Design Dupes | Delft inspired tiles

Originating from The Netherlands, Delft tiles are those pretty ornate blue and white tiles that depict scenes of nature, buildings, and everyday life.

Sussex cottage designed by Beata Heuman

Over the past few years I’ve found myself collecting Delft tiles. It started with two chipped a little dog eared tiles found at the Shepton Flea, and since that first moment, I knew I would have to decorate something in these tiles in a future home.

Delft tiles are a characteristic blue and white, with elaborately painted portraits and pictures of everyday life, the tiles, whether antique or modern, are instantly recognisable. Unlike many other tile traditions, the appeal lies in their individuality: almost anything can be represented on a Delft tile, from traditional Dutch windmills to portraits, to a basket of bread and more.

The invention of Delft pottery in the mid-1600s. Potters around the Netherlands had already begun developing the art of tin-glazed earthenware to mimic the glossy white surface of porcelain, but in the 1640s Delft potters started to use personal monograms and factory marks, and the tiles became works of art in their own right. The trend for Delftware had already spread to Britain, where the new technique of transfer printing allowed for Delft-style tiles to be mass produced, some with uniform designs.