Contemporary Classic – Chevron by Tongue & Groove

A symbol of French nobility and sophistication in the 17th century, parquet flooring has seen several resurgences, including becoming a celebrated feature of loft-style apartments in Europe and North America throughout the 1930s. More recently, this textured flooring style has been reinvigorated with larger scale chevron designs like the Tongue & Groove floorboards seen in Warrandyte House, which give a contemporary lift to this classic aesthetic.

Since their launch in Sydney in 2007, engineered flooring company Tongue & Groove has been pushing boundaries both in terms of the strength and stability of their products but also in the formats, widths and finishes available in their range. The engineered timber boards are carefully crafted using three layers of solid European Oak, resulting in a hardy product that does not lift or bend and can withstand even the heaviest foot traffic. This is particularly important when creating textured flooring patterns, like the chevron design used in this busy family home. Specified in the coolly natural Freado tone, the patterning is enlarged from its usual tight scale, providing a modern aesthetic that is in keeping with the home’s timber-lined ceilings and colourful, free-flowing spaces.

Since their launch in Sydney in 2007, engineered flooring company Tongue & Groove has been pushing boundaries both in terms of the strength and stability of their products but also in the formats, widths and finishes available in their range.

In renovating this home, the brief for interior designer Kate Lucas of Open Door Design included encouraging a connection between the landscaped outdoor spaces and the interiors. “We developed a colour palette and design that complemented the Warrandyte environment, plus included colours and textures frequently seen outdoors,” Kate says. “The original layout of the home had the interiors quite segregated, and the clients wished for a more open floor plan with better connection between the kitchen, dining and living zones.”

In choosing the flooring, Kate looked to Tongue & Groove for its wide range of colours and textures. “This home had more of a circular flow through the key interior spaces,” she says. “When I spotted the chevron pattern, it made sense for me to use this as it doesn’t have one set direction and allows for a better connection between the spaces.” The Freado finish was then chosen to allow for a subtle, neutral backdrop to the homeowner’s art collection and the blues and greens picked up in the furniture, house plants and tiling.

The engineered timber boards are carefully crafted using three layers of solid European Oak, resulting in a hardy product that does not lift or bend and can withstand even the heaviest foot traffic.

Freado is just one of 16 colourways available in Tongue & Groove’s range, which extends from the palest, whitewashed Nueve to the solid, deep black Raba, with a variety of shades of rich browns and subtle neutrals in between. Specifiers can choose between Prime, Classic and Natural grades, each with a varying degree of knots, grain and texture visible to suit the homeowners’ taste and the architectural style of the home. Similarly, the boards come in two styles, either hand-scraped for an aged look or in the Textured style, which is machine-finished to provide a smoother surface underfoot. Aside from Chevron, Tongue & Groove engineered boards also come in Herringbone or Straight formats.

With its eye on expansion and a focus on providing for contemporary design trends, Tongue & Groove is committed to delivering on quality and longevity. To experience the products firsthand, the company has showrooms in Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane, as well as teams on the ground in Adelaide, New Zealand and New York.