How to Live Like a Coastal Grandmother on a Broke Millennial Budget
Rex Features
Last week, a friend sent me this post from The Wall Street Journal, introducing me to the concept of the “Coastal Grandmother”. Well, maybe “introducing” might not be the most accurate word… but I didn’t know the word used to describe the act of “telling me that there’s a name for a way of life I already feel so deeply in my soul and have been trying to emulate since I was 19”. Ever since I became passionate about cooking, and white linen, and living life on my own terms. Ever since I started wishing all lemons could have their leaves left on. Ever since I started wanting to be invited for dinner at Ina and Jeffery’s house.
The term was conceived by TikToker Lex Nicoleta, who described Coastal Grandmother as "a term that I coined for this aesthetic,” she says over a slideshow of East Hamptons homes, attractive older ladies clad in tastefully creased linen, backyard kitchen gardens and cosy midweek suppers.
“If you love Nancy Meyers movies, coastal vibes, recipes and cooking, Ina Garten, cosy interiors, and more - there's a chance you might be a coastal grandmother,” she explains.
"And no, you don't have to be a grandmother to be a coastal grandmother. It's for anyone and everyone."
The TikTok video has been viewed over 8 million times, going viral among Gen Z and Millennials. Perhaps the interest in this supposedly simple-living Coastal Grandmother has struck a nerve with those of us far from being grandparents and even further from living in large houses on the coast?
Nonetheless, I reckon we can all embrace our inner Coastal Grandmother. And it’s easier than you think. "It’s more about the way you live your life," Nicoleta explains. "Slowing down and taking time to enjoy the little things like flipping through magazines and sipping tea on a Sunday morning or preparing a dinner with the day’s farmer’s market finds."
"Because I view coastal grandmother as a lifestyle rather than a trend, I think it has staying power," Nicoleta tells USA Today. "It’s more of a mindset and way of life than anything else."
“It makes sense that this aesthetic and mood is so attractive right now. It allows people to envisage a life where they’re not constantly doomscrolling in the dark,” mused Emer McLysaght in last Saturday’s Irish Times, before imagining Coastal Grandmother to spend her days “effortlessly baking and lighting three-wick candles that smell of driftwood and money.”
But what if your life is more driftwood than money? Can you still be a Coastal Grandmother? Can your house still feel like that of a middle-class older woman with a penchant for slow living and bowls full of lemons?
Allow me- a cash-strapped millennial- to show you how she lives like a Coastal Grandmother on a budget.
The Ivy House
Farmer’s Market Picnic
Undoubtedly, Coastal Grandmother loves nothing more than throwing on her pashmina and straw hat, jumping in her Land Rover Defender (sage green, of course) and meeting her friends for a picnic. Despite being 72, Olivia’s Vinyasa yoga practice has enabled her to sit on the grass for 5 hours without cramping! Amazing! This Paul Costelloe Living Picnic Blanket (€50) from Dunnes provides a nice backdrop for those glass containers full of freekeh grain salad.
Irish store The Kind is exactly the kind of place the proverbial Coastal Grandmother would hit up to arm herself with the correct equipment for the most ethical, zero-waste and aesthetically-pleasing swing by the farmer’s market. These mesh grocery bags (€3.50) are a simple yet effective way to minimise your need for single-use plastic.
Gather up those organic avocados, asparagus and (leaf-still-on) lemons in the mesh bags throw them into an Olli Ella Mosey basket, available at Industry (€65). Super cute, super practical.
Garden
If you’re lucky enough to have some green space, embrace your inner Meryl Streep in It’s Complicated and grow a kitchen garden. Sophie Conran’s collaboration with Burgon and Ball (prices start from £9.99) is a practical yet stylish selection of garden tools and accessories.
And for back-garden lounging, this hammock (€25.90) from Søstrene Grene, accessorised with the likes of this Natural Rattan Lantern (€28.99) from Littlewoods Ireland makes for the ideal spot for Coastal Grandmother to sip a cab sauv and listen to a jazz Spotify playlist. The GAMMELBY garden dining set (prices starting from €115) from JYSK has a classic Hamptons style at a not-so-Hamptons price point.
Pure Salt Interiors
Seaside dreaming
According to USA Today, “the aesthetic has been likened to Diane Keaton's wardrobe in 2003's Something's Gotta Give”, so think clean yet casual creams and beiges, blues and sage green… but basically NOTHING that would clash with Coastal Grandmother’s ocean views.
Sprawled out on her own (well, most of the time. Stereotypical Coastal Grandmother is single-ish), she sleeps on a heavenly layers of crisp white sheets and oatmeal-coloured blankets. This linen duvet cover from Penneys (€40 for a king size) is a good knock-off of the West Elm Belgian flax linen bestseller. Admittedly I have the West Elm one and herald it as one of my finest investment buys.
If gardening isn’t an option, fake it ‘til you make it with these artificial hydrangea from Marks and Spencer (€22 for 2 stems). Place in a Rosemarie Durr blue jug (€45) for classic New England vibes.
