Q: Dear Haskell,
My husband and I recently bought an older home. In the foyer, living room and dining rooms there is parquet oak floors but in the family room there is carpet. We both want to change the carpet to hardwood. Is parquet out of style and do we need to remove it or can we just add new wood floors in the den but use regular wide planks?
Thanks so much.
Rachael, Signal Mountain, TN
A:Rachael,
Great question. We find a lot of older homes around our area featured parquet floors; especially those build in the 1960 -1970s. The parquet’s popularity in recent years waned and many homeowners used 3 – 5 planks, but in the last few years I am seeing a rebirth of parquet. I like the pattern and find it adds visual interest to a room. Another benefit is that the pattern hides life’s daily little dings and scratches very well. Parquet flooring can mix very well with traditional styles as well as with today’s transitional, clean style.
I would not replace the parquet. You may want to clean or refinish the floors, depending on their conditions but the look can easily be incorporated in today’s style. As for the family room, you may want to investigate adding parquet there as well. But if you want to switch styles and/or finishes you certainly may. There is no rule that states all wood floors in your home need to be the same, especially if it is in another area of the home. If your style for your family room is more casual, you may even want to look at the new prefinished options available in 5-6″ wide planks that are antique or handscraped as a way to add character to your room and can be installed in a single day with very little mess.
Good Luck!
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