Today, I had the pleasure of meeting Clara and Mafalda; an Italian Toronto mother and daughter who allowed us to video them making stuffed artichokes for the Fiesta Farms website. They were warm, and lovely, and had an amazing rapport that had us all in stitches. Again, we were served an amazing lunch and even a glass of white wine. What a life I’m living.
For the second time in two days of shooting, I was surprised to walk into the home of a supposed “granny” to discover that her home was more stylish than my own. When I think of a ”granny”, I think of my own grandmother whose house overflowed with chachkas, photographs and old fashioned, wood trimmed furniture. Clara’s home did not stink of moth balls. In fact, she had all the latest modern stainless steel appliances and a television set bigger than I’ve ever seen.
I don’t know why I’m surprised. My 60 and 70-something parents are pretty hip and live in a swanky condo. It seems granny chic is only the rage for us 40 somethings who only have faint memories of plastic covered furniture and giant coloured glass ashtrays from our own grandparents. Here’s some evidence of the fact that granny chic is a real, and growing trend:
- Flickr’s granny chic page has over 1,500 photos
- Etsy, the three year old online craft store sold $27 million in goods last year
- Popular blogs like decor8 are bringing granny chic to a whole new level
What to make of our longing for our grandmother’s aesthetic? If 60 is the new 40, then 40-somethings are missing the ol’ fashioned comfort of their granny’s house. All those Lululemon-ed grannys are making us nostalgic for the feel of fur coats and a Chanel Number 5. If I were a psychologist, I’d say we’re filing that void by decorating our homes with nostalgic reminders of time gone by. Oh Granny, where art thou?
