Chequerboard Wall Tiles

Up on a wall the pattern becomes a genuine colour exercise: white set beside one bold tile, or two contrasting colours squared off together, both land as noticeably more playful than the same grid does underfoot.

Taken partway up a wall rather than floor to ceiling, this pairing does the job a border or a shelf might otherwise do, closing off a splashback, a bath surround or a fireplace at a clean, deliberate line instead of running the tile on indefinitely.

Set on the diagonal, it becomes a diamond, and it's here on a wall, rather than across a floor, that the shape earns its keep, finishing at a raised, angular point that a straight-laid grid simply doesn't offer. For anyone drawn to black-and-white marble in a monochrome scheme, or a calmer stone pairing, the wall is where our chequerboard tiles get to be more expressive than a floor allows.