Kitchen Design
30 Kitchens With Checkered Floors
In classic black-and-white or cheerful color, checkerboard kitchen floors are anything but square
First we spotted the checkerboard pattern on the runway. Now it’s a full-blown trend, showing up on everything from discount duds to home decor. But while the popularity of checkered patterns may wax and wane, they never really go out of style — especially in flooring. Here are 30 photos recently uploaded to Houzz that illustrate why the versatile geometric patterns are perennial flooring favorites in all kinds of kitchens, all over the world. Check them out, then show us your checkered floor in the Comments!
2. Retro Checkerboard
Harlequin diamond floors tend to evoke cathedrals, palaces and grand hotels; checkerboard, which historically was used in smaller or transitional spaces, can lend a room a French country or retro feel when paired with casual finishes and a peppy color scheme.
This Michigan kitchen illustrates what a difference 45 degrees can make. Designed by TruKitchens, it features retro turquoise appliances and a gray-and-white checkerboard floor.
(Click on the pictures to see more of each project.)
Harlequin diamond floors tend to evoke cathedrals, palaces and grand hotels; checkerboard, which historically was used in smaller or transitional spaces, can lend a room a French country or retro feel when paired with casual finishes and a peppy color scheme.
This Michigan kitchen illustrates what a difference 45 degrees can make. Designed by TruKitchens, it features retro turquoise appliances and a gray-and-white checkerboard floor.
(Click on the pictures to see more of each project.)
3. Victorian Refresh
While the two orientations of the checkered pattern can be used to create different vibes, examples of both span many eras, continents and styles over the past 400 years.
This support kitchen designed by Gemma Dudgeon Interiors has a small-scale pastel checkerboard floor that’s appropriate to the home’s Victorian architecture. The checkerboard flows into a more ornate antique-tile-covered floor in the main kitchen area.
While the two orientations of the checkered pattern can be used to create different vibes, examples of both span many eras, continents and styles over the past 400 years.
This support kitchen designed by Gemma Dudgeon Interiors has a small-scale pastel checkerboard floor that’s appropriate to the home’s Victorian architecture. The checkerboard flows into a more ornate antique-tile-covered floor in the main kitchen area.
4. Contemporary Cool
White squares often alternate with black or colored squares in a classic checkered print. The kitchen in this century-old New York home renovated by Studio Officina, however, has a gorgeous Cle Tile floor that thinks outside the box. Look closely and you’ll see that, while there’s a checkered effect, each tile is actually half pink and half black-and-white stripes.
White squares often alternate with black or colored squares in a classic checkered print. The kitchen in this century-old New York home renovated by Studio Officina, however, has a gorgeous Cle Tile floor that thinks outside the box. Look closely and you’ll see that, while there’s a checkered effect, each tile is actually half pink and half black-and-white stripes.
Need a pro for your home remodeling project?
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
Let Houzz find the best pros for you
5. Italian Airs
The term “harlequin” comes from the clown-like characters in 17th century Italian theater who wore outfits in the hallmark diamond pattern.
Along with arched details and iron-framed doors, the harlequin floor in this Austin, Texas, home designed by Cuppett Kilpatrick Architects nods to that Mediterranean heritage.
The term “harlequin” comes from the clown-like characters in 17th century Italian theater who wore outfits in the hallmark diamond pattern.
Along with arched details and iron-framed doors, the harlequin floor in this Austin, Texas, home designed by Cuppett Kilpatrick Architects nods to that Mediterranean heritage.
6. Rough-Hewn
Albert, Righter & Tittmann Architects gave this 1920s retreat a new kitchen in keeping with its rustic roots, painting its wide-plank wood flooring a homey, green-and-white checkered pattern.
Albert, Righter & Tittmann Architects gave this 1920s retreat a new kitchen in keeping with its rustic roots, painting its wide-plank wood flooring a homey, green-and-white checkered pattern.
7. Minimalist Mood
This Toronto kitchen renovated by Alair Homes Forest Hill illustrates how, when mixed with similarly toned marble countertops and cabinets, a pale gray-and-white checkered floor can create a neutral contemporary backdrop for bold black and wood details.
This Toronto kitchen renovated by Alair Homes Forest Hill illustrates how, when mixed with similarly toned marble countertops and cabinets, a pale gray-and-white checkered floor can create a neutral contemporary backdrop for bold black and wood details.
8. Tudor Touch
The black-and-white harlequin floor in this European-inspired Milwaukee kitchen by Mary Best Designs complements the home’s 1920s Tudor architecture and French farmhouse table.
The 10 Most Popular Kitchens So Far in 2022
The black-and-white harlequin floor in this European-inspired Milwaukee kitchen by Mary Best Designs complements the home’s 1920s Tudor architecture and French farmhouse table.
