Vienna Woods · Project · Auckland

Herringbone Flooring in a Heritage Apartment

High Street, Auckland · Distilled Collection, Whisky Sour

Herringbone flooring suits a heritage apartment because the block pattern draws the eye across the room and lifts period proportions. On Auckland’s High Street we laid Whisky Sour herringbone in European oak: a deep, characterful floor that honours the building’s bones and still works for everyday living.

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The brief

A period apartment that had to stay period

The apartment sits in the heart of Auckland’s High Street, one of the city’s oldest retail strips. The owner wanted a floor that respected the building’s heritage and its high ceilings without feeling precious. It had to read as classic parquet and cope with day-to-day life. A warm, deep herringbone in oak was the answer.

Whisky Sour herringbone oak flooring in an Auckland heritage apartment

The floor

Whisky Sour, from the Distilled Collection

We specified Whisky Sour in Light Feature grade, part of our Distilled Collection of European oak flooring. It is European oak, made in Europe, laid in a classic herringbone block. The colour is a smoky, aged brown that reads as history against pale heritage walls.

European oak grown in cooler Baltic climates like Lithuania tends to grow slowly, which is generally associated with a dense, tight grain. The lacquer finish is built for straightforward, day-to-day cleaning and upkeep.

The detail

Why herringbone works in an older room

A herringbone lay uses shorter blocks than a plank floor, so the pattern settles into an older room’s proportions and around period detailing rather than fighting it. Light Feature grade brings more knots and colour movement, which suits a heritage setting where a flat, uniform floor would look too new. The result lifts the space without stripping its character.