Check, mate

With people spending more time at home – especially during the limitations of lockdown – it makes sense that the popularity of board games has been on the rise.

From the complex to the simple, most board games usually don’t require more than a few chairs and a table, making them a great source of socialising and entertainment for homes big and small. However, if you or your family are especially enthusiastic about playing games, there is no shortage of design ideas that you can incorporate into your space to make this time shared together even more enjoyable and celebrate you and your family’s passion for play – especially if it’s directed at one game, in particular.

Chess has been around for nearly 1500 years, making it one of the world’s most captivating games – and it’s one that lends itself well to being incorporated into your décor, given its simple and graphic gameboard and pieces. Chequered patterns have been a sharply rising trend, both in the classic black and white form as well as variations that feature fun hues like forest green, lilac and creamy white such as Resene Dingley, Resene Alluring and Resene Spanish White. So, if you’re a frequent player, painting a chess board directly on to a coffee table or side table can give you a stylish feature and a gameboard that is ready to go anytime.

For our table, we started by prepping our surface and priming it with Resene Waterborne Smooth Sealer Surface. However, your prep may differ depending on what type of material your table is made of and what condition the surface is in – be sure to check with the staff at your local Resene ColorShop to ensure you use the right products for the job. Next, we painted two coats of Resene Lustacryl tinted to Resene Seashell, a pearly grey, over the entire surface using a mini smooth surface roller. Be sure to allow your first coat to dry before applying the second and your second coat to dry fully before moving on.

Once your basecoats are dry, use a ruler, pencil and high-quality washi-style painter’s masking tape – available from your local Resene ColorShop – to draw your board and mask off the squares you wish to keep white. Press down on the edges of your tape firmly to make sure it’s well stuck so that you will end up with crisp, clean lines when you go to remove it. Use another mini smooth surface roller to paint your unmasked areas in two coats of Resene Double Cod Grey, a deep charcoal grey. Once your second coat is dry to the touch, remove your masking tape to expose your board.

Top tip: Masking all your squares at once can be tricky, so it may help to work in two or more sections – allowing the first to dry fully, then remove the tape and mask off the next.

To tie the colours of your new chess board in with the rest of your décor, be sure to use both hues in at least two other places within your space. This could be through small accessories or accents like vases, bowls, candleholders or a lamp. Or, if you’re feeling creative, try your hand at another simple painted accent. We used Resene Double Cod Grey – the same dark hue as on our chess board table – to hand-paint thin pinstripes above our mantle in Resene Raven over the top of our Resene Triple Merino walls. We also used the deep hue to paint an arch below the mantel to give the effect of a fireplace along with a ‘hearth’ in Resene Half Raven.

While one option is to keep your scheme monochromatic in Resene blacks, greys and whites, the bold style of this scheme also lends itself well to adding one or more contrasting accent colours, such as Resene Leather, Resene Balderdash or Resene Deluge. Just like with your chess board colours, make sure to use each of your accent hues in three places within your room to communicate that it is a cohesive part of your scheme.

Styling by Kate Alexander. Photography by Bryce Carleton. 2021