Guide
Everything about Delft Blue and Dutch tiles
Where the blue came from, how to tell hand-painted from printed, what to write on a tile and how to get it on the wall. No general waffle — twelve articles that each explain one thing properly.
12 articles
History
Where Delft Blue, the Dutch wall tile and its proverbs came from.
What Delft Blue actually is
Seventeenth-century Dutch potters copying imported Chinese porcelain, and how their blue-and-white earthenware ended up carrying the name of a single city.
4 min read →
A short history of the Dutch wall tile
Ships, children at play, cats and soldiers: how the Dutch wall tile became a domestic art form, and how it eventually learned to talk back.
3 min read →
Buying guide
What to know before you buy blue-and-white or ceramic.
How to tell what Delft Blue you are buying
Four very different things are sold under one name, at wildly different prices. Here is how to tell them apart before you pay.
3 min read →
Delft Blue as a gift: when it works
A personalised tile is a very good gift for some occasions and a slightly awkward one for others. Here is how to tell which you are in.
3 min read →
Writing the text
What goes on it? Rules that work and examples worth stealing.
How to write the text for a tile
Writing for a tile is closer to writing a headline than writing a card: every word has to earn its place on a very small square.
4 min read →
Famous Dutch tile proverbs, explained
A tegeltjeswijsheid is a proverb on a tile, and several of the famous ones mean almost the opposite of what a literal translation suggests.
4 min read →
Practical
From choosing the photo to choosing the hook.
Choosing the right photo for a tile
The photo that looks best on your phone is often not the one that works on a 15 cm square of ceramic. Here is what to look for.
3 min read →
Hanging and caring for a ceramic tile
Three ways to get a tile on the wall, one way to keep it off the floor, and the short list of things that will actually damage it.
3 min read →
Interior
How blue-and-white behaves in a house people actually live in.
Delft Blue in a contemporary home
Blue and white behaves like a neutral in a modern room, as long as you keep it away from the things that make it read as a collection.
3 min read →
Building a gallery wall from tiles
Several small tiles can make one strong composition or one messy wall, and the difference is decided before you pick up a drill.
3 min read →
For business
Tiles as a corporate gift, an anniversary or a Christmas present for your team.
The Dutch tile as a corporate gift
Branded merchandise is thrown away and everyone knows it. A tile is kept, which changes what the gift is actually for.
3 min read →
Ordering tiles for a whole team
A batch of personalised tiles is mostly an admin exercise, and the admin is where it goes wrong. Here is how to run one properly.
3 min read →
Make your own tile
Your photo or your words, in Delft Blue style on real ceramic. Made to order in the Netherlands, never from stock.
Baked into the ceramic — not printed on top. Colourfast and waterproof.