French Floors

Thank you to the Washington Post for including this post in your Blog Watch, August 28th, 2008!

Recently I had the opportunity to tour an exquisitely crafted custom built home in Historic Brookhaven, one of the most beautiful parts of Atlanta. The home had been built to the highest standard; the detail in the craftsmanship is amazing. The architectural feature that stands out in my mind are the beautiful wood floors, which have a chevron pattern.

Chevron pattern

Here is a close up of a chevron pattern floor. I associate chevron pattern floors with French design, although it is a classic pattern and certainly holds its own whatever the design aesthetic.

This room has a layered European style, from the chevron pattern floors, to the gray paint and white trim on the doors, to the beautiful chandelier. Image is via This is Glamorous.

' Barefoot Contessa' Ina Garten's NYC home has beautiful floors with a chevron pattern.

One of my favorite stores in Atlanta, Mrs. Howard, has chevron pattern floors in one of their rooms (you can see a tiny bit in this picture). The entire store is designed like a home, and the rooms have the most beautiful architectural details. James Howard (husband to Phoebe Howard) is an interior and architectural designer, and designed all of the architectural features in Phoebe Howard's stores (Mrs. Howard and Max & Company).

Beautiful chevron floors are featured in this room designed by Sharon Mimram.


Ty Larkin's home (via Cote de Texas) has chevron floors throughout the main floor.

Antique chevron pattern floor, from a floor company in the UK

Erin Fetherston's Paris apartment, as seen in Domino magazine, has beautiful chevron floors.

A classic French apartment, from a real estate listing. Note the beautiful floors.

Porchlight Interiors posted a lovely home for sale in her area of Australia. The house is beautiful, and the whole thing is enhanced by the gorgeous floors.

I also love herringbone pattern floors, which are similar but have a slightly different design.

Herringbone pattern

Herringbone pattern floors from a British wood company

Elle Decor, January 2007, features an apartment with herringbone pattern floors. Interior design by Todd Romano.

Herringbone pattern on the floor of a modern kitchen

Another kitchen with herringbone floors. Alan Higgs architects.

In my dream home, I would probably do wide plank floors. However, there is something so quintessentially French and appealing about chevron and herringbone pattern floors, it would be tempting to put them somewhere!

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Unique architectural renderings, available here:

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Whimsical original crab and lobster paintings, as seen in House Beautiful, available here:

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Pure eye candy

Image via Mrs. Howard

Isn't this a stunning arrangement? I love the combination of the unusual mirror, the painted gray chest, and the lamps. To my eye, the proportions of all of the items work beautifully together. Does anyone recognize the mirror? I have never seen anything like it.

New on the market in DC

A home came on the market last week in Washington, DC. Built in 1927, the real estate listing describes it as 'Spanish Eclectic'. It is on 1.1 acres, which is unusual in DC, and the price tag reflects the prime nature of the land and the location: $7.5 million.

The intricate ironwork on the door is beautiful.

The floors of the entry are painted. I love it when there is a wall big enough to have a chest or settee in the front hall. This arrangement of a chest and a large mirror is beautiful.

The dining room appears to be large, but the table is small. I have heard that a luncheon for Laura Bush was held in this home, and tables were placed in the living room to accommodate the group.

The living room is quite deep, and has several different seating areas.

The living room from a different perspective. It appears to span the entire depth of the home. The grand piano is in the corner, and hardly takes up any room. I love the drapes in this room - cream and peach silk stripe. Simple and elegant.

Another perspective. The rug is the diamond sisal seen in so many homes, but in my opinion, it is one of the prettiest and most versatile rugs if you want to update and neutralize a room.

There is a pretty covered porch off the living room.

This is a gallery area that is seen from the front door. It does not seem to connect to the living room, but it does connect to the family room.

Here is the family room (on the far end, you can see the clock that is in the gallery area).

Another view of the family room. It appears to open up to the back patio.

Another view. The owners seem to have the same sisal throughout the main level of the home. The home certainly gets a lot of natural light, which is so important in a home.

The kitchen. Based on the large arched window over the door, this room appears to be on the front of the house on the right side (take a look at the picture of the exterior of the home). It does not appear to connect to the family room, although there is a door out of the family room that might lead to a part of the kitchen. To me, one of the most important component of pictures of a real estate listing are pictures that show how a home flows. To me, the flow of a home is an essential component of its livability.

The stairs from the front hall lead upstairs.

Unfortunately, there were not many pictures of the upstairs, but there was a picture of the master bedroom. As you can see, it is very large!

This view of the back of the house shows the many levels of outdoor living.

So, what do you think of this home? I think it is beautiful, and I love the decor. It is definitely a home made for entertaining, so I am not sure if my lifestyle would suit this home. Perhaps it will sell to a politician who has fundraisers and dinner parties at his or her home on a regular basis.