Millennials in Houston Are Grannymaxxing Their Homes

Just a decade ago, brown furniture was dead in the water. Parents and grandparents couldn’t give away their china, crystal, or silver, and heavy window treatments were being replaced with simple blinds. Today, these once-antiquated—dare we say “old”—methods of decorating are making a comeback.

The Houston home of interior designer Lindsey Herod is proof. She fills it with fringe and tassel trim, bright colors, wicker and cane, and plenty of china and crystal pieces that her grandparents once loved. The look is dubbed “grand millennial style”—a renewed era for vivid colors, wallpaper, wicker, rattan, and everything you’d find in a china cabinet, characterized quite literally by millennials embracing their grandparents’ aesthetic.

“To me, it is all the things that my generation’s grandparents had and loved. Nobody wanted to do what their mother did, but we want to do what our grandmothers did,” says Herod, owner of Lindsey Herod Interiors. “My grandparents had people over and entertained. It was a grander time…They tried a little harder.”

No doubt—style is cyclical, with trends coming back around every 15 years or so. Florals and china and table linens were “out” for a while—now they’re everywhere. “Even the mahjong craze seems grand millennial,” Herod says. “It skipped my parents’ generation, and now it’s cool again.”

The décor millennials are choosing isn’t all about nostalgia. It’s also about having the functional elements for entertaining and welcoming friends over, like “having cocktail napkins and a cool table,” she adds.

Young homeowners in their late 20s to early 40s (Herod is 41, though she likes to say “40-fun”) are shopping at home furnishings stores but also hitting estate and garage sales, auctions, and thrift shops for items that match their eclectic home décor.

Interior designer Ilse Benard, who works on many Galveston beach homes, embraces “coastal granny,” a version of grand millennial that leans toward softer, beachy blues, greens, and corals.

“Both styles incorporate things that are collected and curated—things that look like [they’re] from a lifetime of collection,” Benard says. “To me, it is very warm because it shows a lot of personality. It is just so much more interesting.”

While many of Benard’s clients are empty nesters, their penchant for coastal style falls directly into this eclectic genre. “A lot of people are tired of the beige and gray, and they want their place to look like somebody lives there,” she says. This means at least a little unpainted wood furniture, antiques, vintage items, and flea-market finds. Add bamboo, rattan, cane, or wicker flourishes, and chinoiserie pieces ranging from Asian-style cabinets to blue-and-white porcelain, and you’re on the money.

It doesn’t have to be draperies; it can be just a valance and a shade, but fabric warms things up,” Benard says. Tape trim, tassels, piping, or even bullion fringe can also add texture and personality to a room.

At her studio, Herod always keeps accessories on hand that she finds, hoping to match them with a client someday—antique brass trays, boxes, or decorative trinkets; ceramics with a beautiful glaze; and even Fenton glass in fascinating colors.

“Millennials want to use colored glassware. It feels more interesting,” Herod says. Just watch the scale, she says. “Dining chairs can be smaller, so make sure pieces are the right size for the spot.”

While “coastal granny” or “grand millennial” isn’t for everyone, those who do like it can take satisfaction in the fact that they’re keeping furnishings out of landfills, even if they reupholster or paint a piece to “upcycle” it.

“It just depends on the person,” Benard says. “Some young people couldn’t care less, but a lot do love it and are careful about decorating their homes. Finding those little treasures can be a scavenger hunt. And it’s fun.”