Idyllwild is a place we dreamed up: a cozy retreat with a garden left to grow as it pleases and a crackling fire waiting inside. It’s also the inspiration behind our newest Handpainted Tile collection, which has sixteen patterns across four chapters, each one painted by hand in our California factory. Come behind the scenes with us to see how Idyllwild came to life.
A Field Guide to Idyllwild
We pictured Idyllwild as a well-loved place to escape to, with blossoms gilded by the setting sun, stepping stones winding down an overgrown path, and embers crackling in the fireplace at the end of the day. You’ll find a little of that feeling woven through each of Idyllwild’s four chapters, each of which features four distinct patterns.
Specimen Flowers open the Idyllwild story with folk art–inspired blooms painted in fine botanical detail. Pick your posy and arrange them across a backsplash, a niche, or an accent wall.
Florals take us deeper into the cottage garden. Each repeating design is a garden in miniature: dense, romantic, and a little untamed. From Meadow to Pomegranate, wildflowers and briar-patch texture spill edge to edge, ready to climb a wall, wrap a bath, or cover a kitchen floor to ceiling.
Stripes give Idyllwild its structure, with hatched lines, cross-stitch florals, and bold color blocks that set an architectural rhythm all their own. Each Striped pattern comes in 2x8 and 8x8 sizes, so you can choose between full-coverage pattern or a trim-like detail.
Plaids weave everything into place. Richly colored and cozy as tartan pulled close on a cold evening, they're as striking floor to ceiling as they are tucked in as an accent. Go classic with Highlands, or make a geometric statement with Minka.
Painted by Hand
Idyllwild begins on our Original Ceramic body, which is our signature tile we make in Aromas, California. The pattern is screen-printed onto the bisque in a wax-resist ink, which maps out the design and keeps each glaze in its place through firing.
From there, the tiles go to our handpainting team. Our artisans use bulb syringes filled with lead-free glaze to inlay the color by hand, one section at a time, using a time-honored technique that takes a steady hand and a careful eye. Every petal, stripe, and form gets just enough glaze to fill it evenly and meet the line cleanly—a process that takes patience and plenty of practice. It’s careful, hands-on work, and you can see it in the finished tile: the depth of the glaze, each color settled into its own space, and the subtle glaze trails left by the painter. This is the kind of character that only comes from being made by hand.
When we host factory tours, we sometimes invite guests to try hand painting a tile themselves. Everyone leaves with a new appreciation for our painters, and they all say the same thing: they thought it would be so much easier.
Once every section is filled, the tiles go into the kiln for their final firing.
Designing with Idyllwild
Every Idyllwild pattern comes in curated, seasonally inspired palettes: Spring through Winter. If you have a different color story in mind, you can write your own with any combination of our Original Ceramic glazes.
Because Idyllwild is made on our Original Ceramic field tile and isn’t rectified, it pairs naturally with our field tile too. Run a Floral into a solid wall of color, frame a few Specimen Flowers in a coordinating glaze, or layer Stripes and Plaids with field tile to make a space that’s all your own. Your imagination makes Idyllwild boundless.
Step Inside
Explore Idyllwild here. You can order samples online or talk to your rep to experience your own slice of Idyllwild in person.
