L shape room and laying hardwood

Q: I have a design question. We would like to change our living room and dining room floors from carpet to hardwood. The problem we have is that both rooms are an open concept and form an “L” shape. We are not sure how to lay the hardwood direction wise to obtain a nice look.

If we lay the hardwood length wise in the dining room, the living room pieces will be very short and vice versa.

I think the measurements are 32 X 11 for each room. Any ideas?

A: The floor should be laid across the floor joists! To solve your problem, you could lay them across the joists, but on a 45 degree angle. This does result in a lot of waste however, and is more difficult. These jobs are really best left to us professionals, to tell you the truth. I hope that helps.