I have always loved the cozy timeless homes featured in Nancy Meyers movies such as Father of the Bride and Something’s Gotta Give and It’s Complicated.
Increasingly I’ve been receiving messages on social media from people saying they spotted my new kitchen in several online “inspiration” videos and Pinterest boards that people have labeled as the “Nancy Meyers Aesthetic.” Two more showing my kitchen were messaged to me just today, so it seems that I’ve inadvertently captured a trending “Nancy Meyers” style in my own home. I do love this classic look and always have. I’m happy to hear that people love a timeless look as much as I do (but of course I wish people would at least credit my photos when they feature them.)
I know it helps to break elements of a room down so you can see what it is that achieves a certain style, so that’s what we’ll do here today!
The real magic behind “Nancy Meyers” style in many of these movies is that her kitchens are always feel so warm and welcoming. Don’t you agree? They feel like a place where people want to gather and make memories. Each kitchen is different, but there are some common threads that make these spaces feel like home to so many people.
Choose appropriate architectural elements
If a kitchen renovation is on the horizon for you, I think one of the keys to getting this “come in and make yourself at home” style is in selecting a mix of classic, interesting elements that are also appropriate for the home.
In each Nancy Meyers movie, you can sense the feeling of being welcomed into the home as you go from room to room and into the kitchen. If the kitchen style didn’t make any sense with the rest of the home, you’d feel like you walked onto a different set! To get that same feeling in a real home, the elements chosen for a kitchen should make sense within the style and context of the rest of the home.
The style of my own home was influenced by traditional cottages on Nantucket. We carried this same style through to our kitchen with choices that will make our home feel cohesive and welcoming for years to come.
Architecture is a place where you can get creative in a renovation, but you really want to select elements that will make you feel at home there years from now, too. We’re still talking about Nancy Meyers movie kitchens decades later!
Incorporate elements that aren’t pretentious
Nancy Meyers kitchens are very nice, but they never feel pretentious!
Regardless of your style you want to add a mix of elements that will feel warm and inviting so they feel lived in.
For our new kitchen, we chose timeless elements such as honed Carrara marble and soapstone. A nickel faucet. Tongue and groove paneling. Creamy white cabinets in a traditional style. Timeless elements can feel classy yet unpretentious. They always feel like a home that has been around awhile, rather than one designed around the newest looks from a designer show room.
It is true that organic finishes such as marble or soapstone will show the patina of age. While many people fear those signs of life, I embrace them because to me patina from daily use feels more welcoming and unpretentious. I wanted our own kitchen to feel like it has been in our family for years. Those signs of life will simply be evidence that our kitchen is enjoyed and has been a gathering place for family. (I wrote more about our countertop decision in this post.)
Include an inviting center island
You sense that a Nancy Meyers kitchen is a gathering place. Whether it is large or small, or built in or free standing, center islands offer a sense of invitation. Islands are a destination where people can gather around to help in the kitchen or talk about the events of the day.
Add nooks for display
Nancy Meyers kitchens feel lived in by real people! Built ins or free standing furniture such as a little nooks or shelves, a bar cart, bookcase, plate rack or china hutch will bring a sense of personality, warmth and character which is essential in the “Nancy Meyers” kitchen aesthetic.
We added several book nooks in our renovation so we can have our collection of books and cookbooks, art and other pretty pieces within reach and to add style through the ever-evolving seasons.
Favorite Cookbooks // Favorite Home and Garden Design Inspiration Books
Try Touchable Textures
A variety of touchable textures help create more interest in a kitchen. Look for ways to bring in softness, color and personality through fabrics, curtains or rugs. In our kitchen we added rugs, pillows on the nearby banquette bench, as well as cafe curtains on our “stool niche” and window. We also incorporate a variety of other textures that add to the “touch-ability factor” such as such as a mix of marble, bamboo, rattan, soapstone, and wood.
