One glance into our home and there is a good chance you’d quickly know that I am a big fan of the coastal grandmother decor style. I’ve been combining light, airy spaces with a mostly neutral color palette into our home for many years. This cottage vibe creates the perfect backdrop for curated collections of vintage treasures and chippy old furniture! To me, these interior design elements go hand in hand to decorate for fall with the coastal grandmother style.
Since our family lives in a beachside town in South Florida, coastal living and coastal decor do seem like a natural choice. However, you don’t need to live on the coast or near a beach to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style!
Before we get into specifics of how to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style, we should give a little more definition and clarification to “Coastal Grandmother or Coastal Grandma Decor”.
Elements of the Coastal Grandma Style in Interior Design
Here is a list (though not exhaustive) of some of the main ways I decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style:
- Neutral colors with soft whites and sandy beiges
- Add touches of breezy colors like shades of light blue and colors of the sea
- Blue and white decorative accents, like a white ginger jar or crocks
- Natural fibers like jute and sissal
- Natural fabrics like linen
- Must: hang a straw hat on a hook or corner of a chair!
- Lots of wood accents (natural wood tones) and furniture
- Antique furniture
- Vintage home finds
- Floral patterns, like throw pillows and floral prints (though not as bold as in cottage core or grandmillenial decor styles)
- Natural textures, like wicker furniture and wicker baskets
- Add soft linens with linen and cotton fabrics for soft texture
- A touch of gold/brass accents
- Mixture of a classic design style with casual, “lived-in” elements
- Curated family heirlooms and thrifted finds
- Mix new items with curated vintage home decor
- For a seasonal touch, natural elements and found items, like pampas grass, corn stalks, dried gourds, dried stems, and seaside touches
The list could continue, but I think this is a really great start! Let’s chat about some specifics and I’ll show you around a few things I have added to my own home decor for a coastal grandmother aesthetic for the fall season!
What is coastal grandma decorating style?
Before we dive into all of the fun of the “how”, let’s quickly touch on the “what.”
Have you seen Father of the Bride? Confession: it was one of my favorite movies in my late teens and I even took elements from that to inspire my own wedding in 2003! When I think of the coastal grandmother lifestyle, I picture two things.
First of all, I picture Diane Keaton in Father of the Bride. There is something about that comfortable lifestyle with all of the beautiful, simple home decor details that appeal to my senses. Fresh flowers, natural materials, classic style, cozy interiors, big windows with lots of natural light, classic pieces that never go out of style, bowls of fruit on the kitchen island, and breezy white linen curtains gently blowing. You get the picture, right?! What’s not to love?!
Secondly, I picture the picturesque little beachside cottages and shops we visited in New England and Cape Cod on our honeymoon and again in 2021 on vacation with our kids. Seersucker shorts, linen dresses, coastal colors, homemade ice cream from the quaint, family-owned shop, nautical accents, and cute little wicker basket purses. Am I doing a good enough job painting the coastal grandma trend for you? I’m trying to hurry, I promise!
However, I think to really incorporate the coastal grandmother home decor trend into our homes, we really have to be able to embrace the feeling of the coastal style. It’s casual, comfortable, with no one in too much of a rush.
I know. I’m a wife, mom, and teacher. But one can at least dream about slowing down a little, even in the middle of the busy back to school season, right?! It has time for family games, lounging by the pool with a good book (yep, October is the perfect month for that down here!), and enjoying a walk with a light sweater with the fresh ocean breeze (also dreaming about that light sweater weather again someday here in South Florida!)
While it’s easy to picture the coastal grandma style with summer decor, it is just as beautiful of an interior design style for the fall season too. Today, we are going to chat about how to add simple elements of the coastal grandmother trend with specific decorative accents for cozy fall home decorating too
So, bring on the coastal grandmother vibe for the fall!
How to Decorate for Fall with Coastal Grandmother Style
How to get the coastal grandmother look?
