Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent’s New (Old) Apartment Features a Stunning Checkerboard Floor

Interior design power couple Nate Berkus and Jeremiah Brent have returned to their former Fifth Avenue apartment, and this time they’ve done things a bit differently — including the install of their absolute favorite motif in the entryway: black-and-white checkerboard.

The pair lived in the same spot between 2013 and 2016 prior to moving to the West Coast for three years. After realizing that they felt more at home in New York, they reached out to the buyer of their Fifth Avenue apartment to see if they’d sell it back to them — but sadly that didn’t happen. Instead, Brent and Berkus renovated a 1899 townhouse until the time came when the buyers did call.

“I was like, ‘Pack your bags,’” Brent told Architectural Digest.

Berkus and Brent also bought the apartment below theirs so they could expand to fit their current family of four, which was the perfect excuse to refresh their entryway. Now in their forever home, Brent and Berkus were finally able to install the flooring of their dreams: antique Spanish tile in a black-and-white checkerboard pattern.

“The floor always drove us crazy,” Berkus said in the AD video. “It was never the floor we would have picked. This is the floor we always wanted. It’s antique Spanish concrete tile. I think they’re 200 years old.”

“And I think this room really set the tone for what we’re trying to execute throughout the house, which is this real interest in contrast and bringing in things that feel really elevated in execution,” Brent added. “But in practicality, they’re actually really durable.”

Brent said earlier this year that checkerboard flooring is the one thing that he and Berkus can always agree on when it comes to design. They even placed checkerboard tiles in the entryway of their New York townhome, too.

The checkerboard flooring truly sets the tone for the expert mix of new and old sprinkled throughout the home, which fits the couple’s theme for moving back to their Fifth Avenue apartment. 

So many memories were established at the infamous apartment in the duration of their relationship, yet they’ve grown as a family and are entering a brand new chapter of life. Brent, Berkus, and their Fifth Avenue home were simply meant to be.