In the last two years, Maria Kondo has taken the world by storm with her cheerful take on Minimalism. It’s not just about owning less, it’s more about the functional and emotional impact of each item that helps you make the decision of whether you should keep or leave them. Then this year we have a new style on the rise.
What if you don’t want to reduce your number of items to a minimum? What if you don’t want your things to be in plain black, white, or wood color? And what if you don’t want to focus only the “now”? The grandmillennial style born from these very needs, and very likely it’ll reign this year’s trends.
What is a grandmillenial?
The term is a fusion of “grandma” and “millennial”.
According to Emma Bazilian, editor of House Beautiful and the ‘creator’ of the term, “Grandmillennials” are young adults who enjoy design trends that seem to be a bit excessive and nostalgic compare to what we usually see in mainstream/pop culture. We are seeing modern-day design co-existing with retro elements that look like grandma’s inheritance finally came through.
Indeed, we think this fresh style is one that caters to fullness, warmth, and diversity or individualism. It doesn’t go as far as reliving the past, but instead pays a tribute to them. Nothing too wrong with holding on to aesthetics that represents your experience or lets you show your personality.
If you’re a big Spice Girls fans, you might not want to just admire them from the tiny teeny screen of your smartphone, you’d want displays of their CDs, posters, album covers on display, yes?
There is a life-changing quote you’d like to wield? Place them in a picture frame or straight up embroider it on your pillow.
A few steps away from being a granny
Some people would argue that this particular style is too stuffy and can be over-bearing or clunky. They are not in the wrong, though. “You need to have an editorial eye,” designer Clary Bosbyshell admits. A grandmillennial who collects Herend bunnies, for example, might want to have them all out on show, but displaying only a few actually looks more inviting.
The judicious use of prints and colors is extremely important. One step too far and you can end up with a room that’s more granny than grandmillennial.
Interior designer Becky Boyle takes a very specific approach by avoiding tea-stained linen and other hues that remind her of the 1980s. “I want crisp colors. The fabric houses these days are doing it for us,” she says. “It’s a white background, it’s slightly brighter colors, even though the print is the same.”
A sugary sweet spot
While there are conflicting ideas about the grandmillennial style, it’s hard to deny that it’s very approachable. It’s reminiscent of the fuzzy warmth you felt in your grandma’s home, but honed and toned with the millennials’ spirit and modern life essence. Maybe try it out and see if the ambiance shifts to your liking or not.
