Parisian Chequer

What Is Parisian Chequer Tile?

Parisian Chequer is a 12x12 honed porcelain tile in three colors, Creme, Blanche, and Noire, made to be paired into a classic black-and-white checkerboard floor. It's a marble-look porcelain, not natural stone, with heavy shade variation built into the printing so each tile reads as one-of-a-kind the way real marble does. For genuine natural marble instead of a porcelain look-alike, browse marble tiles, or see the wider checkerboard tile range for other pairings and price points.

Parisian Chequer Floor and Wall Tile

Parisian Chequer is honed matte porcelain with a rectified edge, so a 1/8-inch grout joint keeps the checkerboard grid crisp and even instead of wandering. It's rated for both floors and walls, residential and commercial, with water absorption under 0.5 percent, which is what makes it suitable for showers and pool linings in addition to dry rooms. One caveat worth knowing: it's shower-pan rated, but confirm compatibility with your specific drain system with your installer before setting it in a shower pan.

Parisian Chequer Tile by Room

Bathroom: Blanche and Noire laid in an alternating grid is the classic black-and-white bathroom checkerboard floor. Creme paired with Noire softens the same pattern into a warmer, less stark look.

Kitchen: A checkerboard floor reads as a clear design statement in a kitchen, and because the tile is rated for heavy residential use, it holds up to daily foot traffic in a high-traffic room.

Fireplace surround: All three colors carry a fireplace surround rating, so Noire alone makes a dramatic, monochromatic hearth face without needing the checkerboard pairing at all.

Pool surround: Parisian Chequer also carries a pool lining rating, so the same marble-look porcelain can extend from an indoor floor to a pool deck or surround.

How to Choose Parisian Chequer Tile

Pick your pairing by how bold you want the contrast. Blanche and Noire together is the highest-contrast, most classic checkerboard look. Creme and Noire is softer and warmer. Any single color on its own skips the pattern entirely and reads as a plain marble-look floor.

Use the 1/8-inch grout joint the rectified edge is built for. A wider joint fights the clean, tight grid that makes a checkerboard pattern read correctly from a distance.

Expect heavy shade variation, since it's part of the design. Each tile is printed with pronounced veining differences on purpose, so the finished floor doesn't repeat in an obvious pattern. Dry-lay several boxes before setting so the variation spreads evenly across the floor.

Confirm shower pan compatibility before that specific use. It's rated for shower pans, but drain systems vary, so check with your installer first if that's the application.

Order a sample in both colors you're pairing. Seeing Blanche and Noire (or Creme and Noire) side by side in your own light matters more for a checkerboard floor than for a single-color installation, since the contrast between the two is the whole point.