Checkerboard Floors
HOW TO DO IT
It’s worth noting, we do not tape these squares off and we do not use a roller on purpose. The hand-painted edges of the squares and the imperfect paint in each square makes all of the difference.
Thoroughly clean and remove any debris or furniture from the space. Think blank slate, you are preparing your canvas!
Decide on the size of your squares — we like 10”x10”. Keep in mind, the smaller the square the more you'll have, the larger the square the fewer overall.Choose two tones of a paint color. Or just choose one color and have the other be the natural color of the floor.
Create a stencil. Using a 45-degree angle speed square, start at the entrance to the room. Line up the speed square with the middle of the entrance and use a pencil to trace along the 45-degree angle of the speed square.
Remove your speed square and line up a laser with the markings you just made. Extend the 45-degree angle all the way across the floor to the next wall. This gets complicated, but you can do it!
Trace along this line using a 6ft level as a straight edge.
Go back to where you began the first line and measure your square size, for instance 10”, from that line and make a marking with your pencil.
Repeat steps 4–5 until the entire floor area has been covered by parallel lines that are evenly spaced.
Now reverse the process and find the 45-degree angle in the opposite direction to create a perpendicular set of lines.
Once again repeat steps 4–5 until the checkerboard pattern is complete.
Now it’s time to paint! We find it helpful to label each square with the first letter of its corresponding color. Working left to right, alternate back and forth. This will keep you on track!
Begin by painting the outer perimeter of the room first and working your way inwards and ultimately back out of the room towards the entrance. Remember to always leave yourself a pathway out.
Start with the lighter color around the border of an individual square. Don’t worry if you go outside of the lines; they are only there to guide the pattern, it does not need to be exact.
Fill inside the square. Beware of doing too many coats and losing the original floor from showing through slightly.
Go back and forth with your two colors until finished.
Once your design has dried completely, seal the floor with an acrylic-based polyurethane (or don’t, if you want it to continue to wear in over time!
Helpful Tips:
For tight corners switch to a finer angled brush
Embrace the imperfections, the lines are just guidelines
Remember to always leave yourself a pathway out
We had sanded down these floors prior to painting
A chalk string could work instead of a laser level as long as its color doesn’t show through
While in the beginning stages of creating your checkerboard sketch check the grid to see if the square sizing works with the room
Notify anyone living/working in the space in advance that they won't have access to the space
