Nancy Meyers: Cinema’s Timeless Kitchen Decorating Tips

20 Aug 2024

One of Hollywood’s best loved rom-com directors Nancy Meyers recently showcased her L.A. home in Architectural Digest, sending the interior design community into a frenzy. Why? Because it was beautiful in a way that only Meyers could achieve. Indeed, just as an aroma conjures bygone memories, her kitchen transported us to her world of early 2000s rom-coms. An easier, comfier era.

Of course, we should have expected nothing less, right? After all, Meyers is Hollywood’s home decorating queen. A Nancy Meyers home tells a story: marriage; heartbreak; growth. The props in her sets layer in evidence of life’s complexities. Like Japanese kintsugi, her characters’ fractures add beauty.

Even today, millions covet Nancy Meyers living rooms, craft Nancy Meyers bedroom vision boards and share Nancy Meyers décor on socials. In many ways, our love for her sets even overshadows her characters’ love. But what is Nancy Meyers known for and what makes a Nancy Meyers interior? In today’s post, you’ll learn all that and more, including how to replicate her iconic kitchen design results.

Who is Nancy Meyers?

If we had to use a word, it’s “director.” Not to be understated, though, Nancy Meyer’s movies shaped early 2000s culture. Altogether, she wrote and directed The Parent Trap, Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday and more. And her lens followed second-chance lovers through touching hijinks and fun.

Ever encountered the belated love epiphany? The idea that Mr Right was under her nose all along? That was a Meyers trope. How about the eccentric bestie who jokes their way through dating woes? That was her, too. There’s no darkness in her films. No cruel twists. Just soft, warm charm.

Yet, it was more than just her plots that inspired warmth. Look beyond each character to their houses and you’ll see the famous Nancy Meyers style – affluent “coastal grandmother” homes, seeping with “bookshelf wealth.” While refined, her characters’ décor reveals easter eggs to backstories.

"Imagine a sophisticated matriarch with possessions curated over a series of decades. A great host with a rich life and a comfortable home that’s effortlessly stylish. Think Meryl Street or Jane Fonda. That’s Hollywood’s coastal grandmother. Anyone can get the style, though, no matter your age or gender. It’s a timeless taste our designers understand in great detail."

What Is a Nancy Meyers Kitchen?

Try to define Nancy Meyers kitchen decorating style and you’ll struggle to find a more fitting word than “aspirational.” That’s because most of her characters are wealthy, living in gated communities, penthouses or sprawling country piles. While bright, however, their spaces are always cosy.

Meyers herself owns a spacious in-frame Shaker kitchen, complete with a showstopping kitchen island, much like the ones her protagonists enjoy. Her home is timeless and undoubtedly her, just as bespoke as her character sets. They’re all unique, but there is a formula if you look closely.

Subtlety, warmth, traditional patterns – all span the full range of her kitchen designs. Imagine butler’s sinks, copper pots hanging from wall shelves, freshly bakes loaves under glass covers and slip-covered sofas enticing you to curl up with a dogeared book. Every detail has utility, beauty and a story.

How to Decorate Like Nancy Meyers

Now that you can identify the staples of a Nancy Meyers room, we can move onto the real question: how do you decorate like Nancy Meyers? Well, the solution is simple: start with a blank canvas and add complexity in layers so you don’t deviate from her principles. There are four layers altogether:

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

Let’s begin at ground zero: the basics. How will you present your personality? How should the narrative of your life proceed? Meyers creates social spaces that exhibit wholesome pastimes – maybe scrapbooking or cooking – and always seems to think in terms of plots, even if the story in question is her own life.

It doesn’t matter if you have a modest house, either; just aim to make an absorbing room that’s optimised for hobbies and visitors – a room designed for making memories you can re-live. If you have trouble, don’t worry. Join our mailing list  and you’ll get a free guide on creating a communal kitchen.

The Backdrop

Now that the ambiance is sorted, it’s time to get practical. For example, imagine you’re starting over with only a blank room, heartache and a boxful of possessions like a rom-com heroine. In that case, to get a quintessential Meyers happily ever after, you need to find a room with lots of natural light.

Large kitchen windows or French doors are vital. And as for colours? Take a two-pronged approach. Meyers’ walls, for instance, often sport ornate wood panels painted pale cream, blue or green. Bland, yes, but it gets interesting when you sprinkle in a patchwork of floral or striped kitchen wallpaper.

Nancy Meyers Furniture

“What about the furniture?” you might ask. Generally, your choices will need to depend on whether your furniture items are static or portable. Meyers' static furniture is often pastel coloured and traditional, much like her walls. Similarly, she favours Shaker kitchens with marble-style worktops.

Pale kitchen islands play a part in all her kitchens, and most contain a white bookcase for cookbooks, or a butler’s sink. Each one adds to the wholesome, social aesthetic. But don’t worry if you don’t have room. At Masterclass, we offer small kitchen islands, and you can slot our shelves into any alcove.

It’s important to remember, though, that all-white rooms can be cold, which detracts from Meyer’s signature coziness. Hence, it’s vital to counteract the pastels with dark wood furniture additions. Patinaed chairs and console tables make fantastic contributions, all adding much-needed warmth.

Also, try to create more surface area for accessories. Perhaps, add a few floating shelves for crockery or house plants. After all, if you want to design like Nancy Meyers, you need to break up all that chalky wall space. Wall-mounted plate racks and shelving in rich Tuscan Walnut provide an ideal solution.

Combined, pale surfaces and dark woods produce a tasteful overall look. Even so, you’ll still need to double down on softening your room with fabrics. Meyers tends to favour cream linen sofa slipcovers and patterned cushions, or a natural rug – anything that inspires you to snuggle up with a novel.

The Accessories

Browse the kitchens in Nancy Meyers movies and you’ll notice one commonality that all her surfaces and walls share: accessories. It’s rare to find empty space. Indeed, Meyers makes full use of her kitchen surfaces to tell her characters’ stories. They’re stylish but full of ornamental displays, including:

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

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

Embossed and infused with decadent gold foil on matt black or sunset card (range dependent), they look incredible on a console table or kitchen island.

At Sigma 3, we don’t offer accessories ourselves but we do provide unique storage solutions that help you make fantastic displays. Take, for instance, our breakfast dressers with shelves and drawers. Super popular, these coffee bar units turn food into décor and elevate breakfasts with loved ones.

Populate their surfaces with necessities – tea-leaf jars, fresh bread, etc. – and your finest baking ceramics and giant peppermills for inspiration. Thanks to their bi-fold doors, you can keep them open without obstructing walkways or shut them to protect their contents when little ones visit.

Seek Expert Help

Creating an early 2000s comfort kitchen just like Nancy Meyers really is that easy. That said, if you want more help, Sigma 3 Kitchens designers have decades of experience. Find your nearest showroom and book a meeting, or become a Sigma 3 Insider for free for exclusive design guides and tips.

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