I'm going to be moving into a house with black and white checkered kitchen floor tiles and have been getting inspiration from around the web. Check out what I've found after the jump...
I've found that this contrasty versatile ground can meld into everything from classic country, pop rockabilly, or super modern. Since you are starting with a simple yet dramatic palette and pattern it lends itself well to really emphasize an accent color. I am currently vacillating between yellow, grey, light turquoise and wallpaper (pretty much everything you see in the images). I'll let you know where I end up.
1. A little yellow goes a long way to make this a sweet and cheerful kitchen. via Luxury Do Mik
2. Wood is the only accent here and it really helps to define this kitchen in more classic terms. via Being Brazen
3. Sarah Jessica Parker's elegant but playful black, white, and apple red kitchen. via Nibsblog
4. Here a light grey adds a little bit of depth while still keeping the black and white the main attraction. via Polka Dots and Puppies
5. Another black, white and red combo but this time with an old-timey 50's diner twist. via House to Home.
6. White with navy accents gives this kitchen a country edge. via Decor 4 All
7. This modern kitchen is making ahold statement with its combination of orange and green walls and accesories. via iKrunk
8. I love how thing predominate black wall isn't too heavy and overwhelming and they added a little country whimsy with the wallpaper. via I Am David J
(Images: as linked above )
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The last photo is to die for. I have always always always wanted black and white check floors since I was a little girl. Something very classic and wonderland about them if decorated carefully.
It is such a bold pattern and it is hard to get away from the 50s vibe. One option would be to push the decor pre-50s to more of a 20s Art Neuveau Paris Bistro look.
http://www.argentinaindependent.com/life-style/food-drink/54-bars/54-bars-bar-seddon/
I don't care if it's a cliche, I love black and white checkerboard kitchen floors. They're just so classic. The second picture is pretty close to what I'd like to do to my kitchen (and also appears to have a secret trap door too).
I completely agree with Mrsberg, that last photo is to die for. I first thought that it couldn't get any better than the second photo, but the second I landed on the last picture I fell in love. It's pretty much my dream kitchen!
Good luck with your checker board floors!
I've always liked black/white tile floors. It's not just classic, but it's also timeless and so easy to coordinate with. The third picture fits into my style and how I would like to use b&w tiles, plus gotta love the rafters and wood-block-island-top.
That last kitchen is quite something, would like to see some more pics from that house.
My kitchen has the checkerboard flooring and identical palette to #7. It's awesome, gets compliments all the time for being cheerful and for, you know, working with what I was dealt.
I bought an apartment last summer and the kitchen is similar to #4 with big windows and all, but instead of a table I have an island (like in #3 but in white). I love it! Still can't decide about an accent colour to give it some jazz... I thought turquoise too or green apple or tangerine.
Someday we intend to paint our hardwood kitchen floor in a b&w checkerboard pattern. I much prefer the checks to be on the diagonal (vis-a-vis the walls), as is shown in some of these pics.
It's #7 and #1 for me. I notice that for these two, the floor is like a checkerboard, rather than done in diamonds. Do y'all think that may influence our preferences?
love, love, love
we just put in black and white flooring. I think its so classic, especially if the home is 1940s-60s. http://www.lifeonchurchill.com/2012/05/transformed-kitchen-nook.html
These are awesome! I luuuurved #2 and #4.
Sad to hear folks talking about "working with what they got" re: these kinds of floors. If you don't want yours, I'll take em!
I've got a very modern sensibility, love bright colors, but plan to actually spend money to put in b&w diamond floors into our kitchen remodel (along with flat-faced dark grey cabinets and white corian counters).
If you also love this stuff, you might also enjoy these:
http://pinterest.com/pin/16184879881240980/
http://pinterest.com/pin/16184879881240973/
http://pinterest.com/pin/16184879881241021/
Black and white "checkerboard" floors are one of the few "retro" floor designs I like.
Looking at all the photos above, I find myself attracted more to the floors where the tile edges run parallel to the floor cabinets, like in photo no. 1.
I put a b/w checkerboard floor in the kitchen of the house I had the longest. White cabinets. I totally changed the decor three times when I lived there. Just for fun. You can do anything with a base of black and white.
I'm in the exact same situation, moving into an apartment with a checkerboard floor kitchen this summer. The floor was actually one of the things that made me fall in love with the apartment in the first place!
I've looking at inspirational pictures ever since I bought the place, and, like you, found the floor to be suprisingly versatile. I'm currently planning to do something in the line of #2, love the wood and the steel and I think the black accent (the curtain) works very well. I've found another variation of the theme here: http://kvadratsmart.wordpress.com/2011/12/01/grafiskt-snyggt/.
That said, I also really like the combination of checkerboard floors and turquoise/green, like in #7 and in this kitchen: http://g-cdn.apartmenttherapy.com/687825/082809check-01_rect540.jpg . Looking forward to hearing about what you do with your kitchen!
about my "working with what I've got" comment: I failed to mention they are cheap vinyl tiles the previous owners put in. I love black and white floors, but hate vinyl tiles. After 2.5 years of heavy use, they are really showing wear.
I had black and white checkered tiles in the bathroom of my old apartment. I found that my light blue bath rug (and white ruffley shower curtain) gave the bathroom a classic and almost soft look.
I really love # 2, but they're all pretty wonderful. Number 7 is probably my least favourite - I think the busy wallpaper competes too much with the floor.
I love this look when it's matched with some pastel retro-50's accessories, in a small-ish enclosed kitchen rather than a big, modern, open-plan one.
I much prefer the diagonal-set style that makes diamond shapes instead of squares. And I don't buy the notion that that look is inexorably tied to the '50s -- it was around long before then.
If I were doing a kitchen floor, I'd be so tempted to go red-and-white instead of black-and-white: http://retrorenovation.com/2011/12/28/red-and-white-checkerboard-floor-where-to-find-it/