A DIY Tile Checkerboard Is The Perfect Conversation Piece For Your Living Room

Checkerboard flooring is back in style, but there's no need to stop at just checkerboard-inspired home decor. Why not DIY your very own, functional checkers game? Made out of some tiles and a dowel, it's super easy to make. And, as a bonus, it's guaranteed to get the conversation flowing in your living room. 

For this hack, you'll be using a vinyl floor tile for the base, covering it up with some mosaic tiles, then using penny tiles as playing pieces and a dowel stick to edge everything off. Of course, you'll also need some glue and miter shears. However, even with the costs of the behind-the-scenes elements of this DIY checkerboard, it's pretty clear this can be done extremely affordably. Amazon sells miter shears for around $13, and you can use whatever craft glue you have lying around (or a hot glue gun, if you have one). As for the tiles, this would be the perfect time to put a leftover vinyl tile to good use. 

Alternatively, if you don't have one, order a sample tile off Amazon for under $3, in addition to black and white mosaic tiles for $13.99. Finally, for the penny tiles and dowel stick, keep costs down by heading to your local craft or hardware store. You only need 12 penny tiles in each color, so no need to splurge on a massive sheet online. Once you have everything you need, all that's left is to put it all together.

Start by plotting your mosaic tiles on the vinyl tile. You'll need 64 tiles altogether, 32 black and 32 white arranged in a checkerboard style. Once you're happy with how everything has been laid out, simply glue them to the vinyl tile in that same pattern. From there, use a craft knife (or even a sharp kitchen knife) to score around the perimeter of your checkerboard, leaving enough space for your dowel stick border, then snap off the unwanted pieces. 

Edge things off neatly by using your miter shears to cut your dowel into four pieces fit for a frame, glue it on, and your checkerboard is complete. Pull off 12 black and 12 white penny tiles, place them on the board, and your game is ready to go. We weren't exaggerating when we said this was an easy DIY project.

Pop the completed checkerboard on your coffee table and get ready to turn your living room into the go-to social spot. Spending more time outside at the moment? You can just as easily bring it out to your patio for an outdoor hangout session. If you've already made your own patio tic tac toe game, you and your guests are bound to be entertained for ages. No lagging conversations, here. 

If you're finding that your DIY tile checkerboard isn't matching with the aesthetics of the rest of your home, or you simply want a little more "pizzazz," you can always personalize it. For starters, you could paint your dowel stick before attaching it to your vinyl tile. Go for something that matches the rest of your interiors so it all feels more organic, or even go for something completely unexpected. Alternatively, you could also forget the dowel altogether and use your leftover mosaic or penny tiles for the border of your checkerboard. One thing that is worth keeping in mind is that anything too busy could distract from the board itself, so try opt for a solid color all the way around.

Other fun ways to make your checkerboard uniquely your own would be scrapping the black and white color scheme in favor of something more colorful. That doesn't have to mean neons. You could also go for something subtly different, like brown or orange tiles instead of black. 

Ultimately, your DIY checkerboard is yours to decorate as you see fit. If anything, playing around with colors and designs will only make it more of a conversation starter, so feel free to turn it into something you truly love having in your living room.