My sister is renovating her house and I have been traveling up to NC to help out when I can. This weekend I decided I wanted to do something big to help her see her hard work is worth the sore back and headaches so we went to Lowes and found this great product…. Cherry Vinyl Plank Flooring – it is a stick-on vinyl tile that looks and feels like real wood at $1.18/sq ft. and it super simple to install. I convinced her it would look great with the real wood floors that she restained in the rest of the house that are similar in color to the planks. The kitchen is separated from the real wood floors by a dining room so the new planks will not be directly beside the old floors. We make the purchase along with some glass tiles and grout to do the backsplash (another post is imminent). Time to get to work!!
Shop Style Selections 6″W x 48″L Cherry Luxury Vinyl Plank at Lowes.com.
I measured the room and drew a line to indicate the middle from the center of the sink. This was the logical place to start since the doorway was directly across from the sink. I began laying the planks at an angle with the short end placed on the marked line with the ends at a 90 degree angle to each other…
It already is beginning to look great. Each piece is placed tightly against each other and with my sister’s help we started making a chevron pattern with the planks. This stuff was really sticky which is great because it should stay put but it got all over our hands, I just used the stuff that takes stickers off of surfaces to wash my hands every 5 planks or so.
About 3/4 of the way through the project. Time to start measuring the planks that need to be cut to fit against the wall, this part was time consuming but fairly easy after making a template to help cut the angle. After a few mistakes I figured out that going ahead and placing a plank first then cutting against the wall worked better than cutting first because I usually had it too long and had to cut again anyway. After that it went down much quicker.
The zig zag pattern looks great, cannot wait to see the finished kitchen!
- This looks even better in person, the tiles fit together perfectly, such a quality product. I want to try this in my own basement, it looks like real wood at a fraction of the cost and labor!
walkthecreativepath 
Adriana
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Tina Taylor (@trustninHisword)
Hi, I came across your blog while reading reviews of this flooring at Lowes.com. I love the chevron/herringbone pattern and have been looking for an easy DIY flooring project to apply this pattern. Thank you, Thank you, for posting this…you make it look so simple and easy. If I may ask one question, what length did you cut the first tile to and do you do that for each one?
WalkTheCreativePath
Hi Tina,
I didn’t cut any until I got to the wall. I drew a line on the floor down the center of the room first. Then I laid the first plank at the angle I needed, basically I eyeballed the first one putting the top corner on the line at an angle. I need to draw this out! Then the rest is easy, you simply lay the next plank at a right angle to the first piece and keep going all the way across the room. I’ll try to post a clearer photo of the process shortly. Thanks for asking, hope it helps!
Lori
Jan Gathing
This floor is beautiful. I’m thinking of doing this pattern in my living room. Have you every thought about doing a video tutorial of this pattern on youtube? It would be a hit. Could you email me detailed instructions?
WalkTheCreativePath
I just finished laying luxury vinyl planks in another color in my basement and it turned out great. For a larger room I wouldn’t recommend doing the chevron pattern just because it would require a lot of cutting to fit the edges at the walls. I would recommend investing in a long t-square so that you can cut accurate straight cuts if you have to trim the length of the planks. Also, I cut a piece of Kraft paper the exact dimensions of one plank (by tracing around an unused plank). This allowed me to lay the paper down at the walls and bend the paper to where I should cut the vinyl. I started laying planks in my basement lengthwise along the most visible wall and worked my way around laying them side by side from there. Let me know if you have any more questions and good luck!
DonnaC
Wow! I found this from your review on Lowe’s and has totally sold me on this vinyl! I’m buying a townhouse with terrible vinyl in the kitchen and carpet in the dining room right next to it, so I plan on running this across both rooms. I **LOVE** the chevron/herringbone pattern you did!
One question…as I plan out the # of boxes I’m going to need. Did you do an estimate based on square footage like normal or did this technique take more than normal due to the extra cuts at the perimeter?
I’m assuming it takes more, just not sure how much more I should plan for. Might try to draw it on graph paper to get a better idea first.
Anyway, wanted to thank you – this is exactly what I was looking for!
WalkTheCreativePath
Donna, I would get an extra box because of the extra cutting it requires. Shouldn’t be a whole lot more unless its a really large room. Would love for you to post some pictures when you are finished!
Lori
Alice
Great look. What angle did you use? I love the look. I will replicate it with a plank border around it.
WalkTheCreativePath
I just started at the center of the room and drew a parallel line to the side walls. Then I just put the end if the planks at a 90 degree angle to each other and continued like that until I reach a wall. Then I cut the plank to the angle of the wall.
Jake
Hey, I realize it’s been a while since this was posted. Which is perfect for my question! How have the tiles held up? I’m considering these for a rent house so I’m wondering about durability, color or grafics fading, scratches, tiles loosing adhesiveness, gaps between tiles etc. I also read on the box it says not to use soapy water to clean. So are they allowed to get wet at all? Have you spilled liquid, let it set or mopped it??
The pictures you’ve posted are fantastic! Just what I pictured! I am so anxious to do this in my house! Thanks for charging the way!
Jake
WalkTheCreativePath
Hi Jake,
The tiles have held up beautifully! I’ve mopped them countless times and they still look like the day I put them in. There have been a few minor scratches that I don’t notice unless I’m really looking for them. They have remained stuck tight to the floor even by the outside door which gets SC red mud tracked in. My sister has used Holland House floor protectant on hers and that gives it shine and makes any scratches disappear. Honestly the textured surface of the tiles disguise any imperfections that may occur and it’s quite easy to replace a tile if needed. I would highly recommend that you use them in your house as it’s much less expensive than most other options and looks expensive. Good luck and please post photos if you decide to use them!
Lori
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