If there is one universal truth about interior design, it is that what’s old always becomes “new” again. Any trend that defines a specific time period tends to circle back around. Sometimes it comes back with a new name, a unique perspective, or a modern tweak. Right now, we’re watching one of these cycles unfold in real time with the resurgence of shabby chic in a new, funky form known as grandmillennial style.
At their hearts, both styles celebrate comfort, nostalgia, and the charm of the past. Over the last decade as we have endured sweeping global challenges, it’s natural for people to want to seek comfort and the familiar. With grandmillenial style, homeowners are collectively pulling out the best parts of “grandma’s house” and giving them a stylish, twenty-first-century spin.
The Shabby Chic Era
In the 1990s and early 2000s, was the style du jour. Shabby chic interiors were defined by distressed furniture, soft pastel palettes, slipcovered sofas, vintage florals, and a sense of relaxed elegance. It was all about making a home feel lived-in, loved, and imperfectly perfect. Whitewashed wood, chipped paint, and worn-in textiles gave “proof” that life had been lived in these spaces.
Shabby chic was both a reaction to the high-gloss minimalism of the ’80s and a romanticized embrace of a slower, softer life. It gave people permission to mix heirlooms with flea market finds, to value a hand-sewn quilt as much as a designer chair, and to embrace a home that felt warm, approachable, and deeply personal.
Grandmillennial Style
Fast-forward to today, and we find grandmillennial style on every corner of Instagram. This movement has taken the best elements of shabby chic and given them a fresh new life. Coined by writer Emma Bazilian in a 2019 article for House Beautiful, the term “grandmillennial” describes a generation of younger homeowners and design lovers who have a deep appreciation for traditional design while reinventing it for contemporary living.
Grandmillennial interiors are filled with similar elements such as vintage and heirloom pieces, floral patterns, chintz, needlepoint, ruffles, and pleats. However, the approach is slightly more polished and intentional. Where shabby chic embraced a palette of faded pastels and whitewashed everything, grandmillennial style leans into bold florals, richer colors (think navy, hunter green, and marigold), and an unexpected layering of patterns. The effect is still cozy and nostalgic, but a little less cottage and a little more refined.
In a way, grandmillennial style is shabby chic’s grown-up cousin—still sentimental with romantic style elements, but with some bold eclecticism.
What’s Old Is New (And Better Than Ever)
At first glance, it might seem like grandmillennial style is a counter response to a lot of the sleek, neutral, Instagram-perfect interiors that have become so dominant on social media. But, we think grandmillenial style gives a nod to the idea that personal taste and history have a place in all interior design. One of our core design beliefs is that your own signature interior style does not have to follow defined “design rules.”
Both shabby chic and grandmillennial styles (and Allison Smith Design!) embrace the idea that a home should tell a story. We favor rooms that feel curated over time instead of bought from a single catalog.
In grandmillennial homes, you’ll see chinoiserie vases holding bouquets of fresh blooms, monogrammed linens on tables, gallery walls filled with portraits and botanical prints, and lots of ruffles, piping, and trim.
Similarly, in the heyday of shabby chic, the best spaces were the ones that blended the old with the new like a chipped antique armoire complimenting a brand-new slipcovered sofa or a vintage teacup sitting on a modern coffee table. Grandmillennials are carrying that torch forward, only now they’re mixing an 18th-century mahogany chest with an acrylic lamp, or pairing a hand-stitched quilt with a bold graphic wallpaper.
Innovating Through Nostalgia
One of the most exciting things about this revival is how creative and personalized it has become. Grandmillennials aren’t just recreating their grandparents’ homes, they are including snarky needlepoint pillows with pop culture references, reupholstering antique chairs in wild modern fabrics, and painting traditional wainscoting in saturated, unexpected hues.
The Heartbeat of Home
At their core, both shabby chic and grandmillennial style are about filling our homes with memories and meaning. Trends will always come and go, but the desire for spaces that feel personal, layered, and full of heart is timeless. Remember that what is old is new again, and in this case it might even be better the second time around!
