Herringbone oak flooring in a family home with soul
Herringbone oak flooring turns a plain room into something you feel underfoot. This is a family home, a renovated 1970s modernist house, floored in Flamingo Himalaya engineered oak and laid piece by piece in a herringbone pattern. Warm, tactile, and easy to live with. Here is how it came together.
A home with soul
The owners set out to build a home with soul. To them that meant warmth, natural materials and a sense of craft. The house is a renovated 1970s modernist home, not large by today’s standards, with good proportions, big windows and original architectural detail.
They went back to the materials the original architect had drawn but never finished, then improved on them with their builder, landscaper and kitchen designer. The floor had to carry that same idea: honest timber, plenty of grain, laid as individual pieces you notice under bare feet.
Flamingo Himalaya, laid in herringbone
The floor is Flamingo Himalaya, a Dutch-made engineered European oak from our Flamingo collection. Himalaya reads a deep, warm brown with subtle copper undertones over a smooth planed surface, so the grain shows without heavy brushing or distressing.
It is an engineered oak: a real oak wear layer over a stable ply core, a construction many specifiers choose for New Zealand homes. The finish is a natural penetrating oil, which sits in the timber rather than on top of it and can be cared for and repaired in place. Himalaya is made to order and can be specified as herringbone, chevron, standard or wide plank.
Intimate in winter, open in summer
The house is intimate and personal, but it opens on both sides in summer to work as a pavilion for family and friends, then closes in over winter to stay cosy. It also has to run as a busy family home, so the floor gets used.
In the owner’s words, they do not have to be too precious about the floor and it still looks great, and like all natural timber it gets better with age. The herringbone gives every room a quiet rhythm without shouting for attention.
Why herringbone takes more work
Herringbone is not a printed look. It is individual short boards set at right angles, which is slower and more skilled to lay than a straight plank floor, and that effort is what gives the pattern its movement. Good preparation and a craftsman installer matter, so it is worth reading how timber flooring is installed before you brief a builder.
Made to order
Flamingo Himalaya is specified for the project. Board width, length, knot grade and bevel detail can be chosen to suit.
- Herringbone or chevron parquet
- Standard or wide plank
- Engineered European oak, natural oil
Get it specified
When correctly specified, this floor is compatible with underfloor heating. If you are an architect or designer, we can help with specification support and samples.
- Colour and format matching
- Samples for your board
- Specification advice
See it for yourself
Order this colour
Get Flamingo Himalaya and other tones sent to you free, so you can see the timber in your own light.
The Flamingo range
Dutch-made engineered oak with real texture, available as plank, herringbone and chevron.
How it is laid
What goes into a herringbone install, from subfloor prep to the finished pattern.
Bring a herringbone oak floor into your home
Start with a free sample of Flamingo Himalaya, or tell us about your project and we will price it for you.
European oak, engineered to Vienna Woods specification. As a natural timber product, some variation in colour and grain between boards is normal.
