furniture and rugs.
Care and maintenance
The honest short version: what damages a pattern floor is grit and standing water, not foot traffic.
Grit is the real enemy. Sand and small stones tracked in on shoes act like sandpaper underfoot, and on a herringbone floor they collect along the joins where the board ends meet. A doormat at every external door and a weekly vacuum on a hard-floor setting will do more for the floor’s life than any product you can buy. Use the vacuum’s hard-floor head, not a beater bar, which can mark the surface.
Water is the second. A damp mop is fine; a wet one is not. Water that sits on the surface will eventually work into the joins, and a herringbone floor gives it many more places to do that. Wipe up spills rather than letting them dry, and never steam mop an engineered timber floor — the heat and moisture together are exactly the combination the boards are not built for.
Cleaning an oiled floor versus a lacquered one
These two finishes need different care, and using the wrong product is the most common way people damage a new floor:
- Lacquered (or UV-cured) floors have a sealed film sitting on top of the timber. Clean them with a pH-neutral timber floor cleaner. They cannot be spot-repaired — a scratch that goes through the lacquer means re-coating the area or living with it — but they need no ongoing treatment.
- Oiled floors have oil soaked into the timber rather than a film on top. They need an oil-based soap made for the purpose, never a general household cleaner, which strips the oil out. In return they can be spot-repaired: a scratch can usually be sanded lightly and re-oiled in that one area, which is a genuine advantage on a floor with this many boards. Expect to re-oil high-traffic areas every year or two.
If you do not know which finish your floor has, ask us before you buy a cleaning product. It is a thirty-second answer and it prevents an expensive mistake. Use felt pads under furniture legs either way, and keep pet claws trimmed — claw marks are the single most common damage we see on timber floors.
Our herringbone and chevron range
Dex Flooring stocks 20 herringbone and chevron floors — the largest parquet-pattern range we carry. You can browse the whole range in the herringbone & chevron category, or come and see the boards at our Nunawading or Bentleigh showroom.
Herringbone or chevron — the difference
People use the two names interchangeably, but they are different patterns and they read very differently on a floor:
- Herringbone uses rectangular boards laid at 90 degrees to each other, so the ends meet the sides in a staggered, broken zigzag. It is the more traditional of the two.
- Chevron uses boards cut at an angle at each end so they meet point to point, forming continuous unbroken V shapes running down the room. It reads more formal and more contemporary.
Herringbone is more forgiving in a room that is not perfectly square, which is worth knowing in an older Melbourne home. Chevron is less forgiving because every V has to line up down the length of the floor.
What a herringbone floor costs to install
A herringbone or chevron floor takes noticeably longer to lay than a straight floor — more cuts, more setting out, more waste, and usually a direct-stick installation onto the slab rather than a simple float. Expect the installation component to be higher than for the same floor laid straight. The boards themselves are also typically priced above equivalent straight-lay boards.
That is the honest trade-off: it is a more expensive floor to buy and to lay, and it is also the floor people notice when they walk in. Ask us for a measured quote and we will price the pattern and the installation properly rather than guessing at a rate.
Which rooms suit it
Herringbone works best where the floor is meant to be seen — entries, hallways, living and dining rooms, and open-plan spaces where a large uninterrupted floor would otherwise feel plain. In small rooms it can feel busy, though a narrower board helps. If you are laying it through a whole house, keep the pattern direction consistent through doorways or it will look accidental.
Engineered, not solid
Our herringbone and chevron floors are engineered boards. For a pattern floor this matters more than usual: every one of those short boards has its own set of joins, so any seasonal movement shows up in far more places than it would on a straight floor. The cross-layered core of an engineered board resists that movement, which is what keeps the pattern tight through Melbourne’s dry heated winters and humid summers.
Where herringbone fits in our timber range
Herringbone is one of four engineered ranges we stock. If you are still deciding, it is worth seeing them together:
- Engineered timber flooring in Melbourne — our full guide: what engineered timber is, price bands, installation methods and everything we stock.
- European Oak flooring — 17 floors, our widest genuine choice, in straight-lay boards up to 220mm.
- American Oak flooring — the warmer, more open-grained American look.
Herringbone and chevron floors we stock
A few of the 20 floors in the range, to show what the patterns actually look like on a floor rather than in a diagram:
Herringbone Oak
The classic broken zigzag in engineered oak — the pattern most people picture when they say herringbone.
Chevron Oak
Angled ends meeting point to point, forming continuous V shapes down the room. More formal and more contemporary than herringbone.
Pronto Engineered Oak
An engineered oak herringbone in a warmer tone, for rooms where a cooler white-washed floor would feel stark.
See all 20 herringbone & chevron floors →
Frequently asked questions
What is the difference between herringbone and chevron flooring?
Herringbone uses rectangular boards laid at 90 degrees to each other, so the ends meet the sides in a staggered, broken zigzag. Chevron uses boards cut at an angle at each end so they meet point to point, forming continuous unbroken V shapes down the room. Herringbone is the more traditional pattern and is more forgiving in a room that is not perfectly square.
Does herringbone flooring cost more to install?
Yes. A herringbone or chevron floor takes noticeably longer to lay than a straight floor because there are more cuts, more setting out and more waste, and it usually needs a direct-stick installation onto the slab rather than a simple float. The boards themselves are also typically priced above equivalent straight-lay boards.
How many herringbone floors does Dex Flooring stock?
Twenty herringbone and chevron floors, which is the largest parquet-pattern range we carry. You can browse them all in the herringbone and chevron category or see the boards in person at our Nunawading or Bentleigh showroom.
Is herringbone flooring suitable for small rooms?
It can work, but it can also feel busy in a small space. A narrower board helps. Herringbone is at its best in entries, hallways, living and dining rooms, and open-plan spaces where a large plain floor would otherwise feel empty.
Should herringbone flooring be engineered or solid?
Engineered, for a pattern floor especially. Every one of those short boards has its own joins, so seasonal movement shows up in far more places than on a straight floor. The cross-layered core of an engineered board resists that movement, which keeps the pattern tight through Melbourne’s dry heated winters and humid summers.