Bamboo flooring is very versatile and can be laid in any direction that you choose. There is no right or wrong direction to install your floor, it is entirely down to personal choice, aesthetics and what you think would suit the shape and size of the room. Engineered and solid bamboo flooring can be laid along a room, across a room or even at a 45 degree angle if you choose to do so.
Generally, the most common direction to lay a bamboo floor (or a hardwood floor) is lengthways according to the path of light from the largest window or source of light. This again is purely for aesthetics so that the light picks up and highlights the smaller end joints of the planks of flooring, rather than the longer length joints. This is thought to help to bring out the natural beauty, charm and character of your bamboo floor. If you have a long thin room (for example a hallway), it is advisable to lay the flooring along the length of the room to create an illusion of the room looking larger. You can of course lay the flooring across the room, but this can make the space feel more enclosed and narrower than it actually is.
There is however, one exception to these recommendations – if you decide to nail down your bamboo floor, you must lay it perpendicular to the existing wooden floorboards to provide maximum strength.
