How to Get the Coastal Grandma Look in Your Kitchen

When the holiday decorations come down and you’re itching to breathe some new life into your home, consider channeling your inner Coastal Grandma. 

You know her look. It’s all breezy linen, white button-down shirts, and floppy sun hats. It was the go-to wardrobe trend over the summer, but it’s way too cold to be wearing linen pants right now, so for the new year we’re bringing the chic granny aesthetic inside. More specifically, to the kitchen, where it’s not exactly new. Because we’ve seen the Coastal Grandmother look in interior design before, it just had a different name: The Nancy Meyers Kitchen. 

Here’s everything you need to get the Coastal Grandma look in your kitchen (without tearing down a wall to put in all-white cabinets and two marble-topped islands). 

All the wooden spoons

You might have a few wooden spoons in your kitchen, but if you want to achieve the coastal grandmother look, you’re going to need all the wooden spoons. Even better if it looks like you actually use some of them (make sure you treat them with a little butcher block conditioner to maintain them).

Multiple utensil crocks

Since you’re going to be increasing your spoon-to-purpose ratio, you’re going to need a bigger crock or three. But make sure it’s neutral and made of something heavy, like marble or stoneware. It should look like you picked it up at an overpriced flea market, you know? That, or like it was purchased at Williams Sonoma. 

A collection of cutting boards

Coastal Grandma is always ready to chop some fresh herbs she just picked from her garden, so she needs to have at least seven cutting boards of various shapes and sizes within arm’s reach (a.k.a. stylishly but casually leaning up against the backsplash). 

Baskets

Coastal Grandma has likely hung up her big floppy hat for the season (probably on a wooden shaker peg rail by the door that leads from the kitchen to the garden) but you can still get that woven, natural texture from a hanging basket. This type of basket is great for displaying fresh or dried flowers, holding fruits and vegetables, or tucking away your less aesthetic reusable grocery bags.

Open storage

You don’t have to rip out your upper cabinets to display your perfectly-seasoned cast-iron pan and monochromatic cookware. Instead, you can add some open storage in the form of wall mounted shelves (probably white ones). 

Neutral pottery and cookware 

Once you’ve hired the town’s sole strapping young handyman to securely mount your floating kitchen shelves, it’s time to fill them with neutral pottery, dishes, and cookware, including a versatile pitcher that can be used to serve lemonade or hold fresh flowers. And be sure to keep at least one Dutch oven or tea kettle on the stovetop at all times!

Top-rated cookbooks

You’re also going to need some impressive cookbooks on that open shelving. Yes, Coastal Grandma knows her best recipes by heart, but she isn’t afraid to let everyone know she also likes to snuggle up with a hefty collection and read it cover to cover while sipping some white wine by the fire. 

Linen kitchen towels 

Linen is the heart of the Coastal Grandma aesthetic and luckily, it’s the easiest thing to incorporate into any kitchen. Be sure to stock up on linen (or cotton) towels and napkins in neutral shades, and maybe even a few with a pop of muted color. 

An herb garden 

Coastal Grandma doesn’t let a little problem like winter keep her from growing her own fresh herbs—which is why she keeps a small but stylish garden in the kitchen in the colder months. 

Fresh flowers

Last but certainly not least, no coastal grandma (or Nancy Meyers-inspired) kitchen is complete without an endless supply of fresh flowers—something expensive-looking but also not too perfect. These flowers need to look like you trimmed them yourself (with bespoke scissors that look too pretty to actually work) while you’re wearing neutral linen clothes and a big, floppy hat. If you don’t have your own meticulously-maintained rose garden outside your massive kitchen window or French doors, consider a flower subscription. You could even put a pair of those fancy scissors near the flowers to give the illusion that you cut them yourself.