Luxury and comfort can exist together in home design, and middle-aged women have perfected the art of combining the two.
It’s cozy and chic. Neutral and bright. Airy and open. It’s high-end, but not in the way that you’re afraid to sit on the couch or touch a vase. It’s still comfortable and welcoming, where you feel like you can cuddle up and read a book. We’re talking about the coastal grandmother aesthetic.
What is a coastal grandmother?
Imagine reading a book on your porch that overlooks the ocean shores, sipping a glass of wine while feeling the gentle breeze. You’re wearing a loose pair of pants with a slightly oversized button-up shirt — but you don’t look frumpy. You still look very put-together, but in a practical way, as if you’ve dressed yourself to pick vegetables in the garden or run to the street market to buy fresh flowers.
Coastal grandmother is the embodiment of the style of affluent middle-aged women in coastal cities — think Ina Garten, Oprah Winfrey and Martha Stewart. It’s being classy and high-end while still being casual and comfy.
How to incorporate coastal grandmother design in your home
Now that you know roughly what the coastal grandmother aesthetic is, it’s time to channel the coastal grandmothers we all know and love (including those mentioned above) to achieve the look!
1. Teak furniture
Instead of wooden furniture pieces being painted to match a colored theme, stripping it back to the basic wood is what a coastal grandmother would do. Highlighting the natural beauty of teak wood furniture, whether it be a bench or a dresser, will bring in the warmth that a grandmother wants in her home while also hinting at the driftwood found on many coastal beaches.
2. Chunky cable knit blankets
You can find a coastal grandmother wearing a luxe cable knit sweater to keep warm in the colder months. And to match that sweater, she’s got cozy, chunky cable knit blankets for snuggling up by the window and watching the snowfall or reading a book. Chunky knitted blankets are both simple and luxurious, embodying all that is the coastal grandmother.
3. Neutral colors
Coastal style, in general, focuses on using light, neutral colors, like white and beige. You can also pull in other colors, but make sure they’re more muted, like dusty blue or a soft pastel coral. If you’re trying to play it safe as you start out, you can’t go wrong with white and beige as your base colors, then bringing in accents of muted blues.
4. Sheer, breezy curtains
Having sheer curtains that blow in the ocean breeze is a staple in any coastal grandmother’s living room. They give a home a fresh and airy feeling, while also framing the window. And in typical coastal grandmother fashion, these curtains aren’t over-the-top — they’re subtle and seemingly unnoticeable, yet make a big impact on the room overall.
5. Natural materials
Using items with a natural wood finish or made from natural materials give the light and natural vibe that is a coastal grandmother. You may decide to use a lightly-stained wooden coffee table and cotton or linen textiles. Textiles made of natural materials are more breathable, so choosing fabric materials made from plants like flax, jute and hemp can give your place more of an airy feel, versus something like polyester that makes you sweat just by looking at it.
6. Sea glass bottles
Frosty blue and green bottles and jugs are reminiscent of bottles found at sea or that washed up on the shore. Thankfully, we don’t need to wait around for one of these beautiful bottles to show up on the beach because we can easily find them at the store. Just make sure you’re sticking with blues and greens and not going too wild on the glass colors, or else it will distract from the typical coastal style.
7. Fresh flowers
A coastal grandmother almost always has fresh flowers in her home. She may have picked them from her own garden or she may have strolled into town and purchased them from a local vendor at a street market. Either way, a vase of fresh flowers is a must for achieving the coastal grandmother style.
8. Slipcover couch
For reasons we may not understand until we reach the actual coastal grandmother age, having a slipcover on your couch is the way to go. We don’t mean the slipcover that’s made of stretchy material and has elastic on the ends to hold it into place — we mean a slipcover that fits the couch perfectly and made of breathable material like cotton or linen. It’s the type of couch you can comfortably sit and chat with friends on for hours and is the perfect couch for taking afternoon naps.
9. Throw pillows
When a coastal grandmother has throw pillows, that doesn’t mean just one or two. You’ve got to cover every surface you can possibly sit on with throw pillows — a few for the couch, one on every chair and even a couple to put on the window seat. You’ll also want these throw pillows made of the same breathable textiles as other things in your home and you want to make sure they follow the light, neutral color scheme and add to your nautical or beach items.
10. Woven baskets
Storing items in plastic bins is too modern for the coastal grandmother style. Get woven baskets that can serve the same purpose as other storage solutions, but look more natural and inviting. You can use baskets for more than the storage of household items —you can also use them while gathering vegetables and flowers from your garden or carrying your purchases from a day at the street market.
Make coastal grandmothers proud
Coastal grandmothers have spent their entire lives achieving their style, so make sure you do them proud! If you’re ever stuck, simply ask yourself, “What would Martha Stewart do?” And you’ll have a handle on the coastal grandmother style in no time.
Source: rent.com