Should herringbone be centred in a room?

Usually yes. Herringbone and chevron have a strong centre line, and most rooms look best when it runs down the middle or lines up with the main doorway or a fireplace.

Does centring the pattern cost more flooring?

Sometimes a little. The full plan shows the waste difference between the balanced layout and the leanest one, so you can see the cost before choosing.

Can I centre on a fireplace instead of the room?

Yes. Drag the floor so the pattern lines up with the fireplace, doorway or any other feature, and the layout and cut list update to match.

Which layout goals are there?

Three: Balanced look (centred and symmetric with sensible waste, the default), Less waste (use as much of each board as possible) and Fewer cuts (minimise the cutting).

Centre your flooring pattern so the room looks balanced

A pattern that is off centre is the first thing people notice in a finished floor, especially herringbone and chevron, where the point of the pattern draws the eye down the room. Most people would rather buy one extra pack than live with a lopsided floor.

Floor Optimizer defaults to the Balanced look goal: it prefers layouts that are centred and symmetrical in your room, and still keeps waste sensible. If you want the pattern somewhere else, drag the floor and it re-lays from there.

Centre your pattern

Free to try. No account needed to start.

In short: Floor Optimizer is a flooring layout planner that centres the flooring pattern in the room so it looks balanced and symmetrical. It lays every board in your real room and gives you the waste, the packs to buy and a board-by-board cut list.

How it works in Floor Optimizer

Draw the room and pick a pattern

Straight lay, herringbone, chevron, basketweave and the rest all work.

Keep the Balanced look goal

It is the default. The planner ranks centred, symmetrical layouts first. The full plan shows what the symmetry costs in waste compared with the leanest layout.

Adjust by dragging

Grab the floor and move it to line the pattern up with a doorway, a fireplace or the view from the sofa. The floor re-lays and the cut list updates to match. Reset position puts it back.

What it handles

Herringbone and chevron centred

The point line of the pattern runs down the middle of the room where the shape allows, or wherever you drag it. If it cannot be centred, the planner says so.

Even edges on both sides

With automatic rip placement, plank layouts are positioned so the cut rows at opposite walls match, rather than a full board on one side and a strip on the other.

What the symmetry costs

The full plan shows the waste difference against the leanest layout. Whether the symmetry is worth it is your call.

Other goals when you want them

Switch to Less waste to use every board as fully as possible, or Fewer cuts to keep the sawing down.

What is Floor Optimizer?

Floor Optimizer is an online flooring layout planner for DIYers and flooring fitters. You draw your room or whole floor plan to your measurements, enter the boards you plan to buy and pick a laying pattern, and it places every board in your actual room shape. From that layout it works out the waste, the exact packs to buy and a board-by-board cut list, so the floor is planned before anything is bought or cut. It runs in the browser on a computer, tablet or phone.

What it is: A browser-based flooring layout planner, cut list generator and pack calculator in one.
Who it is for: Homeowners laying their own floor, and flooring fitters quoting and planning jobs.
Materials: Laminate, vinyl plank (LVT), engineered and solid wood, and other boards or tiles laid in rows or patterns.
Rooms: Any shape: rectangles, L-shapes, angled walls, bays, curves and obstacles, typed to the millimetre or 1/16 inch. A whole floor plan can be split into rooms by walls, joined by doorways.
Patterns: Straight lay, running bond, random stagger, strip plank, herringbone, chevron, basketweave and windmill.
What you get: The full layout, waste percentage, exact pack count and cost, a board-by-board cut list, and a printable PDF install pack (the full plan comes with an unlock or Pro).
Price: Free to try without an account, with the layout preview and a sample of the cut list. A one-time payment unlocks the full plan for a room; Floor Optimizer Pro is a monthly subscription for every room.

Frequently asked questions

Should herringbone be centred in a room?: Usually yes. Herringbone and chevron have a strong centre line, and most rooms look best when it runs down the middle or lines up with the main doorway or a fireplace.
Does centring the pattern cost more flooring?: Sometimes a little. The full plan shows the waste difference between the balanced layout and the leanest one, so you can see the cost before choosing.
Can I centre on a fireplace instead of the room?: Yes. Drag the floor so the pattern lines up with the fireplace, doorway or any other feature, and the layout and cut list update to match.
Which layout goals are there?: Three: Balanced look (centred and symmetric with sensible waste, the default), Less waste (use as much of each board as possible) and Fewer cuts (minimise the cutting).