The Nancy Meyers Aesthetic: A Kitchen Decorating Guide

Thursday, 15th August 10:37am 2024

In a recent Architectural Digest article, Hollywood director Nancy Meyers showcased her L.A. home and the interior design community gasped, including the expert designers here at Masterclass Kitchens. Just as an aroma conjures a bygone memory, her kitchen transported us to the joy of early 2000s rom-coms. A simpler, comfier time.

Of course, we should have expected nothing less. Meyers is a home decorating master. Each set she designs is art. A Nancy Meyers home tells a story: marriage; heartbreak; growth. And each prop layers evidence of a life well lived. Like Japanese kintsugi, she turns life’s mistakes into seams of gold.

Millions still covet Nancy Meyers bedrooms, make Nancy Meyers living room mood boards and share Nancy Meyers décor online. Our love affair with her sets is even more intense than her stories. But who is Nancy Meyers and what makes a Nancy Meyers interior? In today’s article, we cover everything you’ll need to replicate her homely interior design in your kitchen.

What is Nancy Meyers Known for?

Quite simply, Nancy Meyer’s movies helped form culture in the late 90s and early 2000s. As a Hollywood director, she not only wrote but also directed The Parent Trap, Something’s Gotta Give and The Holiday. Her stories followed second-chance lovers through heartwarming hijinks.

Ever heard of the belated love epiphany? Mr Right was under her nose all along? Meyers fuelled that trope. The quirky best friend who jokes through your dating woes? That was her, too. Indeed, there's no darkness in her films. No shocks. Just sweetness and charm.

It wasn’t just her plots that inspired warmth, either. Look at every character’s house and you’ll see the famous Nancy Meyers style – affluent “coastal grandmother” homes, oozing with “bookshelf wealth.” Character décor that reveals backstories like scars on your body.

What Is a Nancy Meyers Kitchen?

Ask Nancy Meyers fans to define her kitchen decorating style and many will settle on “aspirational.” Indeed, most of her characters are wealthy, living in gated communities, penthouses or sprawling country piles. The spaces, however, while bright, are always cosy.

Meyers herself has a large in-frame Shaker kitchen that screams affluence in her L.A. home, complete with a grand kitchen island, much like her characters’ kitchens. Everything is timeless and undoubtedly her. And her fictional kitchens are just as tailored. Equally unique.

There are throughlines, though: softness, warmth, subtle patterns. Think Belfast sinks, copper pots hanging from wall shelves, crusty bread under glass covers and slip-covered armchairs that invite you to curl up with a good book. Every detail has function and beauty.

How to Decorate Like Nancy Meyers

So, now that we can all recognise the staples of a Nancy Meyers design, it’s time to ask the real question: how do you decorate like Nancy Meyers? Well, the key is to take a ground-up approach that spans four main stages:

• Basic principles
• The backdrop
• The Furniture
• The Accessories

Let’s begin with the basic principles. On this front, it’s best to think in terms of characters and plots. How do you want to present your personality? How do you want the narrative of your life to proceed? Meyers creates social spaces that exhibit wholesome pastimes – maybe scrapbooking or cooking.

It doesn’t matter if you have a small kitchen; just make it communal. Aim to create an absorbing space that’s optimised for visitors and hobbies, one you don’t want to escape. If you have trouble doing that, we offer a handy guide to Insider subscribers.

The Backdrop

Now that we’ve got the ambiance sorted, let’s get practical. Imagine you’re having a fresh start. You’ve walked into an empty room with only heartache and a small box of possessions, just like a rom-com heroine. In that case, to get the full Meyers happily ever after, you’ll want to start with a bright room, lots of natural light pouring through windows and French doors.

Large kitchen windows are a must. And on the colour front, a two-pronged approach is best. Many of Meyers’ walls sport ornate wood panelling in pastel colours, namely cream, blue or green. Bland, right? It gets interesting, though, if, like Meyers, you add floral or striped kitchen wallpaper patches.

The Furniture

“What about the furniture?” I hear you ask. Generally, it depends on whether your pieces are static or portable. All Meyers static furniture, for example, is pastel coloured with a classic design. She tends to favour a Shaker kitchen with soapstone or marble-style worktops.

A pale kitchen island plays a part in all her kitchens, and most also contain a white bookcase for cookbooks and sometimes even a white fireplace mantle populated with candles. Both feed the “coastal grandma” theme.

Bonus points if you can fit kitchen island barstools and a butler’s sink; they add to the wholesome, social aesthetic. But don’t worry if you lack the room. We offer small kitchen islands – even freestanding kitchen islands – and can slot our open shelving into any nook.

All-white rooms have a cold colour pallet which, in isolation, detracts from Meyer’s particular vintage of coziness. Hence, you must balance out the pastels with portable dark wood furniture. We’re talking chairs and side console tables, which both add warmth and depth.

Likewise, say you want more space to display your accessories – maybe some floating shelves for your crockery. Few better opportunities exist to break up chalky blocks than wall-mounted plate racks in rich Tuscan Walnut. You can see our options on our open shelving page.

Together, pale surfaces and dark woods make for a tasteful ensemble. You'll need texture, however, to season that warmth. Meyers’ favourites include beige linen slipcovered sofas with patterned cushions and natural rugs, both of which inspire us to curl up and watch an uplifting movie.

The Accessories

Choose any kitchen featured in a Nancy Meyers movie and you’ll notice one commonality all surfaces and wall expanses share: accessories. Meyers’ kitchen surfaces reflect her characters. They’re tasteful but complex and multi-layered, adorned with all sorts of décor, including:

• Mason jars
• Rattan trays
• Vases of flowers
• Copper kitchenware
• Photo albums
• Decorative plates
• Glass candle holders
• Crystal lamps
• Terracotta-potted herbs
• Cake stands
• Champagne buckets
• …and so many ornate picture frames and coffee table books

Side note: If you’re looking to start your luxury coffee table book collection, why not order one of our beautiful brochures?

Boasting embossed designs and decadent gold foil on matt black or sunset card (range dependent), they look fantastic on a coffee table or kitchen island.

On the accessories front, at Masterclass, we offer rich storage solutions that facilitate attractive displays. Take, for example, our breakfast dressers with shelves and mug hooks. Super popular, these coffee bar units are basically high-end tearooms that turn clutter into class.

Want to go full Meyers? Scatter evidence of your life across their surfaces – perhaps baking ceramics or a giant peppermill. If little ones come to visit, you can always shut the dresser doors to hide any off-limit items or delicate trinkets you want to protect.

Seek Expert Help

Congratulations! You now know all the nuances that make up an early 2000s comfort kitchen the likes of which Nancy Meyers would love. That said, if you need more help, Masterclass Kitchens partner retailers have years of experience. Find your nearest showroom and book a meeting, or become a Masterclass Insider for free for exclusive design guides and tips.

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