Checkered nails (or checkerboard nails) have been taking over our Instagram feed. Checkered nails started trending in the Spring and now it’s in full swing. Everyone from nail techs to the IG girls have been wearing the trend. If you’re tempted to try this new nail trend, we have a few pictures to inspire you.
Checkered Nail Art
By now, you’ve probably seen a lot of checkered nail art all over your feed. But here’s an idea that we think will have you setting trends rather than following them.
Checkered Flame Nails
Checkered flame nails are not as common, but it is one of our favorites. If you’ve read our blog post on flame nails, then you know it’s one of the more popular nail art designs. So, of course, mixing it with checkered nails only makes sense.
Check out these checkered flame nails from @overglowedit. We don’t know about you, but checkered flame nails are the next thing we’re getting done at the nail shop.

Now that we’ve shown you some of the more popular checkered nail designs, what colors should you use? We’ve got a few ideas.
Blue Checkered Nails
If you’ve seen our post These Are the Nail Colors To Wear Right Now, then you already know blue nails are in right now. So, of course, blue checkered nails are hot. Here are some of the most viral blue checkered nails.
We love these blue checkered nails from @thehangedit. She mixed her checkered nails with wavy abstract art (also, on trend).

For these blue checkered nails, @heluviee mixed different checkered nail designs and added a little smiley face (aww and also on trend).

For these blue checkered nails, @ailsbymei mixed and matched checkered nails and French tips.


These blue checkered nails from @tendrehands are hitting all right notes! Daisies, checkers, and French tips? Yes, yes, and hell yeah! And @tendrehands did them all with pastel hues. We don’t know about you, but we’re already saving this one for Spring.

Red Checkered Nails
Although not that common, we think red checkered nails can be cute. Red checkered nails gives off some Alice in Wonderland vibes. Red checkered nails might also be great for the holidays like Christmas or Valentine’s Day. We’d rock it. (Let us know in the comments if you would wear red checkered nails.)
We’re digging these red checked nails from @thehangedit.

These red checkered nails could from could definitely work for the fall.

White Checkered Nails
We haven’t seen that many white checkered nails, but we’re not sure why. White is always a go-to when it comes to nails. Here’s one idea for white checkered nails that will inspire you.
We love these white checkered nails from @overglowedit! These white checkered nails look complicated but they don’t have to be. To get @overglowedit‘s look, try using a liner brush to outline your checkerboard design. Then fill in the white spaces using a regular brush. Use clear polish on the spaces you want to leave blank. Then add some nail stickers or decals to finish off the look. We’re adding these white checkered nails to our to-do DIY list.

Purple Checkered Nails
Purple checkered nails are pretty common too. We’ve seen many of our favorite nail techs sporting purple-hued checkered nails. Here are a few purple checkered nails we have saved for our next nail appointment.

We’ve got some deets for this one. For these purple checkered nails, @amberjhnails used The GelBottle Inc BIAB 19 for the base. She then used The GelBottle Inc Pixie, Madam, and Daisy.

Pink Checkered Nails
If you want cute nails, then pink checkered nails are the way to go. Here are a few pink checkered nails we absolutely loved.
We love how subtle yet trendy these pink checkered nails are. For these pink checkered nails, @naileditbeauty used Glossify’s Lollipop and GelBottle Inc’s Clueless.

We love these chrome pink checkered nails from @naileditbeauty. For these pink checkered nails, @naileditbeauty used World of Glitter’s chrome dust and GelBottle Inc’s Marilyn, Peony, and Blue Wave.

Green Checkered Nails
If you’ve read our blog post These Are the Nail Colors To Wear Right Now, then you already know green is one of the season’s hottest colors. So we felt green checkered nails deserved an honorable mention.
We’ve got the scoop on this one. For these green checkered nails, @amberjhnails used The GelBottle Inc BIAB 19 as the base and Central Perk for the checkers.

Brown Checkered Nails
Brown checkered nails also deserve an honorable mention. Here are a few of our fave brown checkered nails.
Here are the details on this beautiful set. For these brown checkered nails, @overglowedit used Cirque Colors Doe A Deer, Buttercup and Garden Party.

We think these brown checkered nails are perfect for Fall. Don’t you?

Rainbow Checkered Nails
Okay so we saved the best for last. Why choose just one color when you can have it all? There were way too many rainbow checkered nails to choose from. Here are a few of our faves.
How perfect are these rainbow checkered nails? For these rainbow checkered nails, @overglowedit mixed and matched them with orange French tips. We love it!

These rainbow checkered nails have a groovy 70s vibe to them, don’t you think? For these rainbow checkered nails, @overglowedit added our other favorite nail trend–daisies.

We love these cute rainbow checkered nails from @heluviee. For these rainbow checkered nails, @heluviee mixed and matched them with yellow French tips.

We’re not sure what we love more here…the fact that it’s pastel, checkered or that it’s matte. We’re itching to try these rainbow checkered nails.

Have you tried checkered nails? Add a comment below showing us your set. Or send us an email. We might just add it to the list.