Text by Lauren Eberle
The awe was instant. Before Maggie Griffin and her design team ever set eyes on their clients’ Highlands, North Carolina, home, she recalls pulling up to the gate and spotting a flock of wild turkeys on the left and a family of deer in the back. “It was like they were rolling out the red carpet for us—or, really, the green carpet.”
Set down in a valley with views of rolling hills and big, broad rock faces, this circa 1800s home is at the back of a clearing beyond a large stone firepit. “You could tell the house had been loved, but just not recently,” Maggie recalls.
The current owners and their four children use this house as a getaway from the hustle and bustle of home. Here, they roam, they meander, they ride, and they rest. The task for Maggie Griffin Design was to infuse the “Highlands sense of style” her company is known for—cozy, layered, and elegantly casual—to make the mountain house feel both curated and welcoming.
The starting place was a hunt through the many outbuildings on the property, which were packed with such conveyed furnishings as end tables, chests, chairs, and more. “We couldn’t utilize it all, but we did find places for quite a bit,” says Maggie, whose favorite find was a folksy table for the primary bedroom that features acorns, tiny pine cones, and other Americana imagery.
Once she’d decided what could be kept, Maggie went to work envisioning the rest. “We didn’t gut anything; we didn’t renovate. So many aspects of the home were already fantastic, but what we did do made all the difference.” From a full-house coat of crisp paint (China White by Benjamin Moore) to boucoup layered rugs to a recovering of almost every bit of upholstery in the house, the historic home’s refresh added light, life, and pattern.
“We love a wool plaid. We love a buffalo check. We love a classic floral, and we love a windowpane. Here, we got to use them all,” Maggie says. The upstairs children’s rooms—which feature Schumacher wallpaper and creative color and texture pairings—were some of the most fun spaces to imagine, she adds, with plush places to rest after all the memory-making. From room to room, custom draperies elevate accent colors, and when hung, complement—rather than compete with—the views.
Indeed, the scenery is something to watch: today’s brilliant autumn color; next spring’s bright hydrangeas; days filled with yard games and nights passed around the fire. One day, the homeowners dream, four carriage houses might dot the property, setting a pleasant place for each of their children to bring families of their own.
There’s no doubt that the next generation will pull up to the gate with awe as well, knowing plenty of hospitality—and a green carpet, too—await.
