Which direction should you lay laminate flooring?

You’ve found the perfect laminate for your space, but now you’re scratching your head, wondering which way should you lay laminate flooring. Do the planks need to be laid towards the window, or parallel along the longest wall? Maybe they should run across the room instead? Don’t worry, you’re not alone in your dilemma – which direction to lay flooring is one of the most common questions our floorologists get asked, and we’re only too happy to help!

The good news is that there’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Which direction you choose to lay your laminate can totally transform how your room looks and feels, from making it seem bigger and brighter to highlighting your favourite features.

With our flooring expertise, we'll help break down how to know which way to lay laminate flooring depending on the room shape and highlight other factors to consider. Whether you’re a DIY guru planning on laying laminate flooring yourself, or you’re instructing professional fitters on which direction to lay laminate flooring in your space, we’ll walk you through everything you need to know.

In this guide:

• Why laminate flooring direction is important
• What directions can you lay laminate flooring in?
• Best laminate flooring direction by room shape
• Other things to consider when choosing your laminate floor direction
• Let Tapi plan your laminate flooring layout

Why laminate flooring direction is important

Laminate flooring direction might seem like a tiny detail, but it makes a big difference to how your room looks and feels. You can create clever optical illusions just by changing the direction of your planks. It can make a small space feel bigger, or a narrow space appear wider. Whichever direction of laminate flooring you choose, you’ll need to make a decision before your flooring is installed so whoever is fitting it can plan out where to lay the planks and where to make the cuts.

If you’re fitting the flooring yourself, our laminate fitting guide has all the details. But if you’d rather call in the experts, just let us know and we’ll get you booked in with a professional independent fitter.

What directions can you lay laminate flooring in?

There are a few different directions you can lay your laminate flooring in, and some of them are more complex than others! We’ve ranked them from most common to more unusual.

1. Parallel to the longest wall: The most common way of laying laminate, running flooring down the length of the room makes it feel longer and more spacious.
2. Towards the light source: This rule means you lay your laminate in the same direction as the main light source, such as a big bay window or patio doors. The light flows along the lengths of the planks so there’s fewer shadows along the joins of each board. This results in a more seamless finish, and the room feels bigger and more open.
3. From the main entrance: This feels like a very natural layout that directs the flow of movement through the space, with the planks sort of ‘pointing’ towards the door and the straight lines ‘guiding’ you into the room.
4. Across the room: Laying your planks horizontally might seem a bit unusual but fitting your flooring along the width of the space can help make a narrow room appear wider.
5. Diagonal: This is a great solution when you just can’t make your mind up! It’s ideal for awkwardly shaped spaces where there isn’t an obvious direction to lay the planks; however, diagonal layout requires more cutting and results in more wastage.

Best laminate flooring direction by room shape

The shape of your room will have a huge influence when choosing which direction to lay laminate flooring. The best thing to do is just let the room and its focal points guide you.

Narrow rooms

For narrow rooms like bathrooms or galley kitchens, laying laminate planks horizontally can make these spaces feel wider. The exception to this rule is hallways – they are supposed to feel long and narrow by design, so always lay hallway laminate along the length of the room!

Short rooms

Bring depth to a short box room like a bedroom or downstairs loo by choosing a vertical plank layout to give the illusion of a longer room.

Small rooms

Fitting laminate planks diagonally really opens up the space, so it’s a great choice for small hallways or utility rooms.

Open plan rooms

When you have an open plan space, it’s important to keep the direction of the flooring consistent to make everything feel connected. Changing direction of flooring between rooms prevents that seamless flow and might feel quite visually jarring, especially where the rooms are adjacent, and you can easily see into the next one. So, pick a flooring direction and just run with it throughout the house!

Other things to consider when choosing your laminate floor direction

• Focal features: The position and number of doors and windows in the room will also affect the direction of your laminate flooring. Bear in mind other features that anchor the space, like fireplaces.
• Plank length & width: Different plank lengths and widths will have an impact on the flooring direction you choose. Longer planks naturally draw the eye in the direction they are laid, whereas wider planks have fewer joins so the space will feel cleaner and bigger.
• Herringbone: With its timeless zig zag pattern, herringbone laminate is a brilliant choice for large or long rooms and is better at hiding wonky walks than straight planks. It’s best to have the V-shape pointing down the centre of the room so the space feels balanced – our how to fit herringbone flooring guide explains everything.
• Wastage: Some flooring directions create a few more offcuts than others, especially if you’re laying boards diagonally or working around awkward corners. Tricky layouts like diagonal designs take longer to install and have more cutting involved, so the laminate fitting cost is likely to be higher than a simple straight plank layout – just something to bear in mind when budgeting for new flooring.

Let Tapi plan your laminate flooring layout

If you’re still in a muddle wondering which way to lay flooring, then just pop into your nearest Tapi store and our floorologists can show you our laminate collections. We’ll talk you through all your options and help you narrow down the right laminate flooring for your home, lifestyle, and budget.

Alternatively, we can do all this and more from the comfort of your sofa when you book a free home visit from Tapi. We can work out the best laminate floor direction in the room it’s being laid in, as well as try out different laminate samples and measure up at the same time! Why not have a look at our laminate buying guide to get started?