History of Parquet
It is believed that parquet wood flooring originated in the chateaux of France around 1600. It may have been a French invention or perhaps it arrived in the 1530s with Catherine de' Medici, her entourage, and her Italian culture. The palace at Fontainebleau was designed by Italian architects in the Renaissance style during that time. Parquet may have been used, however. A Parquet Marquette was installed in Marie de' Medici's closet in the newly constructed Luxembourg Palace in Paris in the 1620s, executed in an Italian technique. Known as the most influential building in Europe, Luxembourg undoubtedly influenced the spread of parquet.
From 1680 until 1789, the Palace of Versailles was home to the French royal court and used parquet extensively. If not the most powerful monarch in Europe at the time, Louis XIV was certainly the most influential, with French taste in architecture and interior design widely embraced.
Moreover, parquet flooring was used throughout Versailles, not just in intimate chambers. At Versailles, it was used in the grand halls and salons, where stone would have been used earlier. Two types of wooden parquet patterns were used at Versailles: the chevron pattern and the Versailles panel pattern.
During the next fifty years, these types of parquet were generally adopted throughout Europe from Versailles and other French royal palaces at the end of the seventeenth century. There was a long-standing tradition of superior wood craftsmanship in Germany, often bestowed on intricate timber flooring. Great Britain was an exception to the rule.
Parquet flooring was first documented in Britain at Denmark House in London. Although it was installed in the Queen's Bed Chamber at Ham House in 1673, it wasn't frequently seen outside of these exceptional residences. This seems to have been an accepted practice even among the well-to-do at that time for even the most wealthy. Samuel Pepys' London library's wide, bare floorboards appear in a drawing circa 1692.
Parquet did not gain widespread popularity in the UK in spite of its increasing popularity on the continent. As with the Rococo style of decoration, which swept through Europe in the 1730s, parquet flooring never gained widespread popularity in Britain. There was perhaps a perception that it was too French in British eyes, or that it was irredeemably linked to the fussiness of Rococo interiors, or both.
In spite of all of the above, it must be said that British flooring tastes simply diverged from Continental tastes. By the eighteenth century, carpeting was widely used for domestic floors. Even though many today are surprised that carpets were installed two or three centuries ago, in reality, it was extremely common, especially in more affluent households. These carpets would have made fancy parquet unnecessary. During the eighteenth century, American architect Isaac Ware noted that carpeting had largely replaced ornamentation of floors. This practice continued into the nineteenth century. Despite trends changing, the British prefer carpets and Continentals prefer parquets.
