A Versailles floor is built from square panels rather than boards. Each panel carries its own pattern, and the room is laid panel by panel, so the design decisions are made at the scale of the panel and then repeated across the floor. That makes the specification different from a plank or herringbone order: the drawing matters more, and small choices about grain and color are multiplied by every panel in the room. This article explains what a Versailles panel is, what the factory needs to quote one, and how to approve it before production.
What a Versailles panel is
A Versailles panel is a square of wood made up of a frame around the edge and an interlaced lattice of shorter pieces inside it, set on the diagonal. The pattern takes its name from the Palace of Versailles, where it was used in the formal rooms, and it is one of the best known forms of parquetry. When the panels are laid side by side, the frames join into a continuous grid and the lattice repeats in every square.
Because each panel contains pieces running in several directions, light reflects off them differently. The same oak and the same stain can look lighter or darker from one piece to the next depending on where the viewer stands. This movement is what gives the floor its character, and it is also why a Versailles floor has to be approved on a physical panel rather than on a flat board.
Our Showcase page includes a Versailles panel produced in our factory.
Why a panel floor starts with a drawing
At Vu Uy, parquet is cut to a drawing you supply. We do not publish a standard Versailles panel size, because the right size depends on the room, the pattern proportions the designer wants and how the panels meet the walls. The panel size, and the width of the frame and lattice pieces, are taken from your drawing and confirmed at quotation.
A panel drawing should show:
- The overall panel size, as a square, with dimensions in inches and millimeters.
- The frame width around the edge of the panel.
- The layout of the lattice inside the frame, with the width of each piece.
- The grain direction of each piece, if the design depends on it.
- The edge detail where one panel meets the next.
- The overall thickness, and any limit on finished floor height.
If you are working from a historic reference or a photograph, send it marked as reference only, together with the dimensions you want. The drawing is reviewed with the specification, and any missing detail comes back as a question before pricing.
Construction and thickness
We produce three constructions: solid, 2-layer engineered and 3-layer engineered. Thickness runs from 3/8” (10mm) to 13/16” (21mm), with 5/8” (15mm) overall with a 3mm sawn wear layer and 3/4” (20mm) overall with a 6mm sawn wear layer as our standard builds.
For a panel floor, how the panel is built and how panels join each other is a question for the drawing and the installer together. It depends on the subfloor, the installation method and the floor height available. State what the installer intends, and the panel construction is confirmed at quotation. The guide to installation method covers how method feeds back into the specification.
Grade and grain
A Versailles panel is made of many short pieces, so the grade decision shows across a very large number of small faces. The room reads as a field of pattern, and the grade decides how busy that field looks.
| Choice | Effect on a Versailles floor |
|---|---|
| Premium grade | Clean, quiet pieces with very few knots, so the pattern itself carries the design |
| Select grade | Small sound knots and gentle color variation, a refined look with some oak character |
| Natural grade | Visible knots and natural color movement, a livelier floor where pattern and wood compete |
| Rustic grade | Larger sound knots and filled natural features, suited to an aged or country interior |
| Rift and quarter grain | Straighter lines within each piece, which keeps the lattice crisp |
| Plain sawn or mixed grain | More grain figure within each piece, which softens the lattice |
Grade and grain are separate choices, so write both in the specification: for example “Select grade, rift and quarter”. Our articles on oak flooring grades and rift and quarter vs plain sawn oak explain each in more detail.
Color, texture and sheen
Give the color as a code from our library of 211 colors, or send your own reference as a physical board, fan deck reference or photograph. Classic Versailles floors are often seen in warm, mid-to-deep tones, but the pattern works in light colors too, where the lattice reads through grain and light rather than contrast.
Texture and sheen change how the pattern reads:
- Smooth surfaces with a lower sheen let the change in grain direction between pieces show clearly.
- Wire-brushed surfaces add relief and make the floor look older and more worked.
- Sheen options are Matte, Extra Matte and Ultra Matte. Lower sheen softens the difference in reflection between pieces.
Because the pieces run in different directions, a color approved on a single plank will not look the same across a panel. Approve the color on a sample that shows the pattern, a full panel or at least a corner with frame and lattice together.
Setting out the room
Panels are laid in a grid, so the room layout needs its own decisions:
- Square or diagonal. Panels are usually laid square to the main wall, with the lattice running on the diagonal inside each square.
- Starting point. A panel floor is normally centered on the room, the main sight line or a feature such as a fireplace, so the cut panels at opposite walls are balanced.
- Borders. A plain border around the panel field hides the cut panels at the walls and absorbs out-of-square rooms. If a border is wanted, draw it and give its width.
- Adjoining rooms. Many projects use Versailles in the main rooms and plank or herringbone in the rooms beyond. More than one format can be produced within one order using the same approved color reference.
Quantity for a panel floor is best given as a number of panels per room, together with the border length, rather than only a total area in sq ft. That avoids a count that looks right in area but is short by a panel at one wall.
Checklist: what to send for a Versailles quotation
- Panel drawing with size, frame, lattice and grain direction
- Room plans with the starting point and panel direction
- Border drawing and width, if used
- Construction, overall thickness and installation method
- Grade and grain
- Color reference, texture, sheen and finish system
- Number of panels per room, border quantity and any adjoining plank or herringbone areas
- Delivery address or port
Working with Vu Uy Wood
Vu Uy Wood manufactures made-to-order solid and engineered French White Oak flooring in Song Than 3 Industrial Park, Ho Chi Minh City, and has done so since 2006. Parquet, including Versailles panels, is cut to your drawing, and panels, borders and plank can be produced in one order to the same approved color reference. Send the panel drawing with your specification through the Specify page, and the drawing is reviewed together with it. Every pattern, with produced and made-to-order sizes, is listed in our product catalog. We normally reply within one working day.