Don’t forget to look down! Graphic pattern underfoot is one of the best ways to spice up a room, and we love the many iterations of a black-and-white flooring combination. Whether it’s tile or marble, checkerboard or zigzag, the effect will make a lasting statement in your space.
ANYTHING BUT GRAY
Photo: Jennifer Boomer
Ralph Lauren Home lamps atop an Art Deco-style 1940s console in the entryway appose a custom bench covered in Holland & Sherry fabric. Black and white marble flooring is from Materials Marketing. The sisal stair runner lined with black leather is from Interior Resources.
FRENCH CONNECTION
Photo: Alyssa Rosenheck
Designer Cynthia Collins layered French finds into this Dallas home designed by architect Christy Goode Blumenfeld, including a foyer mirror from Legacy reflecting a Vaughan lantern. Tatum Brown Custom Homes fabricated the marble flooring with brass inlay.
PERSONALITY PLUS
Photo: Christopher Stark
Viewed from the entrance hall that’s illuminated by a Curtis Jeré brass pendant, the Kehinde Wiley painting Portrait of Garry Dabonne sits like a jewel nestled among the library’s dark millwork. “We want to create a sense of walking through an art gallery, where you’re guided through by different pieces hanging in each space,” says San Francisco-based designer Eche Martinez, who was tasked to revive the personality and historical charm of this 1926 Presidio Heights home.
PAINT IT BLACK
Photo: Emily Followill
Previously an open side porch, the now-enclosed sun room retains its original floorboards, which have been freshly painted in a black-and-white checkerboard design. The chandelier is by John Rosselli for Visual Comfort. Two different Sister Parish Design fabrics were chosen for the skirted table and the vintage Baker Furniture bergere chairs. A piano allows the space to do double-duty as a music room.
MAKE IT DECO
Photo: Michael Robinson
In the foyer, gold-leaf wallpaper with a fish-scale pattern by Studio E reflects the light from the hand-cast resin chandelier with brass fittings by Ironies from Jerry Pair in New York City. The honed Spanish marble checkerboard floor is from Paris Ceramics, and the stairway rug with metal loop threads is a custom piece by designer Joanna Frank through her company, JFID Custom Design, and was fabricated by Spart Design in Montclair, New Jersey.
BRICK TRICK
Photo: Cynthia Lynn
Designer Shelley Johnstone called upon DiVinci Painters to update the original brick floors of this Lake Forest home’s foyer with a black-and-white checkerboard pattern that mimics the look of marble tile. A pair of Ming-style vintage horseshoe chairs by James Mont flanks an antique table in the style of George III, which Johnstone freshened up with a new marble top.
MARBLE MATTERS
Photo: Katie Charlotte
In the entryway of this Palmetto Bluff home, steel French doors sourced from Optimum Window Manufacturing Corp. in Ellenville, New York lead to Lawson Fenning’s Griffin console and a mixed-media piece by Belgian artist Sabine Maes. Topping gray-and-white marble checkerboard floors from Exquisite Surfaces is a shaggy souk rug that designer Cortney Bishop sourced from Morocco.
WELCOME STONE
Photo: Peter Margonelli
Designer Tatum Kendrick placed a Venetian-style console and Curtis Jeré mirror, both from 1stdibs, in the entry of her longtime-clients’ new Hamptons home. Checkerboard flooring in a mix of black and cream tile from Stone Source adds a graphic sensibility and speaks to the English country house vibe channeled throughout.
MARBLE OR BUST
Photo: Joshua McHugh
Interior designer Lisa Friedman kept the kitchen’s existing antique marble checkerboard floors but traversed three states to find the 2-inch thick Italian statuary marble for the countertops and backsplash. The adjacent breakfast area features a washed oak David Iatesta table and sheer linen drapes from Rogers and Goffigon.
CHECK OFF THE BOX
Photo: Peter Margonelli
Designer Tatum Kendrick says she’s a fan of a good pantry, and the one she designed for her clients is no exception. She carried checkerboard flooring and celadon-hued paint into the space. The brass Van Cronenburg cabinet hardware “checks my inner fancy-lady box,” she notes.
CHECKERBOARD SCORE
Photo: Nathan Schroder
The entry’s black-and-white checkerboard floor includes honed Calacatta Lincoln and Nero marbles, both from Materials Marketing. A mixed-media artwork by Joey Lancaster from Blue Print Gallery is flanked by a pair of Visual Comfort & Co. sconces, all above a console from Blue Print.
ABSOLUTELY FLOORED
Photo: David Duncan Livingston
Mirrors in the master bath feature an eglomise pattern by Villafranca Studio; the 1940s Barovier & Toso Murano glass sconce is from Thomas Gallery in New York. Fox Marble supplied and installed the black-and-white floor tiles in a custom pattern by ODADA, and a Waterworks tub is set within a custom marble surround.
TILE’S TURN
Photo: Costa Christ
Beyond the kitchen and bar area, the mudroom features graphic black-and-white floor tile from LiLi Cement Tile Line.
ZIG ZAG SWAGGER
Photo: Kerry Kirk
Ann Sacks tile flooring, a Circa Lighting sconce and a tub and faucets from Acero Bella form a luxurious and monochromatic main bathroom.
GEOMETRY LESSON
Photo: Costa Christ
A Victoria & Albert tub with a California Faucets tub filler, both purchased from Westside Kitchen and Bath, forms a stately scene atop Ann Sacks marble tile flooring in the master bathroom.
