Sprite Stripe: A Painterly Pattern with a Sailor’s Soul
- Melissa Dayton Art
- May 14
- 2 min read

Some patterns come from sketchbooks… and others that come from summers you never forget.
Sprite Stripe was born from both.
When I was a child, we spent our weekends on Sprite Island—a tucked-away spot off the Connecticut coast. My dad started the Flying Scot fleet there in 1980, and naturally, those of us hanging around the docks were enrolled in Junior Sailing before we could talk our way out of it.
We learned how to rig the boats, race against the wind, and—most memorably—tie every knot under the sun. I can only remember two now, but the pressure of mastering them at age ten, while school was out for the summer, was very real.
That rhythm—the discipline of sailing, the vertical lines of rigging, the quiet motion of wind through canvas—stayed with me. And it inspired Sprite Stripe.
This pattern is perfectly imperfect: hand-painted vertical lines with small dot detailing, evoking stitched sails, sea grass, and a bit of childhood freedom. It’s structured, but soft. Playful, but grounded.
It’s the kind of pattern that quietly supports everything around it—like a good stripe should.

Design Tip:
Use Sprite Stripe to bring visual height or soft order to a room. It’s stunning on upholstery (picture a striped bench cushion in a mudroom or a slipcovered chair in a reading nook) and equally strong as wallpaper in powder rooms, laundry rooms, or hallways.
Antique Tip:
This stripe pairs beautifully with beadboard, painted cabinetry, or vintage metal hardware. Think of it as a subtle way to modernize a space filled with older pieces—like a scrubbed pine dresser or a classic campaign chest. An antique hammered brass bucket would be a great contrast to this pattern.
Paint Pairing Suggestions:
To complement the cool-toned blue:
Benjamin Moore “Smoke” – soft and misty
Farrow & Ball “Wimborne White” – warm but clean for trim
Sherwin-Williams “Storm Cloud” – moody and bold for cabinetry
Farrow & Ball "Stiffkey Blue"
Sprite Stripe will launch in both wallpaper and coordinating linen upholstery. It’s printed in the USA using Swedish-engineered presses for precision and clarity—because even stripes deserve thoughtful craftsmanship.
Because some stripes carry more than design—they carry the memory of the wind.
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