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Reclaimed Manoir Oak chevron floor under the dining table at Highgate House, London

Chevron Flooring

Chevron flooring draws a clean, continuous line through a room. Each piece is mitred so that two rows meet point to point, forming an unbroken V that leads the eye. The precision of the pattern brings its own architectural character, while the timber introduces depth, texture and subtle shifts in colour. At Re:claimed, we craft chevron wood flooring from antique and new European oak, bringing centuries-old patinas and the tonal character of hand-finished timber into a pattern made with precision.

Follow the chevron back to 18th-century France

In English, chevron describes the V itself. The word came through Old French from a term for a roof rafter. French joiners call the pattern point de Hongrie, and the firmest early record of how it was made comes from André-Jacob Roubo. In the second part of L'Art du menuisier, published in 1770, Roubo describes point de Hongrie laid from strips three to four French feet long and three to four inches wide, their ends cut on the mitre, "or at an angle of 45 degrees, which is the same thing". A course of frieze was kept around the edge of the room, as wide as the strips themselves. He also records another name for the floor: plancher à la Capucine. Roubo draws a distinction that most flooring histories leave out. Because the mitred strips had no joinery holding them together, he argued that point de Hongrie should be treated as a compartmented floor rather than as parquet in the strict sense.

How Roubo set out a chevron floor

Four rules from L'Art du menuisier, 1770.
1

Keep a frieze

Reserve a course of frieze around the room, as wide as the strips the floor is made from.

2

Divide the room

Split the remaining width into parallel lines 25 to 34 inches apart, so the diagonals run three to four feet.

3

Work from 7 to 10

Use the ratio of a square's side to its diagonal, which Roubo gives as roughly 7 to 10.

4

Keep the count odd

Make the number of lines odd, so that a joint falls on the centre line of the room.

Choose how much age the geometry should carry

Chevron has a precise outline, but the timber within it can be very different. Old surface wear softens the line. Cleaner new oak makes the points more graphic. Bespoke work can alter scale, colour, angle, edge treatment and perimeter details, so the pattern is drawn around the room rather than selected in isolation.
Manoir Oak chevron flooring, unfinished

Manoir Oak Chevron, Unfinished

Reclaimed European oak aged over 200 years, shaped and graded by hand in Cheshire, as 10 mm solid overlays or 18 mm engineered platforms.

Let reclaimed oak soften the point

Manoir Oak Chevron begins with oak reclaimed from 200-year-old structures, including stables, cottages and storehouses across the Mediterranean and Aegean. The timber arrives with worn grain, small marks of use and tonal variation already present, and every piece is shaped and graded by hand in Cheshire. In chevron, those irregularities sit inside an exact V. The repeated points keep the room ordered, while the surface changes from piece to piece as light crosses old grain and softened contours. Supplied unfinished, Manoir Oak can then be finished against the project palette rather than fixed to one colour before specification.
Cabin Wood engineered European oak laid in chevron

Cabin Wood

New engineered European oak in sandy greys and light browns, from the Natural Modern collection. Shown here in chevron.

Use colour to make the line cleaner

For a more contemporary reading, Cabin Wood starts with new engineered European oak and a calmer surface. It belongs to our Natural Modern collection, where every board is coloured by hand in Northern France: pigment is laid into the oak, then sealed with oils and natural waxes in successive coats. The finish keeps grain and tonal movement visible while giving the field more consistency than antique stock. In chevron, that cleaner palette makes the meeting points and long diagonal runs easier to read. It works particularly well where the floor sits beside pale plaster, restrained joinery or stone without borrowing the surface language of an old floor.
Bespoke European Aged Oak herringbone floor in the living room of a Manchester renovation

Bespoke European Aged Oak

New European oak tumbled with natural abrasives, available in plank, chevron and herringbone. Shown here in herringbone, in a Manchester renovation.

Set the chevron around the project

Bespoke chevron begins with decisions that a standard format has already made: angle, stave proportions, surface, edge treatment, colour, border and the direction of the main run. Our bespoke service can also develop patinas and finishes through sampling, including formulas that react with the tannins in oak rather than sitting over the surface as a flat stain. Bespoke European Aged Oak gives this route a useful starting point. New oak is worked in a custom-built tumbling drum with natural abrasives, softening the edges and introducing gentle wear before finishing begins. Chevron is one of its layout options. A standard chevron specification is quicker and more straightforward, because the main dimensions, construction and production route are already established. Bespoke work needs a fuller brief, more sampling, longer lead times and greater investment.

Make every point meet

Chevron concentrates the workmanship at the apex. The two sides of every V have to meet cleanly and the centre line has to continue through row after row, so a small error near the start repeats across the floor. Chevron blocks are made as mirrored left- and right-hand pieces, and the first pairs set the geometry for everything that follows. That is why the panel is drawn before it is cut. On this working drawing, a chevron panel is set out at 1000 × 1000 mm inside a 100 mm border, each stave 600 × 100 mm, with a herringbone panel beside it for comparison. Manoir Oak is kiln-dried, cut and sanded, then every chevron piece is shaped and graded by hand in our Cheshire workshop, keeping its worn grain and natural variation.