The 10 Most Popular Kitchens So Far in 2022
9. Bright and Beach-y
Waterlily Interiors gave this Bethesda, Maryland, kitchen a beach-house-meets-urban-escape vibe with bright seafoam cabinets and a laid-back wood floor painted in bold black-and-white checks.
5 Ways to Push the Envelope With Color and Pattern
Waterlily Interiors gave this Bethesda, Maryland, kitchen a beach-house-meets-urban-escape vibe with bright seafoam cabinets and a laid-back wood floor painted in bold black-and-white checks.
5 Ways to Push the Envelope With Color and Pattern
10. À Carreaux
Harlequin floors fit squarely into Art Deco’s penchant for geometric patterns. This French-inspired Chicago kitchen renovated by reDesign Home Chicago pairs marbled counters and checkered floors with early-20th-century-style French art, lighting and Thonet-like bentwood caned stools.
Harlequin floors fit squarely into Art Deco’s penchant for geometric patterns. This French-inspired Chicago kitchen renovated by reDesign Home Chicago pairs marbled counters and checkered floors with early-20th-century-style French art, lighting and Thonet-like bentwood caned stools.
11. Santa Barbara Meets Spain
This kitchen in a Santa Barbara, California, home renovated by Newhaven Builders incorporates a blend of Mediterranean (including Spanish Colonial) and local influences. Its checkerboard floor picks up the soft blues and greens in the backsplash tile, which mimics a design seen at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.
This kitchen in a Santa Barbara, California, home renovated by Newhaven Builders incorporates a blend of Mediterranean (including Spanish Colonial) and local influences. Its checkerboard floor picks up the soft blues and greens in the backsplash tile, which mimics a design seen at the Santa Barbara County Courthouse.
12. Industrial Strength
In a Portland, Maine, loft designed by Caleb Johnson Studio, a smaller-scale checkered floor keeps an industrial-style kitchen from being all work and no play.
Shop for wall and floor tile
In a Portland, Maine, loft designed by Caleb Johnson Studio, a smaller-scale checkered floor keeps an industrial-style kitchen from being all work and no play.
Shop for wall and floor tile
13. Awesome ’80s
Hot pink stools and checkered marble floors in this contemporary Louisville, Kentucky, kitchen by
Designer Builders are, like, totally 1980s — another period in which checkered prints were all the rage in interior design as well as fashion.
Shop for counter stools
Hot pink stools and checkered marble floors in this contemporary Louisville, Kentucky, kitchen by
Designer Builders are, like, totally 1980s — another period in which checkered prints were all the rage in interior design as well as fashion.
Shop for counter stools
14. Not-So-Shabby Chic
Gotham Interiors painted a checkered pattern on this shabby-chic-style kitchen in New York, which adds to its lived-in, nostalgic look.
Gotham Interiors painted a checkered pattern on this shabby-chic-style kitchen in New York, which adds to its lived-in, nostalgic look.
15. Bluebird Day
The harlequin floor in this Santa Rosa, California, kitchen by Studio H Designs pulls together a variety of style influences, including French bistro and Crafstman. The color and pattern scheme also calls to mind another classic pairing: Vans Checkerboards (introduced in 1977) and bluejeans.
The harlequin floor in this Santa Rosa, California, kitchen by Studio H Designs pulls together a variety of style influences, including French bistro and Crafstman. The color and pattern scheme also calls to mind another classic pairing: Vans Checkerboards (introduced in 1977) and bluejeans.
16. Retro Eclectic
In England, Absolute Architecture freshened up an Oxfordshire cottage with a black-and-white checkerboard floor and colorful, 1940s-style details.
In England, Absolute Architecture freshened up an Oxfordshire cottage with a black-and-white checkerboard floor and colorful, 1940s-style details.
17. Pattern and Color
A harlequin floor adds to the energy in this Café Appliances show kitchen, which looks like a Pop Art print come to life.
A harlequin floor adds to the energy in this Café Appliances show kitchen, which looks like a Pop Art print come to life.
18. Gilded Age
Unexpected gold details add glitz to an otherwise grayscale palette in this sophisticated Toronto kitchen designed by Ali Budd Interiors.
Shop for kitchen lighting
Unexpected gold details add glitz to an otherwise grayscale palette in this sophisticated Toronto kitchen designed by Ali Budd Interiors.
Shop for kitchen lighting
20. English Meets Mediterranean
The creative director at deVOL
combined classic English furniture with Mediterranean influences in her home in England, choosing a pink-flecked checkered marble floor that she says “felt Victorian, grand and slightly faded.”
The creative director at deVOL
combined classic English furniture with Mediterranean influences in her home in England, choosing a pink-flecked checkered marble floor that she says “felt Victorian, grand and slightly faded.”