Now that we know the coastal grandmother decor style is all about evoking a cozy, casual, slow living, welcoming feeling in our own home, how do we get the coastal grandma look without redoing all of our decor or fully embracing elements of the coastal feel or beach house look?
I have good news. Apparently, I have been embracing the coastal grandma look in our home decor in a variety of ways for many, many years. However, while there are certainly overlapping elements with my vintage home style during the other three seasons, I don’t keep complete coastal vibes all year long.
There are some easy ways to incorporate this timeless decorating style, with a touch of the specific coastal grandmother trend, into your home without changing everything.
Plus, you certainly don’t have to start hanging seashells everywhere as you decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style!
How to Decorate for Fall with Coastal Grandmother Style: Color Palette
The basic color palette for the chic style of the coastal grandmother look is based on light, earthy tones. While these neutrals are easily described in seaside words like “sandy beiges, seafoam green, and pale sky blue”, these colors are found in many other places in nature. I say this to simply reinforce the fact that we don’t want to get stuck on “coastal decor” when thinking of how to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style.
Here are the basic colors that most often make up this timeless look to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style:
- whites, creams, beiges, light grays
- shades of blue, mostly lighter shades, with the addition of some deeper blues, like navy blue
- light wood tones and colors of natural textures (think jute rugs and wicker baskets)
If you take the “coastal” out of this decor style description and focus on just the colors, you can see how this color palette can work for any style of home in any geographical location!
As I transition our home and decorate for all with coastal grandmother style, I am adding even more cozy touches and layers to the existing color palette (listed above) of our home. Natural colors like wheat and dried gourds bring nature-inspired, slightly deeper warm tones into our spaces.
Here are a few shades I’ll be adding to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style:
- golden shades of wheat and dried gourds
- more elements of antiqued gold and brass
- deeper shades of brown, as found in amber bottles
- a pop of color with blue and green pumpkins and/or real ones once they arrive in Florida
- additional wood tones and wicker elements, like these light wood pears
How to Decorate for Fall with Coastal Grandmother Style: Decorative Accents
Since I am not doing any major redecorating, painting, or furniture swapping this fall, I’ll be bringing the cozy feeling of fall into my coastal grandmother decor style with a few well-placed decorative accents. My goal is to keep it simple, easy, relaxed, and cozy. Oh, and budget-friendly too!
Here are ways I am bringing in colors to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style:
- vintage books with shades of light blues and grays
- dried palm fronds and bundles of wheat and cornstalks with warm neutrals
- wicker demijohns with shades of brown
- brass candlesticks with golden tones
- throw pillows with a mix of light blues, greens, and neutrals
- cozy throw blankets with shades of blue and soft whites
- decorative figures like vintage brass quail and pheasants
- vintage horse trophy for another decorative figure
- antiqued gold finishes
How to Decorate for Fall with Coastal Grandmother Style: Layers of Textiles
Fall is the official beginning of cozy season! Whether you live in a northern state where it’s starting to cool down or are suffering through muggy, tropical temperatures like we are down here, some things about fall don’t change.
Back to school, football season, pumpkin spice lattes, trunk-or-treats, shorter days and longer evenings…it’s all a recipe for getting cozy! In home decor, one of the best ways to get a cozy feel is, quite literally, with what you touch and feel!
No matter your decor style, fall is such a fun season to add layers of textiles. Traditionally, wool, fur, and leather may be associated with cooler weather. To decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style, touches of these textiles layered with soft linens, like cotton and linen, are a great way to bring a cozy fall feeling to the home.
The coastal grandma style is focused on a relaxed, comfortable style so it isn’t hard to add a few cozy layers while keeping a generally light and airy look as you decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style.
Here are some layers I’ll be adding to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style:
- cottage prints with gingham
- vintage look with block prints
- cozy feel with light fur pillows (My kids LOOOOVE these throw pillows!)
- rustic touch with leather accents
- soft, lightweight throw blankets (This gauzy texture is my favorite; we have several around our home in different sizes.)
