Checkerboard Tiles: A Timeless Pattern with Modern Appeal
Checkerboard Tiles: A Timeless Pattern with Modern Appeal
Checkerboard tiles have been making spaces look sharper and more interesting for a very long time. They showed up in Victorian entryways, 1950s diners and Art Deco bathrooms.
The difference now is that the pattern has expanded well beyond black and white. Today's checkerboard tiles come in earthy tones, rich jewel colours, subtle tone-on-tone combinations, and formats you mightn’t have considered yet.
If you're planning a bathroom, kitchen, entryway, or outdoor space and wondering whether this is the pattern for you – it probably is. Here's how to make it work.
There's a colour combination for every space
Classic black and white
The classic black-and-white checkered floor earns its reputation. There's a reason it's lasted this long. High contrast, immediate impact, works in almost any context. Done well, with tiles that bring some material interest to both colours, it looks genuinely luxurious rather than retro.
The Orvieto Grey and Orvieto Black combination has depth rather than just contrast, thanks to subtle stone veining in both tiles. When combined with something bold (a vivid blue pool, a dark joinery colour), this combination really pops.
Earthy
The earthy direction is an interesting current take on checkerboard. Think terracotta and cream, warm beige and biscuit, tumbled stone in natural tones – the palette of a space that feels lived in and loved.
Stage Terracotta and Stage White together bring a warm, organic quality. Terracotta warmth is softened by the white, with a matt finish that suits relaxed, contemporary interiors. For a slightly more muted take, try Stage Taupe in place of white.
And for a more textural, premium take on the earthy palette, Antique Stone Travertine in 100x100mm brings genuine natural stone character. Warm earthy tones, tumble-finished texture, and that slightly imperfect quality that only real stone has.
Bold colours
The checkerboard's geometric structure allows for bold colours. The alternating pattern contains and controls it, turning colour combinations that might otherwise feel risky into something that feels deliberate and confident.
The Urban Atelier range was designed with bold combinations in mind. Forty-eight ceramic colours in a 100x100mm gloss finish, spanning the full chromatic spectrum – the palette is there precisely to be mixed and matched.
Areia and Amarelo together create warm, sunny retro energy. Branco paired with a deep green like Bosque feels bright and cheerful. The range gives you the freedom to get specific about the mood you want, rather than settling for what's available.
Tone on tone
If bold feels like too much, the tone-on-tone approach is a sophisticated way to use the checkerboard pattern without the pattern being the first thing anyone notices.
Urban Atelier Perola (a gentle off-white) and Nordico (cool grey-blue) create a calm, barely-there check with a relaxed coastal feel. For a large-format tone-on-tone that feels like understated luxury, Storica Cream and Orvieto Ivory at 600x600mm creates a big, sprawling checkerboard in chilled-out stony tones.
Room by room: Where checkerboard tiles belong
Bathroom
In bathrooms, checkerboard tiles add personality and pattern without requiring a large surface to make an impact.
A checkerboard floor in a compact bathroom creates drama in the best way: the eye has somewhere interesting to go. On a feature wall or shower recess, it becomes a deliberate design moment.
Smaller format tiles work best here—100x100mm like the Urban Atelier range or Antique Stone Travertine—because the scale of the pattern suits the scale of the room. In wet areas, make sure your chosen tile is rated for the application, and if you're using natural stone, sealing before use is essential.
Kitchen
Kitchens welcome checkerboard on both floors and splashbacks. Underfoot, a checkered tile expresses the personality of a kitchen without competing with cabinetry or benchtops.
On a splashback, the Micro Typic Cotto and White Gloss combination is particularly good. Mixing a glossy glaze with a matt finish within the same check creates texture and depth that works with both modern and heritage cabinetry.
Entryway
Inspired by the minimalism of Japanese design with Scandinavian functionality, Japandi retreat vibes can be yours with simple choices. Moving away from cool greys, 2026 embraces warm greige, ivory and soft biscuit tones arranged in a precise grid pattern for a calm Japandi space.
