13 Ways to Achieve Coastal Granddaughter Style in Your Home
Cultivate your very own laid-back beach escape.
Imagine an interior design trend that speaks to your love of cool summer nights by the ocean, lazy mornings sipping coffee in bed and listening to the sound of the waves, quaint farmer's markets, and all the simplicities of coastal living. Oh wait – that's coastal granddaughter style! The best thing about this design style is that its laid-back yet chic aesthetic is so easy to achieve with just a few decor swaps. Keep reading to learn more about this fashion-turned-interior design trend and how to achieve it in your own home.
What Is Coastal Granddaughter Style?
The coastal granddaughter aesthetic is a fashion-turned-interior design trend that captures the essence of East Coast beach living. Think about untucked button-ups, blue-and-white striped shirts, linen capris, and warm knit sweaters in blues, whites, creams, and beige tones that connect to the colors of the seaside. This relaxed fashion look translates into a design style that prioritizes a soothing muted color palette, blue-and-white details, vintage patterns, and rustic notes. Think of quaint coastal cottages in Cape Cod, Nantucket, the Hamptons, and other beachside getaways with gray, weather-beaten shingles, an abundance of hydrangea bushes, and the distant hum of the waves as the inspiration.
The coastal granddaughter is all about loose-fitting, relaxed clothing that's easy to breeze through the day in. She spends days at the beach or relaxing at home listening to acoustic pop, enjoying a cup of coffee or tea, and reading to her heart's content. So her home aesthetic is all about the right balance of chic coastal design and quaint cozy vibes – with an emphasis on cozy.
What Is the Difference Between Coastal Granddaughter & Coastal Grandma Style?
The coastal granddaughter design style stems from the well-established coastal grandma aesthetic. As a lifestyle persona, the coastal grandma is all about fitted/tailored clothing in relaxed, beachy colors, unwinding with a glass of her go-to wine, and entertaining family and friends in her stylish yet cozy home. As a home aesthetic, the coastal grandma style is all about preppy, well-decorated spaces with coastal notes and white-and-blue color palettes. It's also about being polished and luxurious while remaining relaxed enough for a beachy setting.
In contrast, coastal granddaughter interiors have a more relaxed look and feel. These spaces have minimal yet meaningful decor with coastal notes and are typically less perfectly-matched than coastal grandmother interiors (think: mismatched cozy bedding or rooms without perfectly symmetrical furniture/lighting). This creates a younger, cozier, and more lived-in vibe that's perfect for enjoying morning coffee with friends, digging into a new book, or just relaxing after a long day at the beach!
Coastal Granddaughter Style Ideas for Your Home
There are so many simple yet impactful ways to achieve the coastal granddaughter aesthetic. Keep reading to get all the inspiration for incorporating this style into your home design.
1. Stick to Blue & White Palettes
If you only take one thing away from this design style, it should be a blue-and-white color palette. Blue and white dominate the coastal granddaughter style because they cultivate a fresh, clean vibe and connect the space to ocean colors. You can't go wrong with blue-and-white patterned bedding, wallpaper, decorative accents, or throw pillows and blankets. Have white furnishings? Add some blue-and-white patterned throw pillows to instantly add a beachy pop of color to the room. More on which patterns to implement into your space in steps three, four, and five.
Muted pastels are also all the rage when it comes to coastal granddaughter spaces. Soft creams, eggshell whites, sandy browns, and pale blues, pinks, purples, yellows, or greens can all work in this aesthetic to produce the laid-back oasis you deserve. Infuse your space with pastel throw pillows, blankets, or rugs to help create a soft color palette or anchor a blue-and-white design scheme.
When it comes to achieving the blue-and-white aesthetic that coastal granddaughter style loves, you have to include a few chinoiserie pottery pieces. Not only does this pattern create a vintage, timeless vibe anywhere it goes, but it also features decadent blue-and-white designs that add to the character of the space. The above image displays chinoiserie dinnerware, but you can also achieve this look with one or two statement vases for the dining room or bedside nightstand.
Find other ways to infuse your space with chinoiserie patterns by turning to your walls for inspiration. You can create the coastal granddaughter space you crave with the right wallpaper. Stay on theme by looking for blue-and-white wallpaper featuring chinoiserie or toile designs. You can wallpaper the entire room or keep things more toned down with a cute accent wall.
