Flooring patterns should draw the eye, but there is an art and science to creating wood flooring patterns that don’t repeat too symmetrically.
Repeating patterns are more than boring; research has shown that repeat flooring patterns lead to visual stress that can result in motion sickness-type symptoms. That’s the last thing you want to have happen to your family or guests once your beautiful new flooring is installed.
Tips For Installing Attractive Wood Flooring Patterns
Unlike pre-patterned flooring that comes in sheets, like linoleum, wood flooring is laid plank by plank. The former is manufactured with patterns already created as “random,” so the graphic designer did the pattern work for you.
The installer determines the pattern series with plank-style flooring, whether you’re working with natural wood, engineered hardwood, or luxury vinyl planks. If the installer doesn’t know what they’re doing (like DIY flooring installation), you’ll end up with repeating patterns that drive you crazy – and could make you feel seasick. Here’s how to avoid that:
1. Work With a Local Professional Flooring Installer
Working with a local, professional flooring company is the best way to ensure that flooring is installed attractively.
During your design consultation, we’ll discuss the flooring you’ve chosen and the best way to lay it out, depending on the size and shape of the room and any unique wood features. For example, a wood floor with a dominant grain may look better installed in one direction.
We can also provide mock-ups to show you what the final floor installation looks like. And because we offer in-home design consultations, you can see how the flooring samples you’re interested in look in the space where they’ll “live” once they’re installed.
2. Invest in High Quality Wood Flooring Materials
Although they are cut into plank size before shipping and installation, the top, printed layer of vinyl plank and engineered hardwood flooring is initially “printed” in large sheets cut into planks.
Click here to watch the process in action.
The higher the quality of the vinyl plank product, the less frequently the grain pattern repeats, supporting repeat patterns. Lower-quality hardwood graphics are designed with repeating patterns of about one in five planks. On the other hand, higher-quality products have patterns that only repeat every eight planks or more, making it easier to lay them out in more visually appealing patterns.
3. Avoid Standard Repeat Patterns
Standard repeat patterns are those that repeat side-by-side and top-to-bottom. This isn’t a problem with monochromatic colors (like tile) – even if it might get boring. However, with something like hardwood floors, the same grain pattern (knots and all) repeated repeatedly looks “fake” and ultimately detracts from the natural hardwood look you’re going for.
Then, of course, there’s the fact that standard repeat flooring patterns create a visual stress that can lead to physical discomfort. To avoid this, you need a flooring installation expert who knows how to:
- Sort and organize flooring planks beforehand
- Organize by color so planks are similar to one another without a repeat or too much contrast
- Evaluate the room’s square footage, size, and furnishings to establish the best pattern layout
Layouts that provide the most attractive hardwood patterns are:
- Offset: Typically, these are done by offsetting a plank by about half its width, but lengths may vary depending on the goal.
- Diagonal: Planks are installed at a 45-degree angle.
- Random: As it suggests, planks are installed “randomly” although most installers are still very intentional about which planks are laid next to each other.
- Mixed-Width. Another version of the random pattern, mixing planks of varying widths, looks very rustic and avoids repeats.
- Herringbone: A heavily stylized pattern where planks are installed at 90-degree angles to one another, creating a zigzag appearance.
Your flooring designers can talk to you about additional options that avoid pattern repeating for hardwood flooring.
Schedule a Pattern Consultation At Creative Floors
Are you interested in using hardwood flooring that creates beautiful, non-repeating patterns? Schedule a flooring design consultation with us here at Creative Floors. We’ll show you all of the amazing hardwood flooring options out there, along with gorgeous examples of our most recent projects.
