Find out how to bring Nancy Meyers aesthetic into your home with these top decor tips. Get inspired to create a stylish, comfortable, and timeless interior.
We’ve all got a favorite Nancy Meyers movie — mine’s The Holiday — not just because of a rumpled, bespectacled Jude Law.
I’m in love with Kate Winslet’s Surrey cottage, with its English country, shabby chic interior that manages to be both lived in and luxurious. It’s a typical Nancy Meyers look, so popular that it has become a design aesthetic of its own.
The Nancy Meyers aesthetic is characterized by a neutral palette, class furniture, plenty of light, layered natural textures, traditional touches, and plenty of plants and flowers. Evidence of daily life is on display, including books, cooking ingredients, and paperwork.
From Diane Keaton’s beachfront home in Something’s Gotta Give to Meryl Streep’s gorgeous Santa Barbara villa in It’s Complicated, Nancy Meyers creates perfect settings for her characters.
These ultra-desirable spaces are all inviting, filled with natural light, fresh flowers, and comfortable sofas. Let’s consider how you can incorporate some of this laid-back luxury into your home.
What is the Nancy Meyers Aesthetic?
The Nancy Meyers aesthetic is inspired by the set designs of her classic movies and images of her own home.
This appealing style is characterized by comfort, welcome, and light-filled spaces, full of books, flowers, and plush textures.
Also known as the coastal grandmother style, the aesthetic is effortlessly charming, garnering over 22 million TikTok views.
The cozy effect is carefully curated, however, including elements like a neutral color palette, subtle patterns, classic furniture, and traditional pieces, creating timeless elegance.
The defining feature of the Nancy Meyers aesthetic is the kitchen as the hub of the home, where key interactions between characters take place.
Kitchens typically contain pale wooden cabinetry, open shelving, large picture windows with garden or seaside views, and a large dining area, laden with food.
Cookbooks and stylish equipment are on display, with glossy bottles of olive oil and freshly picked herbs at hand.
In It’s Complicated, for instance, the kitchen is filled with copper saucepans, gleaming elegantly over granite countertops, with bowls of fresh fruit and flaky croissants nestling under glass domes.
In Home Again, the neutral palette is supplemented by beautiful blue and white tiling, while The Intern shows simple open shelving and a fireplace with an ornamental mantle.
7 Nancy Meyers Home Decor Tips to Achieve the Look
I know, I know — it’s unlikely that you’ll have one of the expansive, sophisticated homes you see in Nancy Meyer’s movies, be it a beachfront cottage in the Hamptons or a brownstone in New York.
I’m not proposing major renovations if you don’t have large windows and French doors.
However, there are elements of this look that you can incorporate into your home, giving it a similar attractive, appealing ambiance.
#1. Neutral Palette
The foundation of the Nancy Meyers aesthetic is a neutral, almost monochromatic color palette. Gray, white, tan, taupe, and beige. Walls are white or pale neutrals — although, you will see 1990s peach in The Parent Trap.
Sofas have beige linen slipcovers, while armchairs may be patterned, but subtly so.
Color appears through accents, such as the plentiful throws and pillows ready for you to snuggle up and read.
Here, you’ll find charming florals and gentle stripes with a subtle grandmotherly effect. The accent is light blue in The Intern, while in Home Again, you’ll see delicate rose pink.
#2. Classic Furniture
Keep the furniture simple and timeless: roll-arm chairs, squashy, slip-covered sofas, and generous coffee tables with space for books.
Modern shapes are acceptable, so long as you include some traditional items.
Wood can be dark or medium-toned — with lighter-toned wood, you are straying into Scandi territory.
Even distressed and weathered wood finishes are appropriate, as in my dream cottage in The Holiday, or the beloved coastal grandma look.
If you are working with less generous spaces than the characters enjoy — it is the movies, after all — get rid of clutter and keep items to scale.
If you can’t fit a dining table in your kitchen (as in The Parent Trap), a kitchen island with stools is an excellent option, so long as there’s space for long conversations, book club meetings, and family dinners.
I can’t fit multiple seating areas in my living room, so I’ve created a single conversation area around a vintage coffee table.
#3. Plenty of Light
All Nancy Meyers’ interiors are filled with natural light, with perfectly timed ocean breezes billowing through muslin curtains.
Aim for a similar feel using lighter fabric drapes in neutral colors, such as raw linen or cotton. Open windows for freshness, where possible, and declutter window sills.
