Checkerboard Patterns - Yes or No?

Let's discuss the infamous check

May 22, 2024

Hello my friends, I hope you’re good. I’m happy to be back with you again after a week in Transylvania (Romania), where I worked with weavers and a technical engineer on my first rug collection. It was a busy, but fulfilling week, and the good news is that you can expect my collection in the next 7-9 months to drop to a floor new you! Hopefully YOUR floor will have a Holly rug. :)

Anyway, I’ve been thinking so much of patterns this month, because as a designer I have to consider the patterns that I want in my collection of rugs. There are so many patterns one can use, even for woven rugs, which gives me a lot of creative freedom.

I was recently in conversation with a friend who expressed how much she dislikes checkerboard patterns. I tried to win her over, but she wasn’t seeing it. Checks just aren’t her thing.

What about you?

If you like checks at home already, well me too. If not, I get it, they aren’t for everyone. Maybe you associate them with pizza house tablecloths or black and white tile floors from childhood?

As far as trends are concerned, I wouldn’t call checkerboard a trend at the moment, it had its day here in Europe over the past several years and has definitely lost momentum, yet I still find them appealing. I don’t like checkerboard pillows, vases, or plates - it’s safe to say that I don’t see them as being so interesting once they are applied to ceramics or small accessories. I do like them on floors and as wall tile. Possibly as wallpaper if the checks are neutral and subtle enough.

I’d like to share a few inspirations for your own mood boards today. Maybe you’ll fall in love with an image below that just clicks and your checkerboard pattern love will surface. If not, at least remain open and see what you think… Let your intuition - your inner design voice - lead the way.