Bring Granny Chic Style Into Your Home
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Would you like to bring granny chic style into your home for a nostalgic touch?
I’m pondering how to bring granny-chic decor into my new home. It is an eclectic blend of styles. Think cozy, with a mix of cottage and traditional styles.
Granny chic decor is a nostalgic yet stylish design trend that celebrates comfort, charm, and the beauty of the past.
It takes inspiration from the cozy homes of grandmothers full of floral fabrics, crocheted throws, lace curtains, and mismatched treasures. Then, it reimagines them with a modern sensibility.
This look mixes vintage finds with contemporary pieces, creating spaces that feel warm, layered, and lived-in. Think chintz upholstery, needlepoint pillows, china collections, and antique wood furniture.
Then pair them with fresh colors, sleek lighting, or minimalist accents to keep it from feeling dated.
At its heart, granny chic decor is about sentimentality and comfort. It’s about embracing things that tell a story, and surrounding yourself with objects that feel personal and familiar.
And it’s also a soft rebellion against sterile, fast-paced design trends. Granny chic decor brings back the heart and soul of home.
The great thing about the aesthetic called “Granny Chic Decor” or “Grandma Core” is that you will probably find these novelties in abundance in various thrift shops.
Those who wish to decorate in this style are often the lucky recipients of donations, as someone is emptying an older relative’s home at a very reasonable price.
Aprons and rocking chairs and costume jewelry. Cardigans and accessories made by hand.
Cottage Gardens:
There is also something known as “grandma gardens.” COVID brought about the resurgence of all things home. Growing your own vegetables and herbs. Millennials embraced this way of life as though they discovered it themselves.
Cottage gardens feature flowers such as Sweet William and petunias. Foxgloves and poppies. Dahlias and delphiniums; daisies and hollyhocks. Sweet peas and morning glories, and of course roses.
Pollinating insects, particularly bees, love the flowers and plants that exemplify cottagecore, which in turn helps the environment.
Craftsman bungalows share many of the characteristics of cottage-style homes with cottage-style gardens.
Cottagecore emphasizes a nostalgia for a simpler, more rural way of life.
The Style Of Old Houses:
In old houses, you typically have a distinctive style already built in. You usually have beautifully detailed crown molding and corbels. And maybe a chandelier or two, with little prisms of glass catching the light.
Tall ceilings and nostalgic touches in every room. Transom windows above doors.
An afghan or quilt could lie across the back of a couch—a fire could be crackling in the fireplace. Cats lounging here and there. Handmade doilies resting on the arms of chairs.
This atmosphere might also have steaming mugs of hot chocolate. Cookies that have just been taken out of the oven, with the sweet aroma filling the whole house.
Crisp cotton sheets and a handmade quilt folded at the end of the bed. Fluffy pillows with embroidered pillow cases.
Flea Market & Vintage Style:
Cozy, cozy, cozy. Wouldn’t you say? Flea market, vintage, and cottage style all mixed up together.
Antiques and a little of this and that. Transferware and mismatched china. A rainbow of colors of depression glass.
This style evokes warmth and comfort. Memories of yesteryear. Wouldn’t granny chic decor fit right in with this old house I’ve named Mamie?
The old girl was built in 1903 and is still standing sturdy. Oh, the things she must have seen and heard over all those years! The doors that were opened in happy times, the doors that were slammed in anger.
Good news, bad news, wars, and significant events. History in the making.
I’ve lost or gotten rid of so many of the things you see in these photos. Where, oh where are they now? Things that would be perfect in Mamie’s rooms.
How to Bring Granny Chic Style into Your Home:
Where did all those treasures go? I packed nearly everything in that second bedroom, and I don’t recall seeing my big jar of buttons. Where could a big glass jar have gotten off to?
And Mary Engelbreit snow globes. What happened to that trio of snow globes?
Maybe I’ll go to the thrift stores once I’m settled. Roam up and down the aisles, looking at things my granny may have once had.
It could be that I’ll find a glass candy dish like the one she had in the living room. The candy somehow seemed more special inside that pretty glass container—sorghum drops, licorice, mints, and ribbon candy at Christmastime.
