What is Coastal Grandmother Design and is it Right For You?

 Depending on how closely you pay attention to design trends, you may or may not have heard of Coastal Grandmother, which had admittedly obscure origins. According to the design influencer Lex Nicoleta, who was credited with coining the term “Coastal Gran,” this decorative motif is for anyone who “loves Nancy Meyers movies, coastal vibes, recipes and cooking, Ina Garten and cozy interiors.” And despite the quirky name, Coastal Grandmother is a legitimate and appealing design style growing in popularity. 

What Exactly is Coastal Grandmother Design?

Coastal Grandmother combines the light, cool tones of coastal design with the warmth and coziness of Grandmillenial. If you have a coastal bent but find the whitewashed décor a bit cold, this might be just your niche. 

How to Achieve Coastal Grandmother

By now, you’ve probably perused more than a few images of Coastal Grandmother rooms on Google, and you’ve made up your mind. But admiring a look and achieving it are two different things, so here are some tips from the design experts at Baer’s Furniture for achieving Coastal Grandmother in your home. 

Choose Warm Whites

White is at the core of a Coastal Grandmother space, but if you choose the wrong tone, you may push the needle more toward coastal than coastal grandmother. For your walls, select a creamier or buttery shade to make the space feel warmer. You can use colder whites or gray whites for the trim or as a secondary color, but if your primary color is white, we recommend warmer shades. 

Textures are Essential

The Coastal Grandmother design requires textures that feel good to the touch. Afghan throws, knitted toss pillows, and warm fabric chairs are practically requirements for the Coastal Grandmother style. With this in mind, you’ll want to be careful incorporating leather pieces. While they may have a place in a CG room, leather can overwhelm the aesthetic. For example, the Candace Curved Sofa is available in both leather and fabric (fabric shown here). For such a large piece, we think that the fabric works best in Coastal Gran.

Add Color and Dimension with Accent Pieces

Coastal Grandmother is more than just a white room with white pieces of furniture, but it also doesn’t have the over-the-top colors and patterns of Grandmillenial. Colors and accents are more subtle in CG spaces. Consequently, Coastal Grandmother style requires muted or neutral tones. Incorporate colors with area rugs, lampshades, drapes, or even an accent chair. The Times Square Accent Chair by Rowe is the perfect addition to a Coastal Grandmother living room or bedroom. It’s warm, comfortable, and even stain-resistant, and the tones are just right for this aesthetic. 

Avoid Clutter

One of the mistakes that people often make when going for a Coastal Grandmother look is leaning too hard into Granmillenial style. While the two styles share common shoots, CG doesn’t have the busyness or overlapping patterns of Grandmillenial. For example, with Grandmillenial, you can have a striped sofa, a pin-dot-patterned pillow, and a plaid throw (if they are from compatible color schemes), but with Coastal Grandmother, you have to make a choice: one pattern would be the rule here. You could drape a patterned throw across the cream-colored Tryp Swivel Glider, for instance, but not its heavily patterned counterpart. 

How Coastal Grandmother is Different From Coastal and Grandmillenial

When two styles merge to create a new look, fine lines are drawn in the sand. If you cross to one side or the other, your space may become coastal or Grandmillenial, but not Coastal Grandmother. 

As the name implies, coastal design celebrates the beach and the coastline. It favors cool tones, light or white wood furniture, light-tone area rugs, nautical themes, and more. The density of the décor should be on the airy, less cluttered side. Coastal Grandmother borrows heavily from the color palette and layout of the coastal theme. 

Grandmillenial is a maximalist approach to design that celebrates the style and furniture of generations gone by. Grandmillenial features prints, patterns, and cozy furniture, among other things. Coastal Grandmother intersperses these design elements throughout what would be an otherwise coastal decorating scheme. If Grandmillenial makes you think of your grandmother's furniture, Coastal Gran should make you think of your cool, beach grandmother.

With millions of feet of showroom space throughout Florida, Baer’s Furniture has high-quality furniture that fits many different decorative motifs, including Coastal Grandmother. Let our experienced sales staff help you with your decorative choices. Shop Baer’s Furniture today!