Check You Out

Black and white checkered floors have been around for thousands of years; the checkerboard pattern dates back to before the Bronze Age, and for about as long as people have been tiling floors, they've been laying them in patterns of alternating light and dark. They have been in continual use since the end of the Dark Ages – they were hugely popular in Renaissance paintings, and more recently they have come to represent the quintessential atomic kitchen. 

Checkerboard floors also have a connection with Masonic symbolism. Black and white patterns such as stripes and checkerboards represent duality and balance, and have been linked to use in ritualistic ceremonies by the Illuminati. Conspiracy theories also suggest that such duality patterns, like mixed check or spirals, can be used as triggers for mind control. Thus the continued used of checkerboard floors or patterns in decoration, TV, and pop culture are used as larger mechanisms for social control.

But societal manipulation aside, I just like how they look. The Masons are right about that – the balance of black and white projects a feeling of calm and order despite being such an inherently busy pattern. Take that calm, order, and a pinch of kitsch throwback, and you have a design element that withstands the test of time and has been a successful fixture in every decade of modern design. From Atomic to Mid-Century and Modern to Postmodern, the checkered floor is here to stay.