To get some of these photos, I had to dig around in Google Photos. Some of the images I found are from 2009, when I still lived in Texas.
Leaving My Gardens Behind:
As I was looking back at these old photos, I saw some of my beautiful gardens. The thing I hated most about leaving Texas was the gardens I left behind.
It’s hard to walk away from something you created from nothing. Dirt that was turned over with spades and flowers that were planted with love and possibility.
But sometimes you have to look forward and face new beginnings. Walk away and keep on walking. The sight of tall pine trees became smaller and smaller in the rear-view mirror.
And later that day, I landed in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Now There’s the House I Named Mamie:
But now I’ve got Mamie to look forward to. She’s opening up those old arms of hers and inviting Ivy and me inside. And I couldn’t be happier!
In less than two weeks, the movers will be taking my furniture up Mamie’s steps. Boxes will be everywhere. It will seem overwhelming, but in a good way.
Once the boxes are emptied and disposed of, I think it will create a comforting atmosphere.
In some ways, I feel like I’m finally going home, and I plan to stay there.
What a sweet post about Mamie and all things nostalgic. It warms my heart to know others find this style of decor welcoming and comforting. I have so many things from my mother and grandmother that my daughters will not want. I have instructions for donation to a shop that benefits our Botanical Garden that sells similar items. My stuff will find many new homes. I am looking so forward to see all the magic ahead! wishing you the best of luck with move.
I’m so excited for you and Ivy, and I can’t wait to see how you decorate and how Ivy settles in this new big space! I’m a big fan of estate sales. I love seeing things that bring back my childhood and youth, but there are also a lot of good buys in furniture and nick knacks. A little paint can go a looong way.
Have fun!
Hello Brenda
I’ve followed you since my old blogging days, when you were blogging from Texas.
I too feel like you’re coming home and feel so glad for you and Ivy. xx
Thanks for the support!
Yes , but it’s remodeled inside now to look like a modern house
Yes, it has all the modern conveniences. But there are still the glass knobs and transom windows over the doors and other architecture.
Yes Brenda, you are finally going home. I am so happy for you!
I can’t wait to see how you decorate Mamie. I think you and Ivy will be very happy. It sounds just like my kind of house.
I’ve never lived in a craftsman house. It will be a new experience.
I love what you said about feeling like you’re finally going home. What a nice thought. I hope you and Ivy have a wonderful life there!
And I hope so too.
You will have so much fun setting up and decorating your new home and having all that yard space to plant flowers. I hope that your friends from your complex will come and visit you. You’ve made some really nice friendships there.
I watch on FB and Instagram where you go out with your mother and aunt. Looks like so many wonderful places to visit where you live!
Brenda, I am so excited for you and Ivy and looking forward to seeing the beautiful home you will create, like you always do. I love all your decor and your style. Mamie (that was my husband’s grandmothers name) will come to life with you and Ivy. Looking forward to to your journey and wishing you and Ivy so much happiness in your new home.
Maybe there could be a resurgence of that name like there’s been with so many other old-fashioned names.
I have not heard that name in years and it did bring back some good memories – spending time with my grandmother every summer. Her name was Mamie Faye but of course she was Mam-ma to me. She was my Dad’s mom and we went to her house about an hour and a half away every other weekend until she could no longer live by herself. She was a very independent lady who raised my Dad mostly alone and took care of older folks in their homes until she finally retired from that. The hardest part was when she began showing symptoms of dementia and no longer even recognized me or my brother and sometimes her own son. She did live a hard life because her own Dad died when she was young and her mother could not take care of her and her sister so they were split up among relatives. And now every time you mention your pretty little house I will also think of her.
So very happy for you!!! Looking forward to seeing all you will do with the old girl!! Thrift shopping I loved…have not been in ages, as it would not be feasible these days with Hubby’s needs. But yes, one can find lovely treasures!!
Not that I need anything. Sometimes I just like to look. Because I don’t really go into retail stores here.