Bring in plants and flowers
Flowers and plants bring a sense of life to a kitchen which creates a more welcoming atmosphere. Put them into collected vases, pitchers and pots for an additional sense of character.
Set out bowls of fruit and vegetables
A bowl of fruit or vegetables adds to the simple charm of a lived in kitchen. Whether they are real or not, they make you feel like this is kitchen where people cook and eat real food!
Decorate with plates
Plates are a classic element that can be used for more than just a meal! Hang them on the wall, stack them on a shelf or a plate rack to give it that charming “we live here” Nancy Meyers’ kitchen mood.
Related Post: How I Hang Plates, Platters, and Bowls on the Wall
Put every day on display
A Nancy Meyers kitchen doesn’t feel cluttered or messy, but a glimpse into the every day lives of the people who work in that space makes it feel so much more like home. Hide what isn’t attractive but if your toaster is pretty, don’t hesitate to leave it out! If you use your stand mixer often, let it sit on the counter.
Incorporating glass front cabinets for pretty items you don’t use as often will help items stay clean but still allows you to enjoy them as part of your decor.
Place cooking or serving tools into stylish crocks, baskets or other containers. This adds style and but also organization and practicality where everything needed is within reach.
And no need to fear of everything getting dusty. Items stay cleaner when you use and wash them often so if dust is a concern, reserve display for every day items!
Find kitchen accessories here in my Amazon Storefront and more at the end of this post!
Invite in lighting
Pendants over islands, wall sconces or lamps on a counter are an opportunity to add personality as well as make a kitchen feel warm and welcoming even at night.
Paint cabinets
A soft or creamy white cabinet never goes out of style. You see them in several of Nancy Meyers movies. Her own real life kitchen is a soft white, so similar to the Something’s Gotta Give kitchen! We chose a soft creamy white for our English Tudor kitchen years ago and I still love that classic look today so we chose it again in our current kitchen!
Paint is a “simple” way to update any kitchen. Not always cheap or easy, but much simpler than a renovation.
White isn’t the only option for a Nancy Meyers look, try a color you love. Or mix in traditional wood tones for cabinets or islands!
Someone had messaged me years ago after seeing “The Intern” movie because the kitchen cabinet color and subway tile reminded her of my own kitchen at the time. My kitchen had been updated before the movie ever came out. Dark painted cabinets were not yet trending at the time of my renovation, but I just felt like that darker color contrasted with classic white subway tile is what my builder grade kitchen needed. The email sender was convinced my kitchen inspired Nancy’s movie kitchen! Wouldn’t that be funny? Perhaps it did. The power of Pinterest …. and classic kitchens.
My cabinet and wall paint color is Classic Light Buff by Sherwin Williams.
Keep it classic
I’ve loved designing all of my kitchens with classic elements and I love them all still! Over the past 17 or so years I’ve been messaged about ALL of my kitchens at one time or another feeling like a Nancy Meyers kitchen. We definitely share a love of classic kitchens! (Take a tour of my last kitchen here, and the kitchen before that here)
The truth is that a Nancy Meyers kitchen incorporates the elements of so many classic kitchens that have been around for ages, long before the movies came out. Yet it is so fun that we can all watch and rewatch these movies and fall in love with them over and over again. They are timeless so they will continue to be loved by so many! These kitchens have captured our hearts and the longing we all have for our homes to be warm and welcoming.
I hope you are inspired by all the ways you can create a kitchen you love by incorporating classic elements found in the Nancy Meyers aesthetic.
Sources:
White Lamp with Scalloped Shade (several color options and 2 size options)
Bamboo Roman Shades (see photos of these in our home here)
Spode Blue and White Sugar Bowl
Blue and White Striped Linen Napkins
White and Wood Kitchen Island (Freestanding)
Tea Kettle (many color options)
Pendant Lights (similar to mine)
Looking for more of my kitchen sources and details? Find them in my Kitchen Reveal + tour post here!
More Get the Look Sources below (click the thumbnails for details):
