Pretty Grandmillennial Table Setting

I absolutely LOVE this pretty Grandmillennial table setting! It’s just so bright and fun!!

Are you familiar with Grandmillennial design?

It’s fairly new.

I liken it to granny chic meets millennials.

Millennials are embracing their family’s heirlooms and antiques and adding their own style to them. So instead of matching furniture pieces, they mix them up.

Grandmillennial design mixes patterns of floral, toile, plaid, and fun colored animal prints. It’s bold, but not cluttered.

If you aren’t afraid of color then you will probably love this design style.

When you think of Grandmillennial design, think of crystal pieces, traditional dark woods, heirloom embroidery, fringe and tassels.

It is often more feminine in design.

Millennials love inherited silverware, dishes, and glasses. They don’t care if the sets aren’t complete. They will take those pieces and mix them up with complementing ones.

Grandmillennial design embraces traditional style and incorporates a fresh take on it.

How to Create a Grandmillennial Table Setting

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Step 1: Select the table covering for your Grandmillennial table setting

Grandmillennial design is about using patterns in your tablescape. So choose a tablecloth or placemats that have a pattern.

Don’t hold back or keep it simple with this type of design.

Look for a large print floral or tuile tablecloth. Or consider placemats with ruffles or lace embellishments.

I found a busy, bold, multi-colored tablecloth for my table. Perfect for a diy Grandmillennial tablescape.

Step 2: Add your Grandmillennial centerpiece

When you’re creating a Grandmillennial centerpiece, think of mixing patterns or integrating heirloom pieces.

This isn’t a matchy-matchy table setting.

So, if you have a tuile tablecloth, elements of your centerpiece should incorporate the colors of the tablecloth, but be of a different design.

For my Granmillennial centerpiece, I added an antique embroidered dresser scarf to the middle of the table. The teal in the dresser scarf matches the teal in the tablecloth.

The two pieces are from different eras, but the colors pull them together.

Then on top of the antique dresser scarf, I added a blue toile print vase that contained lavender sage branches.

The blue in the toile print is the same medium blue in the tablecloth and the lavender flowers match those on the dresser scarf.

(Do you see how I am using items that have the same color in the tablecloth pattern, even though the patterns are very different?)

Then finally, I added two small crystal candle holders with blue candles that matched the vase.

Step 3: Add the place settings to your Grandmillennial tablescape

Once your Grandmillennial centerpiece is complete, it’s time to add the place settings.

With Grandmillennial design, you want layers and a mix of patterns within the place settings.

*Note: There are layers in my place setting that don’t serve a purpose for eating. They are part of the place setting purely for looks and design aesthetics.

Since Grandmillennial design embraces traditional design elements, I started with a charger plate. It’s red to highlight the red in the tablecloth.

Next, I added a simple diy charger plate that had a teal and white pattern. On top of that, I added a white dinner plate that had a silver design on the side.

It’s all about mixing and matching!

On top of the dinner plate, I added a teal and white salad plate. The teal matches the tablecloth, dresser cloth, and charger plate.

Isn’t it fun!

But I wasn’t done. As I have mentioned Grandmillennial incorporated layers, so I added one more plate. A dessert plate that has a pink floral design. Now, I’m pulling the pink from the tablecloth into elements of the tablescape.

Next, I added the silverware which I kept simple, to create a little balance within the place setting.

I opted for two different styles and colors of drinking glasses. The teal wine glasses are sparkly and new, whereas the pink water glasses are antiques.

Mixing new and old is perfect for a pretty Grandmillennial table setting.

To round out the place setting, I added inherited hand-embroidered napkins with the cutest diy napkin rings. (They’re SUPER EASY!)

Isn’t this Grandmillenial place setting fabulous!

*Note: I had only four of the pink and white salad plates, so I used two salad plates that match the dinner plate for the two place settings at the ends of the table. Since Grandmillennial design embraces mix-and-match, this was a perfect solution to the table setting.

Which plate do you prefer on top?

Step 4: Consider other design elements in the room

Now that your pretty Grandmillennial table setting is complete, take a look around your room.

Is there anywhere else to incorporate Grandmillennial design elements?

If you have a buffet or sideboard table, what can you do to add Grandmillennial design to it?

I added an antique pink scarf and two dark wood candlesticks holding matching pink candles. Then I added a fun multi-color patterned vase that I envisioned my grandmother having. I found it at an estate sale, but I don’t think it’s that old.

Or can you integrate Grandmillennial design to other furniture pieces in the room?

Behind my dining table, can you see a teal colored table? It’s an old TV tray table that I upcycled. (You should see the before!!)

I transformed the TV table into a simple cocktail making station. Can’t you totally see a Millennial doing that? Especially in a small space? Like a studio apartment.

The teal table looks fabulous integrated with the pretty Grandmillennial table setting. It really plays off the teal plates and flower napkin rings.

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This diy Grandmillennial table setting was SO FUN to create, and definitely out of my wheelhouse.

Challenge yourself to try something new and see what you think.

I absolutely LOVE this tablescape and am excited to create another fun Grandmillennial tablescape in the future.

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Check out the easy DIY projects used to decorate this tablescape:

• How to Dye White Fake Flowers
• Easy Flower Napkin Ring DIY
• Crazy Easy DIY Cute Plate Chargers
• Simple TV Tray Table Upcycle DIY

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Shop the Table (if you don’t have time for a DIY)

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Check out other table settings:

• Simple Summer Outdoor Tablescape
• Coastal Grandmother Table Setting
• Simple Father’s Day Tablescape: White, Black & Green
• Blue & Yellow Tablescape for Spring with Mixed Patterns
• Setting a Pretty Table for Your Girlfriends: Pink & White

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