In the evening, introduce plenty of ambient lighting. Don’t rely only on your primary lighting source; use plenty of tasteful lamps and candlelight (with silver candlesticks) for atmosphere.
#4. Layered Natural Textures
A neutral palette and classic furniture may seem a little dull. However, these interiors are infused with depth because of the richness of the textural elements.
If you have any interesting architectural features, like open brickwork or stone walls, highlight these, like the Cotswold stone in Iris’s cottage in The Holiday, the ornamental mantel in The Intern, or the mosaic backsplash in Home Again.
Fireplaces are stone or brick, and floors are always honey-colored wood.
Furniture is made of wood, usually in solid dark tones or elegantly painted, never chrome or plastic.
Wicker and rattan are appropriate, as is lush, worn-in leather. Furniture and wood don’t need to match, as a touch of the whimsical is charming.
You’ll also notice that rugs are always used to provide a textural anchor. They’re made of natural fibers: nubbly wool, cotton, seagrass, or jute.
Persian-style rugs are another must, especially if they’re a little faded and well-worn, while smaller sheepskin rugs add a cozy feel.
Introduce layers of texture through your soft furnishings, like cashmere throws, velvety drapes, woven blinds, linen cushions, and crisp cotton pillows.
There’s always an extra blanket, often crocheted or hand-knitted in the softest of mohair. (Finally, my granny square blankets can come out of the closet.)
A pivotal addition to texture is storage. You won’t find any plastic tubs stuffed with toys or cheap magazine racks. Instead, baskets abound, whether in the kitchen or bedroom.
There’s plenty of open shelving, displaying white crockery or rows of well-worn books, which add both character and tactile interest.
#5. Traditional Touches
I think a great deal of Nancy Meyers’ appeal is that her interiors are comfortable and welcoming, like a beloved grandmother’s home.
There are always traditional, slightly old-fashioned touches, albeit timeless rather than stuffy. Trendiness has no place here.
Traditional elements include subtle patterns, such as plaids, florals, and soothing wallpaper. Loose rugs are softly colored, with area rugs and runners rather than wall-to-wall carpets.
Antiques and vintage pieces adorn the rooms, adding unique touches.
Bring out your family heirlooms, especially those with a history, like a slightly silvered mirror or your great-aunt’s silver candelabra.
I love the wall clock, the candlesticks in the living room in Something’s Gotta Give, and the collection of blue pottery on the dresser in The Holiday.
Add thrifted items, like lamps, clocks, and vintage linens. Look out for handcrafted and artisanal items, especially pottery.
Even if you have an essentially modern space, these pieces add character and prevent it from being sterile. There’s nothing wrong with a slightly chipped vase or rustic fruit bowl.
Carry traditional touches through every room in your home. You’ll notice in the bathrooms in The Intern, The Holiday, and It’s Complicated, there is a free-standing, claw-footed tub with elegant brass fixtures.
#6. Living Color
Another essential ingredient in this decor trend is the use of plants and flowers to add color and texture to rooms.
You’ll find plenty of fresh flower arrangements. Artfully picked from the lush landscape outside, as well as potted plants and climbing vines — usually in terracotta pots. Herbs and fresh vegetables are in abundance in the kitchen.
#7. Daily Life on Display
A large part of the appeal of Nancy Meyers’ interiors is that they feel lived in, not like stark stage sets.
You could easily step into one, make a cup of coffee (or tea), pick up a book, and settle into a comfortable corner for an afternoon of reading.
Daily life is on display, not hidden behind glossy cabinets.
Books, in particular, appear in every room, whether it’s the cookbooks tucked next to the stove or piled on the bookshelves and desk in Something’s Gotta Give, stacked on the nightstand, or displayed on the coffee table in It’s Complicated.
Kitchens are meant to be used, with (carefully curated) detritus of cooking and eating. Bowls of fruit are within easy reach, as are glossy olive oil bottles and canisters full of wooden spoons, spatulas, and whisks.
Of course, these are in Italian pottery bowls, antique crocks, and Le Creuset dishes – beauty and functionality are combined.
You can imagine whipping up a batch of pancakes for a family breakfast or a batch of spaghetti Bolognese for your stylish friends.
Final Thoughts
Besides its massive fanbase, Nancy Meyers’ collection of beloved movies has also spawned an interior aesthetic, sometimes called coastal grandma. Rooms in this style are typically neutrally colored, full of natural textures and subtle patterns, and filled with books, flowers, and natural light. Add vintage and traditional touches, bowls of fresh fruit and herbs, and keep the look clean and sophisticated to incorporate this look into your home.
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