Tip!
Not sure about coastal granddaughter wallpaper? Opt for coastal paintings instead! Tap into the vintage vibes of this design style by opting for gold-framed oil paintings depicting nautical themes – essentially any vintage painting you could have inherited from your grandma or picked up at a flea market.
Along with chinoiserie patterns, vintage florals are another must for decorating coastal granddaughter spaces. This pattern makes the room whimsical and soothing thanks to its pastel color palette and floral detailing. That's why it's a popular choice for coastal granddaughter bedding. We recommend going with blue floral-patterned bedding for the perfect blend of beachy colors and floral notes. However, you can just as easily achieve this look with throw pillows, wallpaper, or curtains!
As mentioned, the coastal granddaughter look is all about comfort, both in clothing and interior design. That's why coastal granddaughter style rooms prioritize woven and knit textures. You can't go wrong with a woven area rug made of a material like jute, chunky knit throw blankets to curl up in on cool nights, and textured throw pillows with visible weave patterns for added warmth and interest. Bring in a knit pouf ottoman for added texture and a place to rest your feet.
Connect to the coastal granddaughter fashion trend for this idea. Gather inspiration from the fashion trend's love of linen pieces by dressing your bed in cooling linen sheets in shades of white, blue, or cream. Linen sheets are also a great choice to beat summer’s increased temperatures and enjoy daytime naps without overheating. In true coastal granddaughter fashion, leave the bed unmade for a lived-in vibe.
Consider pillows with ruffled, decorative edges to add a bit of vintage frill and whimsy to any room. Ruffled pillows work well in coastal granddaughter bedrooms to create a quaint, cottage chic vibe due to their vintage appearance and scalloped edges. We recommend adding a few ruffled pillows to your bed for the ultimate cozy spot to unwind.
Tip!
Tailor your product search by entering the keyword 'ruffled' into the 'Search this Category' tab to the bottom left-hand side of the product page.
9. Bring Out the Hydrangeas
Hydrangeas are another must-have decor item for achieving the coastal granddaughter look. This is because they grow so well in places like Cape Cod and other coastal environments, thus making them a staple part of the coastal living aesthetic. Whether you have hydrangea bushes in your yard or plan to use faux hydrangeas, the goal is to make it appear as though you've gone outside and picked bouquets-full to spruce up your home. We recommend sticking to blue or white hydrangeas to stay on theme. However, purple or green varieties can work just as well.
Sheer lace curtains are a great way to transform your windows into a display that's worthy of a coastal granddaughter home because of their vintage vibe and breezy appearance. Imagine sitting by the open window, allowing the curtains to flow in the coastal winds – that's the vibe we're going for! Whether you go with a lace design or not, we recommend sticking with sheer white curtains. This allows the maximum amount of natural light in so you can enjoy bright, sunny interiors while maintaining some privacy (perfect for afternoon reading or a daytime nap).
Connect to the preppy, polished aesthetic of a coastal grandma by infusing your space with gingham notes. Gingham patterns allow you to channel days spent sailing or planning a beach picnic. Above, a gingham-upholstered accent chair adds a timeless feel in an entryway with a contemporary table lamp and decorative mirror. Consider gingham-patterned pillows, area rugs, bedding, or wallpaper to add a bit of prep to your laid-back beach aesthetic.
Striped sweaters, dresses, and button-ups are key elements of the coastal granddaughter fashion aesthetic, so why not incorporate stripes into your interior design scheme? Stick to subtle stripe patterns in pastel hues to maintain a relaxed yet chic ambience in your home. Add coastal stripe wallpaper to your breakfast nook, lay out a striped area rug, or position a few striped throw pillows on your sofa for a cozy addition to your lounge space.
Infuse your space with coastal granddaughter room decor items that have an organic look to them (a.k.a. you could have found them while walking on the beach or rummaging through the family attic). Bring in pieces of driftwood, nautical rope accents, seashells, or coral to dot around the room. This also helps you cultivate the lived-in vibes of a coastal granddaughter, since it looks like you collected your decor over many years spent by the seaside.
Start designing your way to coastal granddaughter interiors!
