The Coastal Grandma
The Coastal Grandma Lifestyle
Let me paint a picture for you. You’ve packed up your beach chairs, beach towels, and a big blanket, and you fill a jumbo bag with buckets and shovels, sunscreen, snacks, a medical kit, your car keys, and your wallet. Now, don’t forget the beach umbrella and make sure each family member has on their season beach pass. Haul your cooler full of drinks, ice, and sandwiches to your car and load everyone up.
Your drive should be a short one, but the bridge is up, and so is the next one, and between the congestion and the mobs of wondering vacationers, it takes you an extra hour to reach the boardwalk. You circle around multiple times, hoping to score a parking spot. Every able body is handed an armful of the day’s paraphernalia, and all begin the search for an empty measure of sand.
Welcome to the Jersey shore in the summertime. You can just smell the pizza and sausage, peppers, and onions coming from the boardwalk. And the crash of the waves mixes with the sound of spinning wheels, ticking away for a chance to win the jumbo stuffed Sponge Bob.
If the above is your beach-going experience, it doesn’t matter what your age or your family's procreation numbers; you are not a coastal grandma.
Coastal What? Welcome to the latest fashion, design, and social media trend, the Coastal Grandmother. This recently coined term is decades behind the actual application of the aesthetic. In fact, the coastal grandma has quietly existed in the luxury of time and space and quite frankly never followed a trend. She is timeless. So grab your bucket hat, and I’ll explain.
Let’s start with another Jersey Girl, Martha Stewart, in her freshly pressed, collared button-up. Now throw in what you may know about Ina Garten, wearing the same shirt while effortlessly hosting a luncheon on her flagstone patio. And top it all off with a walk on the beach with Diane Keaton in the movie, Something’s Gotta Give.
The Coastal Grandmother, who may not be a grandmother at all, is the definition of refined casualness. Her Lands End, J Crew, and LL Bean staples are cotton and linen, wool and cashmere. Her toothy knitted turtleneck sweater is always paired with white capris’. And her home may be polished and tailored, but it has a screen door breeze. And her semi/private beach is exquisite. So pull up an Adirondack chair, and I’ll tell you more.
Never the sun worshipper, our coastal G-Ma can be found year-round walking the remote beaches of the Hamptons or Martha’s Vineyard. She sometimes collects seashells and sea glass and then displays them in the same way she displays original artwork, tangible and inviting. Her blue willow pottery seems somehow at home next to wicker baskets and sisal rugs.
So what makes this idealist lifestyle, which was featured in a movie made in the year 2000, a current trend? Because women living far from any shore point are embracing it. It’s being implemented in suburban subdivisions as well as city apartments. And it’s not about the stylist or the decorator; it’s about the woman.
The “Coastal Grandmother” is an emotional place the hurried 2022 woman has arrived at after years of making everyone else’s lives more important. She’s done with carpooling kids and being the team mom. She seeks curated simplicity. A wardrobe filled with staples, and not the schizophrenia of a wardrobe created after years of mall sales and desperate purchases made for special events. Not only is purging the closet a priority for her, but it’s time to purchase a streamlined, polished, yet relaxed outfit selection.
Can you recall the latter years of Audrey Hepburn? I bet you could tell me what she was wearing. If you said a black turtleneck and white capris, you are 100% correct! Why? Because that’s all, she owned. In an interview I watched BITD, she showed her closet. Hung up were multiple pairs of the same white capris and multiple black turtlenecks. She followed by saying that she had reached a point in her life where she wanted simplicity. She knew this was the outfit that looked best on her and uncomplicated her daily choices. Extreme? Yes. But it is the equal motivation for most women reaching that time in life.
My friend Gina is a coastal grandma (sans the grandkids), and here is how she greeted me as I arrived at her beachfront home. Her crisp linen home is a dream and her puttanesca to die for. (Shhh... it’s Ina’s recipe).
My friend Patty’s home on the coast of Maine comes complete with a private cove (where her larger boat is moored and can be reached by dingy, of course). Here I learned that a thin layer of sand on barn wood-planked floors is more than acceptable.
My inner coastal grandma may not have ownership over a single grain of sand, but thanks to Airbnb, I can feed her spirit. This is a photo of one of the special places I’ve rented.
I have been thrilled to see how Miss Mustard Seed's® Milk Paint has embraced this classic style in many of its display images.
And do you know about their NEW Coastal Collection of Colors?
I invite you to discover your own inner coastal grandmother. Play with these colors and determine what pleases her. Thanks for reading, but I need to go now. An ocean breeze, a good book, and a glass of wine are waiting for me.