- soft pillows in light green and blue tones
- oversized pillows add comfy charm and cottage pattern
- pillow covers with fringe, tassel, or ruffle details
- down pillow inserts give throw pillows a more high end look
How to Decorate for Fall with Coastal Grandmother Style: Natural Elements
One of basics of the coastal grandmother decor style are nature-inspired elements.
Here are some of natural elements I’m incorporating to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style:
- branches (free from your yard!)
- dried stems
- dried gourds
- blue, green, and white pumpkins
- dried pods
How to Decorate for Fall with Coastal Grandmother Style: Five Senses
More than any decorative accents, the fall season is about involving the senses for a truly cozy experience. With changing only a few things, you can take your home from summer to fall with these five things:
- Smell: Add a cozy fall scent like pumpkin or cider. THIS is my favorite scent for fall!
- Hearing: Play soft jazz music in the background. It’s so super cozy!
- Sight: Add a cozy ambiance with flameless candles that flicker on each evening and soft lamp light, also on a timer!
- Touch: Bring more layers into your living and bedroom spaces with a couple of extra throw pillows and a soft blanket.
- Taste: Fall is the official baking season! Our favorite is the easy pumpkin bread mix from Trader Joe’s. Plus it smells amazing too!
Frequently Asked Questions Related to This Post:
Is coastal grandma still in style?
Yes! The coastal grandmother style is going strong and it is easy to see why. Since the coastal grandmother style focuses on classic, well-made pieces and timeless style with nature-inspired elements, some version of coastal grandma will be around for a very, very long time.
In my opinion, though, the best style is always when you combine your own favorite home decor to create your own personal style. The basics of the coastal grandma design style allow for wide interpretation and create a tasteful base for adding your own decorative spin!
What month to put out fall decor?
It’s asked every year and every year my answer is the same! You can start decorating anytime you want!
Trust me, if I lived up north and the air was starting to get that little tinge of fall feeling, you’d better believe I’d be pulling out all the bins and starting to transition from summer to fall home decor!
However, here in sunny South Florida, we are pretty focused on surviving the muggy, extremely hot weather of August/September and hurricane season! Insert eye roll. Haha!
(That being said, there’s no better way to get me in the mood to create a cozy home than a tropical storm blowing through some unseasonably cool breezes!)
Can I decorate for fall at the end of August?
Some people prefer to wait until after the Labor Day holiday break, which is also understandable. This is particularly true for those who don’t begin the school year until after Labor Day!
Trust me, I like to enjoy summer break to the very last drop too!
Writing this post has helped me get even more in the mood to decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style. It will be really nice to be able to keep so much of my current home decor out since it is already light blue, whites, and tans. Then, swapping out some seasonal decorative accents is going to make our living spaces feel so fresh and ready for the new season without having to redecorate our entire home!
I hope this post is helping get you in the mood for some seasonal home decorating and maybe even to try and decorate for fall with coastal grandmother style if you haven’t done that before!
Over on my storefront, you can find even more decor inspiration with curated collections.
Happy fall decorating in your beautiful home! I hope you have fun incorporating a little coastal grandma decor while keeping your personal center stage. THAT is what truly creates personal style and home sweet home!
You may also enjoy these home decor blog posts for affordable fall decorating inspiration:
- 7 Easy Ways to Make Your DIY Fall Flowers Amazing
- How to Easily Decorate a Cozy Fall Bedroom
- The Best 7 Useful Fall Decor Items You Need to Thrift For
- 5 Beautiful Ways to Use Dried Gourds for Fall Decor
- 44 Easy Ideas to Decorate a Kitchen Table for Fall
- How to Decorate with 21 Easy Cozy Home Decor Ideas for Fall
- The Best 7 Thrifted Fall Home Decor Items to Shop For
- Simple Tips for Decorating with Cozy Fall Kitchen Decor
- How to Style Beautiful Fall Dough Bowl Decor in 3 Minutes
- Design Ideas to Create a Rustic Neutral Living Room for Fall
