The new tradition of grandmillennial style
Look is both nostalgic, comfortable, never tacky
Trends are funny things. As soon as you get your house looking perfect, it turns out griege is the new gray, or modern is the new traditional, and you feel pressured to start all over. Luckily, being generically trendy is not something for which I have strived. I believe what you love is always in style, and if you curate your aesthetic around colors, patterns and objects that draw you in, your home will be timeless and feel just right no matter how times change.
That is why my love of new traditional design, sometimes considered the anti-trend style, has been so fulfilling. Mixing vintage with modern, the bold with the beautiful and maximalism with even more maximalism creates a beautiful space full of personality.
So imagine my surprise when over the last few months, I have seen a boom on social media for the new traditional aesthetic, all thanks to a “new” design movement called grandmillennial style.
“Ranging in age from mid-20s to late-30s, grandmillennials have an affinity for design trends considered by mainstream culture to be ‘stuffy' or ‘outdated,' ” wrote HouseBeautiful. Grandmillenial style is a mix of old and new, an updated take on old-school traditional design with a fresh spin, a look that is both nostalgic and comfortable but never tacky. Grandmillennial is all about celebrating pattern, texture and color from floor to ceiling. It calls to the maximalist in all of us to pack our homes full of chintz, toile, plaid, wicker, fringe, chinoiserie, drapery, furniture skirts, wallpaper, ruffles and embroidered linens.
Grandmillennial style is a fun and fresh term for new traditional. Grandma-chic is not only an aesthetic now, but a full-on design movement.
As is true with new traditional decorating, it is important to layer and edit this style in your home. As with all maximalist looks, it needs to be tempered with select spots of minimalism to avoid a completely cluttered space.