I had a black and white checkered floor in my kitchen / dining room space in a past house. I loved the look but it was a bear to keep clean. I suspect, though that the issues were due more to the materials (some form of vinyl/linoleum squares) and the house's past history (house had been rented to college-age guys who threw raves and grew pot in one of the outbuildings) rather than anything inherent in the floor itself.

The area was a big, open space with tons of natural light. The floor was 12x12 (or 18x18) squares of alternating black and white.

You could also get a similar look with less maintenance (pure black and white show a lot of dirt) by doing a checkerboard in soft white and a warm, dark gray, or some variation on that theme. Maybe Arabian Pearl and Arabesque Marmo...?

Here is a link that might be useful: Click

We put this in our exercise/laundry room, and are really happy with. The texture (which was a problem with other sheet goods) is very light, easy to mop. The flooring itself is REALLY heavy, and, we think, good looking. Might work well in your mudroom!

Here is a link that might be useful: Black & white fiber floor

Hi,
I have a black and white checkerboard floor in our master bath. It's ceramic tile which looks like marble. The black has shadings of gray, giving it a nice depth. Also, we chose a matte finish. I've had shiny white tile and will never do that again! But this is in a bathroom and doesn't have the same traffic as a kitchen. Because the white is marbled and matte, it doesn't show every bit of dirt or dust. I really enjoy the look of checkerboard.

The first one's a kitchen, and the others are both bathrooms:

Dining room that's still a work in progress

just my opinion, but if you decide to go for it, I would REALLY go for it and do the tiles in the same size. Just be careful that the marble won't be slippery when wet (such as when people would enter your house on a rainy day).

As shown above you may be able to get the look with other materials.

One of my kids favorite movies is Stuart Little 2 (not the animated film, the one with Geena Davis)... they have a nice black and white checkerboard floor in their foyer (in their very cool NYC townhouse... which I realize is just some stage set). Check it out if you have the opportunity.

Great responses. Thank you. Mamadadapaige, I will rent that movie just to see it. I kind of agree with you that if I am going to do it, we should really do it. I generally like the look better anyway. I will take a look at these other materials. We were thinking matte might be a better way to go also.

Here's one in a house for sale in our area:

I went to a decorator showhouse last spring, and they had a black and white checkerboard floor (porcelain or ceramic tile) in the mudroom. The house sits on a working farm, so the mudroom is truly a mud room. What made it work was that they had used black grout. I'm now lobbying for the same in my laundry/mudroom.

Always loved it, always will. However my husband would not let me do a black and white checkered floor as it brought back a bad memory. Turns out it had something to do with drinking too much in college and getting really sick. Whatever.

So I did a checkerboard in my mudroom/main entry with 2 shades of green. They are Crossvilles Colorblox. I also fooled him by having them installed as a diamond pattern. I was determined to get my checkerboard one way or another!! I put the same floor in my screened porch at the opposite end of the house, and it really helps to tie everything together.

Do it!!!!!

We just got rid of a checkerboard floor. I HATED it because of the upkeep. It always looked dirty especially the white tiles. Everyone who visited us admired the floor though. I will say that ours was that peel and stick vinyl crap that the ex-owners layed which was down for 15 years before we removed it.

I would imagine that a marble or real tile checkerboard floor would look gorgeous and possibly easier to clean that the stuff we had. Go for it if you love the look.

piegirltoo, I love Colorblox! Do you have a picture? Sounds great!

My house (which is currently on the market) has a checkerboard floor we installed through the hall and kitchen. I simply adore it! We did a cream/brown checkerboard. I had always wanted black and white, but was afraid of the upkeep. I'm so glad we went this way instead. In this house, we cheaped out and used Armstrong vinyl tile - the commercial stuff. It has been wonderful though - the mottled colours hide dirt well and it's held up to 2 toddlers. In our new house we are doing two checkerboard floors with Marmoleum - a cream/brick checkerboard on the diagonal in the mudroom/powder room, and a square cream/blue checkerboard in the laundry room. I just love this kind of floor.

Here is a link that might be useful: Here's the link!

I like this idea too. I actually may consider it for my kitchen. I like amysrq's idea for softening up the color as I think black and white might be too much in a smallish kitchen. Love marmoleum. Anyone know where it falls price-wise?

I have a checkerboard pic in my inspiration folder. Let me see if I can post it. It's a beautiful space with a HUGE window, though.

Here it is.

I love checkerboard floors. I plan to do one in my bathroom.

My foyer floor hasn't been installed yet, but i'll be using Marble in Creama Marfil and Black Absolute in 18" x18" tiles. Since it will butt up to a dark wood floor the Creama tiles will be cut in half and used as a border. Inside of that will be a 12" Black Absolute cut in half. Inside the borders, the remaining tiles will be placed on the diagonal. I wanted to make a statement with the tile, and the borders will really give it the extra oomph.

I originally was going to use white, but decided scuff marks might be a problem. With the vein in the Creama, they might not be *quite* as obvious. ;o)

awm03,
We're out of daylight here so will try to post a pic tomorrow.

The colors are Mr.Greenjeans and Limeade. The tile setter said that when he saw the tiles in the boxes, he thought I was nuts, but that in the process of installing them he found that he really liked the combo a lot.

When I called Crossville for samples, they sent me a 12" square tile of each of the 2 colors. nice!

Hi --

I have a Marmoleum checkerboard floor in the laundry room. I love it-- Marmoleum is fantastic, I wish I had more of it.

Wow, I love hearing everyone's feelings on this. I think we are going to go for it. I have looked at a friend's house that did crema marfil and black granite. It does look good. I am just such a WHITE white person that I am unsure. I do really like the idea of a checkerboard in Marmoleum in my laundry room too...we'll see!

Thanks for all the responses. Please keep the pictures coming.

just cuz I said I would (took me a little while to figure out how to imbed a pic)...
Okie enjoying her breakfast on her new checkerboard floor (Color Blox):

the cream and green floor is exaclty the color combo I want for my mud room. Can you share that info and the manufacter. Thanks so much!

The cream and green floor is exactly what I am looking for, where did you purchase the tile?

I like the idea of a checkerboard floor, but -- like many of you -- I prefer something "softer" than the classic black and white, which can be somewhat stark. My favorite here is the blue and cream two posts up.

Love checkerboard floors!

mickydiamond, this is an old thread, and since piegirltoo didn't answer the question asked three years ago, she might not respond.

Here's a google search page for the 'Color Blox' floor tile she posted.