The Next Big Thing: Graphic Grids

This pared-back, minimalist pattern is the perfect backdrop to playful colours and prints

By Michela Colling
last updated

The story so far

Move over chevrons, the grid design is the latest graphic print to hit the shops. Unlike the cosier classic check, the grid works best with modern, minimal styling, whether it's a graph-paper-like fine line or a thicker illustrated style.

cloud cushion in black and white with white background

(Image credit: This Modern Life)

Cloud cushion, £30, This Modern Life

On the grid

We first saw the windowpane design in 2014 as a fashion trend from clothing brands such as Chloe, but Marimekko has recently picked it up for its Pikkuruutu (little check) and Iso Ruutu (big check) fashion collections. Other Nordic brands embracing the print in homeware include Ferm Living, with its Grid storage basket and wallpaper, and Hem, which is doing a peach and monochrome textile for cushions and table linen.

dirty laundry with grid basket and white background

(Image credit: Ferm Living)

Clean lines, the perfect place to bundle up dirty laundry, Grid basket, £59, Ferm Living

grid cushion with checks design and white background

(Image credit: Hem)

Check it out, Mix with monochrome, Grid cushion, £32, Hem

grid knitted blanket with blue colour and white background

(Image credit: Seven Gauge Studios)

Grid knitted blanket, £180, Seven Gauge Studios

In Dulux's ‘The Grid and Letting Go' paint trend, the grid represents a grounding framework against breaking the boundaries, so in terms of colour, it's all about tone and balance, with a minimalist backdrop to vivid, playful shades.

bold paint design with rug and wooden stool

(Image credit: TBC)

Team
a grid with bold paint designs, Wall painted in Chalk Dust and Lights
Out matt emulsion, both £29.99 for 2.5ltr, Endurance range, Dulux

In the same way, designer Nathalie Du Pasquier, who was at the forefront of the Eighties Memphis movement, and Camille Walala, who is inspired by that design collective, use a bold grid as a moment of calm amongst crazy colour and pattern in their homeware and stationery.

kikki k with numbers and logo

(Image credit: Kikki K)

Plan ahead and organise the coming months in style, Pause A5 mid-year diary, £24, Kikki K

grid tableware with lollipop design and white background

(Image credit: Lollipop Designs)

Grid tableware, complete set, £165, Lollipop Designs

Illustrated style

Imperfect grid patterns can be seen in the hand-drawn finish on Fine Little Day's Rutig pot mat and House of Rym's Hip To Be Square kitchenware, while Tori Murphy uses thick, irregular lines in her Kensal Check woollen textiles. Habitat has also gone all out on grids for AW16 - see its Nessie bowls and smart Ellis bed linen.

graphic grids with rutig linear print and ladle

(Image credit: Andshine)

Perfect print, go contemporary in the kitchen, Rutig linear-print pot mat/board, £21, Fine Little Day range, Andshine

tori murphy grid and hot water bottle with white background

(Image credit: Tori Murphy)

Kensal check hot water bottle, £40, Tori Murphy

square cup with blue colour and white background

(Image credit: Northlight Homestore)

Hip to be Square blue cup, £12.95, House of Rym range, Northlight Homestore

grid pattern and elliot storage jar with white background

(Image credit: Habitat)

Elliot storage jar, £30, Habitat

table legs with white background and black colour

(Image credit: Go Modern)

Line up, a chic take on table legs,Mass table, from £2,655, Bonaldo range, Go Modern

Michela Colling
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