Herringbone Flooring

Yes, a little. The same floor costs about 10 to 14% more per m² as herringbone:

• Vinyl herringbone: $39.95/m², against $35/m² for 4.5mm vinyl planks
• Hybrid herringbone: $54.98/m², against $49.99/m² for 9.5mm hybrid planks
• Oak herringbone: $103.99/m², against $92.99/m² for 15mm oak planks

You also order more, about 15% extra for cuts against 10% for planks, and it takes longer to lay: our instant quote charges $42/m² for hybrid herringbone against $35/m² for hybrid planks. A 20 m² room of our 9.5mm hybrid comes to $2,176.54 laid as herringbone, against $1,861.86 as planks.

It depends on the room and your budget:

• Hybrid herringbone suits most homes. It clicks together and floats, it's 100% water resistant, and it's our quietest (L'nT,w 41 in its sound test).
• Vinyl herringbone costs the least, $39.95/m². It's 100% water resistant and glued down, so it suits kitchens and laundries.
• Oak herringbone is real timber, with 3mm of oak on top. It's glued down and brings real grain and warmth.

See all three side by side in the table above, or order samples of each.

Mostly cost and laying time:

• More boards: every wall needs cut pieces, so order about 15% extra.
• Slower to lay: each board sits at an angle, so laying costs more than planks.
• A flat floor matters more: within 2mm over 1m² for our hybrid, and within 3mm over 3m² for glued oak.
• Harder to swap a board once it's glued down, so keep a spare box for repairs.

Our hybrid and oak warranties don't cover bathrooms or rooms with a floor drain. Want fewer downsides? Hybrid herringbone clicks together, floats and is 100% water resistant.

Neither is better. It's about the look and the job:

• Choose herringbone for a feature floor: living rooms, entries and hallways where the pattern is seen.
• Choose planks for long runs through many rooms, a lower price and a faster lay.

Many homes use both: herringbone in the living room and planks in the bedrooms. Our 9.5mm hybrid comes both ways in the same colours, so they sit side by side. See plank vs herringbone hybrid.

No. Herringbone has been laid in homes for hundreds of years, and it's still one of the most searched floor patterns in Australia: about 4,400 searches a month for herringbone flooring (Semrush, October 2026), against 1,300 for chevron.

The colour dates a floor faster than the pattern. Mid-tone oaks and natural timber looks stay easy to live with, and greys suit a modern home.

It can. Laid along the length of a room or hallway, the zigzag leads the eye down it, so the space reads longer. Light colours open a room up, while a busy pattern can crowd a small room full of furniture.

Run the zigzag along the longest wall, or towards the main view, like a window or the back door.

Our hybrid herringbone, yes, if you're handy. It clicks together and floats, with the underlay already attached. The A and B boards lock into each other, and the first four rows set the pattern for the whole room, so take your time there. Its installation guide is on every product page.

Vinyl and oak herringbone are glued down, so get those laid by a flooring installer. Our instant quote prices an install, or book one through Airtasker.

About 15% more than the room's area, against 10% for planks, because every wall and doorway needs cut pieces. Chevron needs 15 to 20%.

For a 20 m² room, that's 23 m², or 17 boxes of our hybrid herringbone (1.43 m² a box). Keep any spare boxes for repairs. The flooring calculator works out the boxes for your room.

Our herringbone comes in vinyl, hybrid and engineered oak. If you're after laminate's easy click-together laying, our hybrid herringbone clicks together the same way and is 100% water resistant, from $54.98/m². For the lowest price, vinyl herringbone starts at $39.95/m².

Yes. Our hybrid and vinyl herringbone are 100% water resistant. With any floor, put a mat in front of the sink and wipe up spills straight away.

Fit the floor around a kitchen island, not under it. A heavy island shouldn't sit on a floating floor like our hybrid, and Artifloor's warranty doesn't cover stone benches placed on its vinyl.

Yes, with the right floor. Many strata buildings ask for a tested sound rating before you lay a hard floor. In impact sound tests over a concrete slab, our 9.5mm hybrid scored L'nT,w 41 (AAAC 5 stars) and our 15mm oak L'nT,w 45 (AAAC 5 stars, over 2mm foam underlay). The lower the number, the quieter the floor for the people below.

A floor laid wall to wall usually tests a little worse than the sample, so ask your strata what they need. The test reports are on each product page, ready to send.

Yes: order up to 3 free samples. Shipping is $15, refunded when you order your floor. Floors are delivered Australia-wide, Melbourne and Sydney included, in 1 to 7 business days depending on your location. In Brisbane, see them at our showroom in Albion, Monday to Friday, 8am to 5pm.

Look at samples in your own light, by day and at night. A herringbone floor shows a lot of board ends, so colour and grain matter more than with planks.