21. Updated Elegance
Leonard Unander Associates, Elizabeth Dinkel Design Associates and Two Trees Architects renovated this knockout 1937 estate in Santa Barbara, California, installing a marble harlequin kitchen floor that adds both warmth and elegance to the rest of the room.
Leonard Unander Associates, Elizabeth Dinkel Design Associates and Two Trees Architects renovated this knockout 1937 estate in Santa Barbara, California, installing a marble harlequin kitchen floor that adds both warmth and elegance to the rest of the room.
22. Craftsman Checks
To refresh the kitchen floor of a historic Craftsman home, Michigan-based B-Squared Design Studio replaced a black-and-white harlequin floor with the same pattern in turquoise and peach.
To refresh the kitchen floor of a historic Craftsman home, Michigan-based B-Squared Design Studio replaced a black-and-white harlequin floor with the same pattern in turquoise and peach.
23. Out of Asia
Lest it seem that harlequin floors are confined to European and North American kitchens, check out this transitional kitchen in Singapore designed by The Scientist, which pairs the black-and-white pattern with black cabinets and rosy-toned hardware.
Lest it seem that harlequin floors are confined to European and North American kitchens, check out this transitional kitchen in Singapore designed by The Scientist, which pairs the black-and-white pattern with black cabinets and rosy-toned hardware.
24. Magnificent Marble
Charest-Valentine revamped the kitchen in a 120-year-old Victorian home in Minneapolis, putting contemporary twists on traditional elements to make it feel at once authentic and au courant. The black-and-gray marble checkered floors, for example, break from a strict alternating pattern.
Charest-Valentine revamped the kitchen in a 120-year-old Victorian home in Minneapolis, putting contemporary twists on traditional elements to make it feel at once authentic and au courant. The black-and-gray marble checkered floors, for example, break from a strict alternating pattern.
25. Warm Modern
This English kitchen by Green Bird Workshop mixes contemporary, midcentury modern and retro elements with its two-tone flat-panel cabinets, mossy tiles and checkered floor, resulting in an altogether fresh look.
This English kitchen by Green Bird Workshop mixes contemporary, midcentury modern and retro elements with its two-tone flat-panel cabinets, mossy tiles and checkered floor, resulting in an altogether fresh look.
26. Art Deco Daring
The owner of this Chicago home aimed for an authentic Depression-era Art Deco design in the kitchen. The pattern and colors of the linoleum checkerboard floor are typical of 1930s kitchens, and he added red and blue borders inspired by an image he found on Houzz.
What to Know About Luxury Vinyl Flooring
The owner of this Chicago home aimed for an authentic Depression-era Art Deco design in the kitchen. The pattern and colors of the linoleum checkerboard floor are typical of 1930s kitchens, and he added red and blue borders inspired by an image he found on Houzz.
What to Know About Luxury Vinyl Flooring
27. Checks Down Under
This Australian kitchen by Bull Building pairs a cheerful 1960s-inspired Orla Kiely wallpaper in bright yellow with a classic harlequin floor and red accents.
This Australian kitchen by Bull Building pairs a cheerful 1960s-inspired Orla Kiely wallpaper in bright yellow with a classic harlequin floor and red accents.
28. Playful Pattern
In this historic Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home, the kitchen remodeled by Marsh Kitchen & Bath lets the wood shine through in the harlequin floor. Is it just us, or do the contemporary light fixtures resemble chess pieces?
In this historic Chapel Hill, North Carolina, home, the kitchen remodeled by Marsh Kitchen & Bath lets the wood shine through in the harlequin floor. Is it just us, or do the contemporary light fixtures resemble chess pieces?
29. Orange Crush
The small-scale, orange-and-white checkerboard floor in this renovated kitchen in Strasbourg, France, is a refreshing take on the checkerboard trend.
The small-scale, orange-and-white checkerboard floor in this renovated kitchen in Strasbourg, France, is a refreshing take on the checkerboard trend.
30. 1940s Redux
A New York Victorian got a retro revamp by Filament Architecture Studio with checkerboard linoleum floors, a tin ceiling and glass-front cabinets that show off a collection of Jadeite.
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
A New York Victorian got a retro revamp by Filament Architecture Studio with checkerboard linoleum floors, a tin ceiling and glass-front cabinets that show off a collection of Jadeite.
More on Houzz
Read more kitchen stories
Browse kitchen photos
Hire a kitchen remodeler
Shop for kitchen products
When alternating squares are parallel to the focal wall of the room, we call the checkered pattern checkerboard; oriented diagonally like diamonds, they’re usually called harlequin. Sometimes checkerboard and diamond are defined as types of harlequin, though, so be sure to clarify the look you want with your designer or contractor.
On the floor of this New York kitchen is a classic harlequin diamond pattern made from Carrara marble and Absolute Black marble from Fordham Marble.
Find a kitchen remodeler near you