Should You Do Herringbone Wood Floors?
Wood floors are a crucial part of any home’s design and they are a decision you make once and will live with for years to come. Wood flooring is also a big ticket item that you don’t want to mess up or regret later. Let’s discuss herringbone wood flooring and if you should do it in your home or not.
via V4 Wood Flooring
If you are researching whether or not herringbone wood floors are right for you, you probably care about the overall aesthetic of your home and want to make sure your design choices make an impact and give you that WOW factor. You don’t want to go with a boring builder basic flooring that leaves everything else in the home feeling lackluster.
Herringbone flooring is anything but boring. It has a flair and makes a statement from the moment you walk in the door which is perhaps what you are looking for! It’s a unique design element that you don’t see every day so it looks custom and high-end while giving your home lots of warmth and character.
Before you decide to do herringbone wood floors in your home, there are some things to consider.
First and foremost, herringbone floors are expensive. All wood flooring is a premium price, but when you add herringbone , it complicates the installation process and requires more material because of the pattern, thus making it even more expensive.
via The Fox Group
You can expect to pay about 30% more for herringbone wood floors than traditional wood flooring because it requires more labor cuts and time to install. If you are installing unfinished wood planks, the cost to sand, stain and seal the floors will cost $1.40 to $4.00 per square foot. This is definitely an investment you have to be willing to spend to get the extra WOW factor herringbone flooring offers.
Herringbone floors look best when showcased in larger areas or rooms so you can really see the striking pattern. They are beautiful in a large foyer that leads into a great room so you can take in the beauty and design of the whole home as soon as you walk in the front door.
You don’t have to install herringbone wood floors in your entire home. In fact, they look best when used in only certain spaces so they feel special rather than overwhelming. Oftentimes just installing them in an office or a kitchen is enough to give you the statement without feeling the need to keep them going throughout the rest of the house. By installing them in just an office it adds a pop and makes you really notice and appreciate them in the space.
via MrsParanJape
The herringbone inlay in a foyer is a perfect way to include herringbone in a small way. This gives the entrance personality and a design feature that stands out, without the hefty labor costs that can really add up if you went with herringbone floors in the entire great room and kitchen area.
Where to Buy Herringbone Wood Floors?
There are hundreds of places you can buy wood flooring. From local shops to online retailers, you can find all different kinds of wood flooring colors, species, and sizes. It doesn’t have to be marked as a herringbone pattern in order to install it as a herringbone flooring. All planks should be the same width and then the installer will create the herringbone pattern as he installs each plank.
We purchased our white oak engineered wood flooring that we installed in our first home from builddirect.com. It wasn’t installed in a herringbone, but we absolutely loved the flooring and it held up to scratches and dog paws amazingly well.
Unfortunately, that flooring is discontinued, but below I listed a few other great flooring products that I recommend.
Kahrs engineered wood flooring (from the same manufacturer that made the floors we chose in our first home)
In order to make sure you get a quality product, you have to know what to look for. This can be an entirely separate blog post in and of itself because there is so much to talk about. In general, go with a flooring that has a satin or matte finish because it camouflages scratches much better.
If you went with unfinished floors and are having them stained and sealed by a professional, the best waterborne polyurethane on the market is Bona Traffic HD. It’s extremely durable, dries quickly and doesn’t turn yellow over time. Highly recommend it for the best results on your wood floors. It costs a little more than other waterborne polyurethanes but it’s definitely worth it.
How to Properly Clean Hardwood Floors
That leads me to how to properly clean wood floors! There are plenty of cleaning products on the market that are not meant for hardwood floors and only damage them or leave a residue over time. You don’t want to make that mistake once your beautiful, expensive new floors are installed. The best cleaning product for wood floors that I recommend is the Bona Hardwood Floor Cleaning. It comes in a spray bottle and is super easy for quick clean up and does the job well. Plus you can get it on Amazon!
It also comes in a mop cleaning kit with a microfiber pad which is super convenient. Highly recommend this cleaning product for your hardwood floors!
I hope this post was helpful as you learned about the different things to consider with herringbone wood floors and decide if they are the right choice for your home. They are beautiful and are a great addition to any home!
