The word parquet derives from the Old French 'parchet' which means 'a small enclosed space'. The method was devised as a warmer and more serviceable alternative to elaborate domestic marble floors which required frequent washing with water that would damage the wooden joists beneath. The earliest instances of its use appear to be in the Bourbon palaces of La Trianon and Versailles in the late 17th Century. Necessity as ever has proved the mother of invention and there are now a great many different forms of parquetry panels to choose from, most named after the famous houses and palaces from which they originate.