The Differences in Herringbone vs. Chevron Patterns

Herringbone and Chevron floors have graced beautiful homes, mansions and palaces for centuries. These patterned floors can help to make a space feel more luxurious while bringing visual variety and a strong focus to an interior design.

Despite the popularity of these patterned floors, it’s easy to be confused about the differences in Herringbone vs. Chevron. While both patterns feature shorter floorboards laid out at angles, there are key differences in the way the planks are cut and installed.

History of Herringbone and Chevron floors

Herringbone and Chevron patterns have long histories. Each first appeared more than two millennia ago. The Herringbone pattern, named for the skeletal structure of the herring fish, can be seen in the construction of paved roads in the ancient Roman Empire, in textiles from ancient Italy and in jewelry from ancient Egypt. In wood flooring, one of the earliest examples of the Herringbone pattern is found at the Chateau de Fontainebleau in France, installed in 1539.

The Chevron pattern can be seen in ancient Greek pottery and in heraldry from the Middle Ages. The earliest Chevron floors date from 16th century Europe as well.

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Herringbone vs. Chevron: how are the patterns made?

While the patterns in Herringbone vs. Chevron are quite similar, they’re created in slightly different ways.

A Herringbone floor is made with rectangular planks all cut to the same size. Each plank is laid out at 90° from another, creating a kind of broken zigzag pattern that is prized for its asymmetry. A Herringbone floor has a great deal of visual movement and can help to make smaller spaces seem larger.

In contrast, a Chevron pattern is made with planks where the ends of each board are cut at an angle. When fitted together, the boards come to a point to create an inverted V pattern. A Chevron floor pattern resembles a long string of arrows running the length of the floor. Chevron floors also bring lots of energy to a space and can help to create a sense of luxury and expansiveness in a room.

Distinguishing Chevron vs. Herringbone patterns

It’s actually fairly easy to distinguish a Herringbone vs. Chevron pattern when you know what to look for. Because Herringbone floors use rectangular planks, the boards are always laid out at an exact 90° angle from each other. The planks in a Chevron floor, on the other hand, can be laid out at a variety of different angles by simply adjusting the angle at which the end of each plank is cut. And where the ends of Herringbone planks create an overlapping and broken quality, the V shapes in a Chevron floor are separated by straight lines that run the entire length of the surface.

Customizing your parquet floors

While installing parquet floors is a great way to create a unique surface in a room, there are additional ways you can modify your patterns to create a truly customized floor.

With Herringbone floors, you can adjust the length and width of your floorboards to reveal more or less of the wood’s personality in each plank. You can also use planks with contrasting hues or stains to accentuate the pattern.

In a Chevron floor, changing the angle at which the ends of the planks are cut will produce a sharper or shallower V shape. And using different colored planks or mixed hardwood flooring can create even more visual variety.

Installing patterned floors

Due to the precision with which the boards must be cut and laid out within the pattern, installing Herringbone and Chevron floors are typically more expensive than installing other types of floors. You may also find some difference in cost between Chevron vs Herringbone floor, as Chevron boards require more cuts and greater precision in lining them up during installation.

Engineered floorboards

Herringbone and Chevron patterns can be achieved with both solid hardwood and engineered hardwood floors. Engineered floorboards are made by adhering multiple layers of material together and gluing a veneer of hardwood to the top. This type of construction creates a plank with a very stable core that is better suited for installation in locations with higher levels of moisture and humidity. Engineered Herringbone and Chevron floors are popular in loft flooring where the floorboards are installed over a concrete slab. Engineered floors are also ideal for installation in basements and other locations below grade, as well as over radiant heating systems.

Creating a Herringbone or Chevron floor with Carlisle

As you consider the benefits of Herringbone vs. Chevron floors, a Carlisle Wide Plank Specialist can help you explore all the options for designing the floor of your dreams. Our team can walk you through all your choices for hardwood, from neutral and natural Ash hardwood flooring to American Cherry wood flooring stained and polished to a glowing red. We’ll explain the pros and cons of carpet vs. hardwood (spoiler alert: we think hardwood floors are by far better investment!) and the advantages of solid vs. engineered planks, stains vs. natural finish and textured vs. untextured floorboards. With help from Carlisle, you can create a floor that will perfectly reflect your sense of style and become a defining feature of your home.

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