Gosh, I love this post too. I’ve been here since you’ve been in Texas and moved. I adore Grandma chic, grandmacore, cottagecore, all that. Of course I aim for it in my own home, but I can’t seem to do it so it doesn’t look like grandma’s basement. Too much brown and that I aim to get rid of soon and my house is too big. I like eclectic, but with a plan which is what it is. So homey, not stark or colorless, and it makes it cozy, memorable, and comfortable. I wondered what happened to some of your furniture from the last apartment? Doesn’t matter now. I will say that even though you’ll be renting, it is from family, and it is a home and not an apartment. I think it’ll be perfect for you and give you the right vibe. I didn’t feel it at this last place. I’m so excited for you. So much fun.
This will be home. Kendra said if something happens and I’m not able to pay the rent, at least it’s the one place she has that’s paid for. Of course I would have to be absolutely broke not to pay her and I doubt that’s going to happen. Nice to know this hopefully should be my last move. Oh, I’ve given away so many things. Mamie will have color in her because she just seems like that kind of house.
How awesome is that? What peace for her and for you!
Brenda,
You and Mamie were meant to be! To have your own “Cozy Little House” will be a dream come true. I can’t wait to see how you decorate and plan your garden for this phase of your life. Have a wonderful time planning. Moving is exhausting (says I, 47 years in her “starter house”), so be realistic. We’ll all be following!
Oh, it is exhausting. But it will be worth it.
SO …VERY…..EXCITING…..!!!!
I can’t wait…!!!!! 👏👏👏
🙌 🙌 🙌
🙏🙏🙏
You and me both! I’m like a child waiting for Christmas.
Great articles and new home. Have you thought about researching thru county records who her original builders/owners are? That would be interesting.
Good idea! I might just look into that when things are settled.
I think you gave your button jar to a grand child that loved to play with them? for some reason, that’s in my memory. I’m glad you are looking forward with joy again. this is a great solution, and I think your kitty will be thrilled with more space.
No, I had Greg’s two year old daughter playing with the buttons in the jar a few months ago. Maybe I packed it and forgot?
Yes, I remember the kids were playing with them. I actually use them for bookends! Also some neat stones I had found on my walk – into a ball jar and added as a bookend! Maybe a good place for them once you find them. 🙂
Just so excited for the two of you. Thank you for sharing your journey ‘home’ with us.
It feels like a long journey. First I moved here thinking that this was my forever home. And then things happened they didn’t want to fix and there are still some and I’m just leaving it be.
I can’t wait to watch you wave your magic wand and decorate Mamie exactly to your liking. I know you’ll thoroughly enjoy the entire process. Your dreams, thoughts, ideas and visions will be wonderful.
Half the fun is thinking about it!
It’s all so exciting. I do hope you will
unpack slowly and not overdo it. BUT I think telling you that is like telling the little boy not to put his hand in the wall
socket and you’re pretty sure the minute you leave the room he will try. I remember your place in Texas and it was beautiful. Give yourself time and Mamie will
be such a prize! Kendra will be thrilled you have moved in.
I’ll have to give it time. Today I’ve packed one large box of glass stuff and it completely exhausted me. At this rate the movers are going to have to pack some stuff for me.
So happy and excited for you my friend.
Thank you, Susan!
I’m so happy for you and for Mamie! She’ll give a a wonderful home and you’ll give her the love and beauty she deserves. I know over the next year you’ll make her shine! Best of all we get the see you do it too!
Have a great weekend!
I will certainly take you along for the ride.
Going Home. How beautiful that sounds, and a whole lot of happiness ahead for you and Ivy. And thank you so much, for allowing all of us to see it all take place! I can’t wait and hope you have time to post in between unpacking all of your boxes.
If not, we’ll be waiting for the finished “look and see”.
Hugs to you and sweet Ivy, from 65 degrees today WI.
I’ll post as I go. Got to keep bringing in money and I want you all to see it as it happens.
You have found such a unique home for you and Ivy; I’m sure you will make it spectacularly your own and we’re all looking forward to see what you do with it — inspiration for us all.
You all are my best friends.