The first point sets up every point that follows.

Set the axis before the first board

The continuous lines of a chevron floor depend on careful planning from the outset. Each pair of mitred blocks meets at a precise point, with the angle and direction established before installation begins. Even a slight deviation can become increasingly visible as the pattern extends across the room. Unlike herringbone, where rectangular blocks meet at staggered right angles, chevron creates an uninterrupted V. The eye follows that line naturally, which makes the position of the first rows particularly important. An accurately established centre line provides the reference for the entire layout, keeping the points consistent as the floor progresses. Borders and transitions need equal attention. The angle of the pattern has to be resolved where it meets walls, doorways, fireplaces or adjoining materials, so the geometry continues through the space without awkward interruptions.

Chevron in our projects

Two Highgate houses show how much the pattern changes with the rooms around it: a 19th-century villa restored as a family home, and a house reworked by XUL Architecture.
Reclaimed Manoir Oak chevron floor in a reading corner at Highgate House, London
Manoir Oak chevron floor in the kitchen at Highgate House, London

Highgate House, with Tom Rutt Studio

An imposing 19th-century villa, once divided up and neglected, reimagined as a family home with Tom Rutt Studio and client Vanina Kovarski. Our reclaimed Manoir Oak in solid overlays was laid in chevron across the principal rooms and finished on site, bringing rhythm and gentle movement to the classical proportions. Featured in The Sunday Times Style. Photography: Astrid Templier.
Manoir Oak chevron floor in the dining room of Highgate House, London

Explore the projects

Chevron beyond our projects

The pattern travels well. In a Manhattan apartment overlooking Columbus Circle, British designer Charles Mellersh used custom chevron timber floors in the dining area, beside oak-veneered walls and earthy colours (Architectural Digest). In a 2025 apartment in Nicosia, CA Architects paired brown oak chevron parquet with black elm panelling, fluted glass and white Carrara marble across 110 m².

More parquet patterns

Chevron Flooring FAQs

What is chevron flooring?

Chevron flooring is a parquet layout made from timber pieces with mitred ends. Two rows meet point to point to form a continuous V. In French parquet terminology, the pattern is commonly called point de Hongrie.

Is chevron flooring the same as herringbone?

No. Chevron pieces have angled ends that meet at a point. Herringbone uses rectangular blocks, with the end of one meeting the side of the next at 90 degrees. The result is a continuous V in chevron and a staggered zigzag in herringbone. Chevron gives the cleanest continuous line; herringbone breaks it into staggered joints, so each block reads more independently; Versailles works at a larger scale again, read panel by panel.

What angle is used for chevron flooring?

Chevron is commonly made with 45-degree or 60-degree cuts, although historical and modern specifications vary. Roubo's 18th-century point de Hongrie was cut at 45 degrees. The angle changes the pitch of the V and has to be fixed before the pieces are made, so we confirm it for each collection and bespoke project at specification.

What is chevron engineered wood flooring?

Chevron engineered wood flooring combines the pointed chevron layout with an engineered board construction. A real wood wear layer is bonded to a more stable base rather than the piece being solid timber through its full thickness. Our Manoir Oak Chevron, for example, is available as an 18 mm engineered platform as well as a 10 mm solid overlay.

Can chevron flooring be used with underfloor heating?

Some chevron constructions can. Manoir Oak Chevron is compatible with underfloor heating in both its 10 mm solid overlay and 18 mm engineered formats. Other products should be checked against their construction, subfloor and heating system before specification.

Can antique oak be made into chevron?

Yes. We make chevron from reclaimed oak around 200 years old, including Manoir Oak and 18th Century Antique European Oak. The workshop task is keeping the mitred geometry accurate while retaining old grain, surface wear and tonal variation.

Are chevron hardwood floors always solid wood?

No. Chevron hardwood floors can be solid or engineered. "Hardwood" describes the timber, while "solid" and "engineered" describe its construction. We supply chevron in both formats across different collections.

Is chevron harder to install than herringbone?

Chevron needs a different set-out, because two mitred pieces must meet precisely at each apex and those points continue along a visible line. Installers normally work from a reference axis and use mirrored left- and right-hand pieces. Herringbone is also specialist parquet work, but its end-to-side rectangular joints create a different installation sequence.

Plan your chevron wood flooring

A chevron specification starts with direction, angle, stave scale, construction and border as well as colour. Share the drawings, material palette and technical build-up with us, and we can help establish whether an existing collection or a bespoke chevron floor is the right starting point.

By Appointment Only

23,24 Berkeley Square, W1J 6HE

[email protected]

By Appointment Only

Elena Padovan, Vice President

[email protected]

By Appointment Only

Unit 6b Battersea Road, Heaton Mersey
Cheshire, SK4 3EA

[email protected]