Blue Ridge Autumn: A North Carolina Toile Pattern
I may be a South Carolina native, but North Carolina has always felt close to home. I have spent a great deal of time there over the years, and the part of the state I return to most fondly is the mountains—especially during the crisp fall months, when the leaves begin to change and the Blue Ridge settles beneath a soft layer of mist.
Now that I live in Los Angeles, getting back to those mountains is not quite as easy. I created this North Carolina pattern in a nostalgic mood, thinking about cool autumn air, winding mountain roads, quiet lakes and weekends that move at a slower pace.
The finished toile brings together scenes from across the state, from the Blue Ridge Mountains to North Carolina’s cities, coast and familiar wildlife. For the accompanying storyboard, however, I wanted to focus on the place I miss most: the mountains in autumn.
An Idealized Mountain Weekend
The story begins with an invitation to spend the weekend at a historic mountain hotel near Asheville. A wood-paneled station wagon winds through the Blue Ridge with a canoe on top, a dog at the window and a patterned blanket tucked into the back.
At the hotel, warm lantern light, stacked firewood and a gracious guest room welcome the travelers inside. The weekend unfolds slowly: tea and books beside a misty window, an afternoon by the lake with friends, a visit to an Asheville pottery shop and dinner together in the hotel’s intimate dining room.
The final morning is quiet—a book, a cup of tea and a patterned blanket beside still water, with the mountains fading into blue-grey mist.
It is not meant to document one exact trip. Instead, it is an idealized version of a North Carolina mountain weekend: familiar, welcoming and just slightly dreamlike.
The Color Story
The pattern is shown in two colorways: hunter green on cream and chocolate brown on cream.
Hunter green reflects the landscape—pine trees, mountain lakes, waxed jackets and the deep greens that remain as the leaves begin to turn. Chocolate brown brings in the warmth of walnut furniture, leather luggage, aged brass, pottery and candlelit hotel interiors.
Together, the two colorways create the feeling I wanted for the collection: classic and heritage-inspired, but also grounded, comfortable and lived in.
A Story About North Carolina
More than anything, this pattern is a personal love letter to North Carolina and to the mountains I do not get to visit as often as I would like.
Creating the pattern allowed me to return there in my imagination—to the winding roads, changing leaves, gracious old hotels and quiet mornings overlooking the Blue Ridge.
It is a story shaped by nostalgia, but also by the enduring feeling of a place: the kind that stays with you, no matter how far away you live.