Versailles / French Pattern
The Versailles pattern — also called French pattern — is a modular tile layout traditionally used in large-format stone flooring. Each repeating module combines four tile sizes: 8"x8", 8"x16", 16"x16", and 16"x24", laid twelve pieces at a time (four 8x8, two 8x16, four 16x16, two 16x24) to form a repeating 48"x48" unit.
Last updated: 2026-07-05
Versailles / French Pattern
Opuslay — tile layout worksheet- Room:
- 3 m × 2.5 m
- Units:
- Metric (cm / m²)
- Anchor:
- Left · Top
- Layout angle:
- Straight
- Tile colours:
- Single colour
Material breakdown
| Format | Qty / Pattern | Share | Qty / Room | Area / Room |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 40x40 cm | 4 | 44.4% | 27 | 3.64 m² |
| 40x60 cm | 2 | 33.3% | 13 | 2.22 m² |
| 20x20 cm | 4 | 11.1% | 22 | 0.84 m² |
| 20x40 cm | 2 | 11.1% | 10 | 0.80 m² |
| Total | 12 | 100% | 72 | 7.50 m² |
What you'll need to buy
Tiles to buy
| 20x20 cm | 23 tiles | 0.92 m² |
| 20x40 cm | 11 tiles | 0.88 m² |
| 40x40 cm | 26 tiles | 4.16 m² |
| 40x60 cm | 13 tiles | 3.12 m² |
Total 73 tiles · 9.08 m² (incl. 21% cuts & breakage)
Adhesive & grout
- Thin-set adhesive: ≈ 40.5 kg (2 × 50 lb bags) — recommended trowel: 12mm notch, large format
- Grout — the tile sets the joint width, not you:
- ≈ 1.9 kg (1 × 10 lb bag) — 3mm joint, rectified / tight-set tile
- ≈ 3.2 kg (1 × 10 lb bag) — 5mm joint, natural or non-rectified tile
Adhesive: allow a little over on an uneven substrate, or if you back-butter large tiles — both eat more than a flat bed.
Grout: the 25 lb bag is the usual size (10 lb for small jobs). Buy it in one go and stick to a single bag size: bags from different batches can dry to slightly different shades.
It's the tile that decides the joint, not the setter — dry-lay a section to find your width. Assumes 9.5mm tile depth; adjust for your product — thicker tiles need more.
Share & export
Save the Versailles / French Pattern layout to your moodboard, or send the link to your tiler — it reopens with your room dimensions.
About the Versailles / French Pattern
The name is popularly attributed to the large-format stone floors of the Château de Versailles, though no archival source documents this origin directly. The layout itself belongs to a much older family of Roman-derived modular arrangements: the closely related Opus Roman pattern follows the same interlocking logic but adds a fifth, larger 24"x24" tile to the module, and the Ashlar pattern takes those same five sizes into an eleven-tile module built to look less obviously repeating.
Today, the same four-size combination is sold as a standard "Versailles set" or "French pattern kit" by most travertine, marble, and porcelain tile suppliers.
Because a Versailles layout interlocks four sizes, the grout joints do structural work: each nominal size is a grid dimension — the tile plus its joint — and two small tiles plus the joint between them have to add up to one large tile for the module to stay square. The calculator counts these grid cells, so the count is exact. These sizes are rarely rectified — travertine, marble and most porcelain Versailles sets vary slightly from nominal — so a slightly wider joint absorbs that variation; it's worth measuring the tiles you actually bought before committing to a joint width.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Versailles pattern the same as French pattern?
Yes — "Versailles pattern" and "French pattern" refer to the same four-size tile layout (8x8, 8x16, 16x16, 16x24) and are used interchangeably by tile suppliers and installers.
How much waste should I allow for a Versailles pattern?
Most installers recommend 10-15% waste for a Versailles layout — somewhat higher than a single-size layout — to account for the extra cuts needed at room edges across four different tile sizes.
Can Versailles pattern be used with porcelain tile instead of natural stone?
Yes. While the pattern originated with travertine and marble, many porcelain tile lines now offer the same four sizes specifically to replicate a Versailles layout at a lower cost and with less maintenance.
What is the repeat module size for a Versailles pattern?
Using standard US nominal sizes (8", 16", 24"), the module repeats every 48"x48" (4 feet by 4 feet).
Is the Versailles pattern available in metric tile sizes?
Yes. The same layout is produced worldwide in metric-native sizes — 20x20, 20x40, 40x40, and 40x60 cm — repeating on a 120x120 cm module. Switch the calculator to metric to work directly in centimeters. A related arrangement using the same four sizes in a different repeat sequence is available as an alternate layout (Layout 6).
How wide should the grout joints be in a Versailles pattern?
A Versailles layout mixes four sizes that all have to line up, so the joints do more work than in a single-size floor. These sizes are rarely rectified, so a joint around 3/16" gives the tiles' natural size variation somewhere to go and keeps the module square. ANSI A108.02 §4.3.8 sets the floor — at least three times the tiles' size variation, never under 1/16" — but the standard is written for single sizes; the multi-size fit is our own point: dry-lay a section and measure your actual tiles first, because a four-size grid is far less forgiving than a plain running bond.