This designer just revealed how she makes new stone flooring look original – it's all about the layout

There's a lot to think about when designing a home. From color schemes to furniture to room layouts, every element affects the look and feel of your space. But if there's one element that can have a big impact, it's flooring.

Material is a huge part of flooring ideas. Stone has become a favorite for timeless interiors, particularly in kitchen ideas and hallway ideas where a more resilient material is required. But often, new flooring can look exactly that – new. So how can you make it look like it's always been there?

Turns out, how you lay it is just as important as the stone tiles or slabs themselves. Interior designer Marie Flanigan has just taken to Instagram to share her top tip on making stone flooring look original – and it's all in the layout.

'I'm letting you in on my secret to laying a natural stone floor. I often use this tip when I'm doing something large scale like a tumbled limestone floor or something where I want the floor to feel authentic and historic and have a little character,' says Marie Flanigan in her Instagram reel.

Stone-style flooring is a fitting choice in older homes as it reintroduces the materials that would have been used in the property's heyday – but it also works in more modern schemes to add texture and interest.

Choosing the right flooring type is the first step, but the layout should also be well thought out to ensure it's actually convincing. 'I like to use the random linear pattern. It's a lot like the running bond or the brick pattern that's a little bit more popular,' she explains.

'How you do it is you get the stone in three different sizes that are all the same width – for example, 18 x 36, 18 x 30, and 18 x 28 – and you lay them in a creative beautiful way that really allows the grout lines to feel a little bit more random and organic.'

This more irregular pattern gives the flooring more character and instantly creates a more natural, organic appearance as opposed to a perfectly aligned, symmetrical design that you often see in contemporary schemes.

'It just feels a little bit more old world, like it was hand laid long ago, and it feels a little less perfect, which is what I love most about it,' Marie adds.

Flooring is more than just a practical element – being more creative with how you lay flooring – whether it's stone, tiles, or wood – will add abundant character to a room and give a more unique appearance, and this tip from Marie is an expert-approved way to lay stone flooring.