Buyers’ guide to…parquet flooring

Create a stunning floor with parquet – blocks of wood laid in a mosaic pattern. Herringbone is the most popular pattern, while decorative edgings can give parquet a bespoke look. Keep an eye out also for basketweave, decorative ‘Versailles’ panels and end-grain blocks in an offset pattern.

Classic herringbone

These vintage-style blocks, available in six colours, are supplied with an undercoat already applied, so only a single finishing coat is required after fitting. Classic Oak Vintage Blocks, £66.75 a square metre, Broadleaf.

French fancy

This elegant flooring is made from 18th-Century French floorboards. Parquet de Versailles, £350 for a 75cm x 75cm panel, Drummonds.

Patterned boards

Set out in what's known as a ‘Dutch' pattern, these engineered oak boards are easier to fit than individual parquet blocks, and come ready finished. Palazzo Rovere in oak, from £46.76 a square metre, the European Renaissance collection, Kahrs.

Exact copy

Get the look of a complex parquet pattern, with laminate panels that are easy to lay. Arte Versailles Light laminate tiles (60cm x 60cm), £28.99 a square metre, Quick Step.

Before you buy

● Is reclaimed parquet better than new? 'It's not a quick option,' says Vanessa Garrett of Broadleaf. ‘Bitumen must be removed from the underside, and the surface layer sanded.' Fitting can also be labour intensive.

● How easy is it to lay and care for? The subfloor must be concrete, or covered in flooring grade chipboard or ply. A hardwax oil finish is ideal, reapplied every two to five years, or use a liquid floor wax every six months.

● What's the cost? ‘Our new parquet starts at £47 a square metre. Reclaimed costs £10 to £500 a square metre,' says Vanessa. ‘Fitting new parquet costs twice as much as boards, fi tting reclaimed blocks up to three times as much.'

● Broadleaf (01269 851910; broadleaftimber.com) can supply new blocks to repair an old parquet floor.