Our prediction: Delft is about to be everywhere. From classic tiles to riffs on the theme (in ceramic, wallpaper, even fabric), the examples we’re noting all pay homage to delft’s blue and white palette and hand-painted vignettes—and then play with the rules. Have a look:
Above: Released to celebrate Marlborough Tile’s 85th anniversary, the delft-inspired Wilding collection features “nine untamed and playful animals from British wildlife” prancing across ceramic.
Above: Delft without the tiling? This is deVol’s Ditsy Delft Wallpaper, $200 a roll.
Above: The Blue Delft Vase by Poughkeepsie-based ceramicist Alison Owen is “a tiny treasure with timeless charm…made from slab-rolled clay cut into shapes like a dress-maker’s pattern, and pieced together to create forms that are gently dimensional yet invoke the pictorial plane.” It’s $125 from Meus.
Above: Once upon a time, delft tiles “depicted anything from mythological beasts and ancient stories to bawdy scenes of everyday life.” Plain English follows suit with their own delft collection, inspired by antiques in the founders’ own collections and featuring sea creatures, angels and cherubs, and everyday scenes.
Above: Just some of the irreverent delft-inspired tiles made in California by Georgia Woodson of Salt and Sardine on Etsy.
Above: Fired Earth’s delft collections, handmade in England, excavate a long tradition: “During the 16th century, a number of Flemish potters settled in England,” they explain. “From this beginning, a delftware industry was born which was to survive some two hundred years. With careful research into archive material Fired Earth has created this range based on those first elusive designs.” Shown are the English Delft Matt Tiles, £2.40 each.
Above: Recipe for a bold sink: Clad it entirely in delft tiles, like this one, done in hand-painted Rosalind blue delft tiles from Marlborough Tile.
Above: Designed by Canadian-born, North Carolina-based artist Kayla Plosz Antiel, Delft Floral Napkins are $78 for a set of four from Terrain.
Above: From Living Quarters comes the newly released Fables Wallpaper, “inspired by Delft tiles and a lifelong love of the mystical,” $195 per roll.
Above: Clé does delft: “17th Century: Maiolica de Delft is our love letter to the classic blue and white motif that swept the globe centuries ago–and hasn’t fallen out of style since then,” they say. It’s also ideal for the “unapologetic maximalist.”
