Thank Google for taking single words of a search literally. While we were hunting for images of Casa Tabarelli (stay tuned), we stumbled on ones of Casa Helsinki. It turns out to be an old house in the historic district of Alberdi, in Córdoba, Spain that has been renovated into a guest house. We love the black and white tile floors. Given the miss-mash of orientation from one room to another — diagonal pattern switching to a straight horizontal one — we’re thinking they may well be original to the house.

They are a lesson in the ability of black and white checkerboard floors to provide a curiously neutral, harmonizing backdrop that goes equally well with rustic, antique and modern furnishing.

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