Last week Instagram was buzzing with the latest design trend identified by House Beautiful… Actually, it isn’t a trend at all, but a wave of “Grandmillennials,” identified as the mid-20s to late-30s generation, who “have an affinity for design trends considered by mainstream culture to be ‘stuffy’ or ‘outdated’ — Laura Ashley prints, ruffles, embroidered linens…” says the publication… and of course wicker, chintz, and needlepoint! In other words, old school traditional style.
“I think a ‘grandmillennial’ is really a ‘New Traditionalist’—someone who has an appreciation for the past,” Manhattan-based interior designer Ariel Okin, 28, told House Beautiful. “It’s someone who references the work of legendary designers like Billy Baldwin and Nancy Lancaster and Albert Hadley, who realizes the staying power of good, well-edited design while putting their own fresh spin on it to make it feel updated and unique.”
House Beautiful references Grandmillennial Jessica Chaney, 28, founder of the Palm Beach-based needlepoint shop Lycette Designs, who has revived and introduced the art of needlepoint to a new generation. “I remember when I first came across the Lycette Designs Instagram and I was like, ‘oh my gosh, someone that’s young and cool who needlepoints!’” said Rudy Saunders, 26, a New York designer with the Dorothy Draper & Company. “I’ve always been happy to do my own thing, but it’s also fun to find and connect with people who have a similar love of eclecticism and antiques and colorful prints. It’s refreshing to know that it’s okay to like classic design.”
Image via House Beautiful
Telling people it’s “okay to like classic design” has become a mission of The Glam Pad, but with “modern” design on the rise with open concept bathrooms and homeowners desecrating classic old homes, sometimes I feel like I am fighting a losing battle. Thank you, Emma Bazilian of House Beautiful for this wonderfully uplifting article! Below are some Grandmillennial designers and influencers identified by House Beautiful. Several I have featured, and others I plan to feature soon!
Matthew Bees (note the old school curtains!)
Such a talented generation, and it warms my little ol’ Gen X heart to see traditions and classic design kept alive… I am hoping they start a revolution against all things “greige” and trendy! Are you or someone you know a Grandmillennial? Please visit House Beautiful to read more and take a quiz! For related reading, please click on the links below…
- THE HISTORY OF D. PORTHAULT: ICONIC HOME COUTURE (Thank you House Beautiful for linking to my post in your feature!)
- THE GLAM PAD’S ANTI-TREND MONTH IN REVIEW
- IN DEFENSE OF GRANDMA (written by a Grandmillennial blogger… and I couldn’t agree more!)
Style Profile: Samantha Varvel
Welcome Home With: Artist Erin Tice
How Do You Curate Your Aesthetic?
Exploring Very Peri: Pantone’s Color of the Year 2022
Not stuffy at all, it’s simply lovely! Thank you for continuing to post such wonderful articles, this blog is a true joy to read.
Hi Jane,
I couldn’t agree more about these lovely designs… and thank you so much for your kind words! 🙂
Xx,
Andrea
The Glam Pad
Your blog is my favorite morning activity…I am sooooo happy when I see it in my email!!!
Thank you, Jody! You just made my day!! 🙂
Xx,
Andrea
The Glam Pad
Refinement in decor,as in good manners, will never be out of style. One can never be too gracious in all aspects of life. Ellen Easton
I do so hope to see a resurgence in good manners; I teach middle school and there are days I want to weep for what they are missing.
TOTALLY love this HB article! So glad “traditional” and “refined”has been resurrected. I somehow always knew (or hoped) with all my heart that the pendulum would swing back!
THANKS Glam Pad for sharing this! Let’s hope the Grandmillennials spread like wild fire!
Maria Cochran
Washington DC
Hi Maria,
Let’s continue to spread the word… there is strength in numbers! A huge thank you to HB for such a wonderful article!
Xx,
Andrea
The Glam Pad
This warms this Baby Boomers heart as well! Have been giving up hope that creative, colorful and whimsical design would be carried on. Your blog has been the last shining beacon of hope but it is shining brightly!
Thank you, Michelle!!!
Xx,
Andrea
The Glam Pad
Nice to see some style in a world so dominated of late by mediocrity. Bravo to these designers!
Cheers to the Grandmillennials! 🙂
HOORAY!! Good taste, quality, and traditional beauty is alive and well!! Please tell me the cheap and cheerful barn look goes back to the chicken coops! But not soon enough! 😂
Your blog is an exquisite example of good taste crossing over to all generations. Love that you are now feeling reaffirmed! 😉
Thank you, Beverly! 🙂
Xx,
Andrea
The Glam Pad
I read the HB article when it came out. I cheered.
So glad to see some pushback against the sad, naked neutrals and the devoid-of-personality rooms. Thanks for featuring the newcomers who are leading the charge.
So needed and so welcome! Cheering you on!
Thank goodness traditional designers are still out there. I’m with Beverly Cook above…take the farm industrial look out of what is called decorating!
I think this post describes best what I love about your blog. Thank goodness there are still many out there who appreciate traditional decor.
“Desecration of older homes”, you nailed it! I am thrilled to see a very much needed renaissance in decor. Hopefully these Grandmillenials will bring back some interesting decor filled with many of the finer things we have almost forgotten about. Beauty is what is missing along with the appreciation of anything old, handmade, pretty or delicate. Thank you for educating many and keeping it alive for those us lucky enough to have lived at a time when the places we lived in and frequented weren’t replicas of factories and barns!
Please don’t give up the fight! I’m defiantly more “old-school” in decorating. What others call old-fashioned I call good taste. I love seeing younger people embracing the classic styles. Affirms my decorating decisions and even though I say I don’t care what others think, really I do. I want people to come to our home and enjoy being here and want to return. I actually AM a grandma I fear being a fuddy duddy. that said, It just feels good, cozy, comfortable and right to me to do the things I love in our home.
Thanks for the affirmation. I am a Gen-X-er, and these photos are exactly my taste. I am so done with faux industrial and people destroying gilt mirrors and mahogany furniture with chalk paint. Millenials seem to me to be sensible folk, eschewing paper napkins and fabric softener. Now, they can add saving the nice antiques to their generation’s accomplishments.
By the way, your blog is delightful. I only just discovered it, but good stuff.
Totally enjoyable one!! Thanks a lot!
I loved this post. I am so happy that we are seeing the return to classic coziness. FYI yesterday I was at the Portland, Oregon IKEA store. It’s always fun to pop in and I hadn’t been for a few years. I was astonished to see even THEY were making a change in direction with some gorgeous velvet chairs in jewel colors and even an Ektorp couch in a chintz. The best thing in the store were the rugs that they sold made from scraps of Turkish rugs. Very Sister Parrish.
There is an actual design trend behind this wave of Grandmillenials and it’s called maximalism. It is on the rise for at least the past two years. It is considered a macro trend, which means that it is going to be around for at least another 5 to 10 years. And it kind of makes sense, for trends tend to come and go just like a pendulums swings to and fro. Thus, it was about high time for maximalism to take over. Personally, I fill stuffed to the brim with minimalism and have decorated my home as a maximalist but with an up-to-date spin that suits my family and our lifestyle. So in overview, I think that everyone has to figure out the style that fits them best and make it work for them aside the ongoing trends. 🙂