Outdoors
Outdoors, checkerboard extends well to alfresco entertaining areas and pool surrounds. The Orvieto range includes an external 600x600mm grip-finish version suitable for outdoor use, keeping the same stone-look aesthetic from inside to out.
Antique Stone Travertine in an outdoor checkerboard brings genuine natural warmth to an alfresco floor. As a natural stone used outdoors, sealing is particularly important to protect against moisture and the elements.
How you lay it changes everything
The traditional straight grid is the place to start – alternating square tiles in a regular pattern. What some people don't realise is that the size of the tile changes the character of the pattern entirely.
At 100x100mm, checkerboard is intricate and detailed, best suited to smaller surfaces and feature applications. At 600x600mm, it becomes architectural and bold, best suited to generous floor areas where the scale of the pattern matches the scale of the room.
Turning the grid 45 degrees onto the diagonal adds movement to the pattern and makes spaces feel larger. It's particularly effective in entryways and bathrooms, where creating an impression of space is usually high on the wish list.
The installation requires more cuts at the room perimeter, which is worth factoring into your tile order. Add a little extra for wastage, using our area calculator to work out how much tile you need.
One of the most interesting checkerboard variations doesn't use square tiles at all. The Marrakech range includes elongated metro tiles. Laid in a triple stack of three tiles side by side, alternating between two colours, they create a characterful checkerboard effect from a non-square tile. Marrakech Tan and Marrakech Biscuit together bring a warm, organic quality. Terracotta warmth is softened by the lighter beige, with a matt finish that suits relaxed, contemporary interiors.
The pattern looks completely different to a standard check but reads unmistakably as checkerboard. It's particularly effective in bathrooms and laundries where the elongated format adds a slightly unexpected element.
If the checkerboard pattern appeals but you'd like something with a slightly different format, have a look at the Octagon & Dot range – a classic porcelain octagon tile paired with a small black insert insert. It creates a similar period feeling to checkerboard but in a distinctly different format. Worth considering alongside it.
The practical stuff worth getting right
Tile size and space scale go together. Smaller tiles (100x100mm) create drama and intimacy, and are best in compact spaces or feature applications. Larger tiles (600x600mm and above) work best in bigger rooms where the pattern has room to breathe. Forcing a barge-format checkerboard into a small space can feel busy rather than bold.
Mixing finishes within a checkerboard pattern is worth considering. A gloss tile alternating with a matt tile in the same colour family—or complementary colours—creates texture and depth that a single-finish check doesn't have.
The Marrakech Olive Gloss and Square Biscuit Matt combination mixes finish, colour and even tile shape for an interesting take on traditional checkerboard.
For large-format checkerboard where precise, tight joins matter, look for rectified tiles. Rectified tiles have been mechanically cut to exact dimensions after production, allowing razor-sharp joins and minimal grout lines. Both the Orvieto and Storica ranges are rectified, which is part of what makes the large-format combination so clean.
If you’re laying a checkerboard pattern where colour contrast is the whole point, use tiles from the same range and ideally the same batch. Colour can vary slightly between batches, and a checkerboard pattern usually relies on consistency. If you're ordering additional tiles later to complete a job, contact our team to check batch availability.
If you're using natural stone tiles like the Antique Stone Travertine for your checkerboard, sealing before use is essential. Natural stone is porous and needs protection from moisture and staining. Resealing every couple of years keeps it looking its best.
Ready to choose yours?
The best checkerboard tile combination is the one that fits your space, your palette and the feeling you're going for. Which, as it turns out, gives you quite a lot to work with.
If you want to see how a colour combination looks in your own home before committing, order a $9.95 sample and lay it in the space. If you're working through a bigger renovation and want expert guidance on which tiles, what format, and how to make the whole scheme work, a free Design Pro consultation might be just what you need.
Either way, the checkerboard pattern is a good one. It has been for a long time.
Find your nearest store · Order a $9.95 sample · Book a free Design Pro consultation