Coastal Grandmother décor is less “costume” than the typical nautical style. Think less ornamental life ring and more subtle hints of marine life, like this Marco coral framed print from Nook Home (€60). Oversized glass jars filled with seashells, antique model ships and hemp rope accents are all things to lean into when emulating the Hamptons-esque aesthetic.
Studio McGee
The new IKEA VITPYROLA Fabric is all kinds of coastal cute and affordable enough to drape liberally. But for special heirloom pieces, how beautiful is the Powder Blue lambswool herringbone tweed from Magee 1866?
Studio McGee
Dinner Parties
The Bowlsey collection from Neptune (which starts at €21) has a similar distressed aesthetic to the stunning yet horrendously expensive Astier de Villatte. Both of which I lust after. The former I hope to buy someday if I marry rich. (And the latter if I divorce rich.)
Iconic LeCreuset cookware in blue tones or the cream-coloured ‘Almond’ is spendy if you’re buying it full-price, but in recent years pieces from their ovenware range are practically a mainstay at TK Maxx.
While you’re stocking up on affordable wicker, cream-coloured and linen-look essentials in Ikea, make sure to grab these huge STORSINT Red wine glasses (€14 for a set of 6). Ideal for enjoying a rosé under the pergola.
And to prop your pals up for an impromptu Ina Garten style dinner party, these vidaXL bamboo and canvas folding director's chairs from VidaXL.ie (€123.99 for a set of 2) are a great option. Super handy for small space living too, as they can be folded and stored when not in use.
House Beautiful
The ‘Irish Wildflower’ linen table runner (€88), embroidered by Irish textile artist Jennifer Slattery is not the most affordable piece of table linen on the market, but it is one of those pieces you’ll love forever. Should any of your up-and-coming Coastal Grandmother pals be getting hitched, this makes a lovely wedding gift (stereotypical Coastal Grandmother is actually divorced, but maybe that’s not something to mention on the card).
Even if you’re only in the beginning stages of amassing a stoneware and linen dinner party collection, these brass leaf napkin rings from Folkster (€4.95) are an affordable way to add a bit of woodland chic to what could otherwise be a bog-standard tablescape.
Boston Bath
Everyday storage
Whatever your style, I’m a firm believer that the key to a beautiful home- and indeed a beautiful life- is for all of those mundane everyday moments to be something a little bit more special. That’s why I’m a sucker for lighting your “good” scented candles on a random Tuesday or for making your desk drawer Home Edit levels of pretty. Similarly, if you do need to keep a bottle of all-purpose cleaner out, a brown glass bottle (€3.98) from Søstrene Grene is a simple but attractive option. I’m sure Coastal Grandmother would make her own cleaning products using a non-toxic concoction of essential oils, but it also makes a pretty receptacle into which to decant your Mr. Muscle.
Blue and white ginger jars have been a long-standing participant in the home décor of fancy folk. The more oversized, the better and the more expensive. However, you can snap up this Small Portofino Blue and White Ginger Jar from Grove Home for €49.95 from Tullamore-based Grove Home . In-keeping with my theory that the most overlooked parts of your home should still spark joy, use this jar on your bedside table to corral hairpins.
Aldi and Lidl’s middle aisles regularly boast some simple organisational pieces, so keep an eye out for something like these glass canisters they recently had in store for less than a tenner a set.
For larger odds and ends, conceal them in a lidded basket from Søstrene Grene. Wicker baskets are not only a Coastal Grandmother’s favourite accessory, but they’re a godsend for busy parents who need somewhere to throw their kids’ toys at the end of the day. Glittery L.O.L Surprise! Dolls don’t exactly lend themselves to that aspirational coastal aesthetic
The bestselling BYHOLMA Basket (€10) is a personal favourite I use to house those grab-and-go essentials like mask, hand sanitizer and woolly hat. When I reach legit Coastal Grandmother status, said hat will be upgraded to some hand-crocheted alpaca creation.
Scout and Nimble
Lounging
The Morland Plain Body 4 Seater Pillow Back Sofa from DFS (currently on sale for €1689) is the kind of country luxe you’ll love for years. An investment purchase, for sure, but take advantage of the regular sales DFS hold if you’re in the market for a ‘forever piece’.
Buyers Select
Having a spacious, neutral-toned sofa is very typical of Coastal Grandmother. After all, her very profile description, according to The Wall Street Journal, is “an exaggerated stereotype of the privileged older woman. She’s an aspirational character, rooted in the heroines of Nancy Meyers’ early 2000s rom-coms Something’s Gotta Give and It’s Complicated. Immortalised by Diane Keaton and Meryl Streep, they are professional women over 50 with enormous white couches and a penchant for walks on the beach.
You hear that? “Enormous white couches”.
For more Coastal Grandmother interiors inspiration, check out my Pinterest board. And for more Nancy Meyers movie set designs, see my tour of The Holiday cottage here and a look at some of the best movie kitchens here.
