Checkmate: Reimagining the chessboard design

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Whether it’s patterned on the vinyl floor of a 1950s diner, tiled in a Victorian hallway, or patterned on a Mini Cooper, the simple checkerboard pattern has always made an impact. It is now at the center of a wave of new and unconventional designs.

“The chessboard can be placed in any space and manipulated in any way,” says artist Jacqueline de la Fuente, founder of of the garden, who paints her papier-mâché Onsen vases (£340) with irregular squares that collide and bulge around the curvaceous, textured vases. Of similar tone are the British potters. hanna simpsonPlayful biomorphic clay lamps from, which feature dark brown squares moving on legs from a base (£460): His You table lamp (£370) sees forest-green checks climbing an arc. “I like the clean, straight, repeating pattern to contrast with my organic shapes,” she says.

controls over henry hollandHandmade ceramics rarely have a uniform pattern. “Blemishes and wobbles add charm and a sense of personality,” she says. The floors of traditional British “greasy Spoon” cafes were his design cue and steered his collection towards a distinctly breakfast theme: the series includes welded egg cups and plates, milk jugs and toast racks, all decorated in blues, greens and shiny chocolate brown.

It’s powerful enough to have a presence, yet subtle enough to let the features of a space sing.

For the Antipodes brand bathroom, bathroom floors were the inspiration for their organic cotton towels (from £21 for a hand towel). Founders Bailey Meredith and Ann Fahey found the pattern a new alternative to stripes. “The motive is whimsical… [and creates] interruption within the neutrality of a typical bathroom,” says Fahey. The Tunisian brand also embraces the unexpected altinalternating seagrass squares with oxidized metal on the front of his limited-edition Ganymède (POA) cabinet.

The checkerboard looks especially good on upholstery, says the couple behind the design firm Buchanan Studio; last year they introduced Checkmate (£144 per metre) to their fabrics collection – an oversized sage green cotton velvet pattern that looks particularly bold on their Studio sofa. Interior designer Susie Atkinson she suggests adding matching scatter cushions to the same check as your sofa. His linen-cotton fabric (£150 per metre) is handwoven with ikat-style checks in shades including caramel, indigo and burnt terracotta.

Reimagining color combinations can also be a lot of fun. bert and may has experienced real growth in combining plain tiles with bold colours. “Clients often choose two strong colors over more predictable neutrals,” says founder Lee Thornley. Design studio vanderhurd he plays with bold color combinations in his series of hemp dhurrie rugs (from £980) made in collaboration with 8 Holland Street gallery and design studio: sky blue with rust red; ocher with black Even more daring, his elaborate jacquard fabric, Checker Checker (£340 per metre), uses a four-way color scheme.

“When it comes to color, avoid fads, as they will quickly expire,” advises founder Christine Van Der Hurd. “If approached in a well-considered way, the chessboard can really bring a room together: it’s impactful enough to have presence, yet subtle enough to allow the features of a space to sing.”