Timeless checkerboard ideas

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When we think of checkerboard, we often imagine baggy clown pants, bad fashion, and the popular game played by grandparents across the nation. Although checks may be a fashion victim's worst nightmare, within the interior design realm, checkerboard is a timeless and age-defiant style. Checkerboard prints first appear within interiors around the 15th century, but have been documented back as far as 1500 B.C. during the Bronze Age. As this pattern has existed for so long, it easily exudes a timeless and old-world aesthetic. But how do you incorporate this bold and vivacious pattern without your home looking like it was designed by the Queen of Hearts? The key is colour and quality. Choose quality floor tiles, rugs, and furniture, ensuring their a high degree of attention-to-detail. These smaller factors will prove the difference between a floor that looks tacky, and one that looks terrific. 

If you would like some handy hints, as well as some stylishly elegant examples, check out the images below, and get excited about incorporating a little checkerboard elegance into your domestic space. 

Classic kitchen flooring

A truly stunning room, this gorgeous kitchen is a striking and classic space. The joinery is heritage and timeless in its design, while the standout feature is the checkerboard floor. Evoking everything we love about the checkerboard print and pattern, this space oozes luxury, elegance, and sophistication. If you want to include a floor such as this within your home, ensure your surrounding décor isn't too overbearing, and is minimal. Too many patterns, colours, or elements within a space can cause the floor to look busy and intense. 

Tessellated tiles

A tiled terrace is a beautiful home element. Here we see a traditionally designed home with a standout tessellated checkerboard print area. The colour may not be the well-known black and white, but the space is rich in character, and will act as an age-defiant feature for this residence. 

An impressive entry

When you want to make a statement in your home, you need an impressive entrance. This space is just that. Replete with a marble inlay checkerboard floor, this entry is striking, stunning, and effortlessly opulent. As you enter this room, this first thing that you notice is the incredibly luxruant flooring. Ensure you pair this design with plenty of other opuelnt accessories, a fireplace, and plenty of natural light. 

The contemporary checkerboard rug

If you are unable to change your flooring but like the checkerboard print, why not purchase a contemporary rug for your space. This design from Deirdre Dyson is a fabulously ingenious way to add this pattern into your home. Place this rug within a heritage or contemporary home as it will suit traditional interiors, or work suitably well with a modern aesthetic. 

Checkerboard parquet flooring

Parquet floor comes in many different patterns and prints. From herringbone to elaborate and intricate designs, the most common is a checkerboard of different timbers. If you want a timber floor within your home, but are also looking to incorporate a sense of history and tradition, consider a checkerboard parquet. Getting the best of both worlds, your home will look regal and majestic, as well as offer a low-maintenance and stylish floor. 

Something a little different

If the typical checkerboard print is not to your taste, consider this interesting and intriguing floor from Work House Collection. Complete with every type of tile you could imagine, the floor manages to create a unique and original design. Not your standard checkerboard, this floor is colourful, bright, and will add life to any room of your home. 

If you would like some more pattern inspiration, check out our other ideabook: 8 ways to add patterns to your bathroom

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