When Prepford Wife blogger Victoria Ford’s mom retired and moved nearby to Raleigh, North Carolina, the question of where to live turned out to have an easy answer: She’d simply move into Victoria’s previous home, which Victoria recently left for a new property she couldn’t pass up.

Victoria and her husband Marcus had completed renovations on their former home before moving out, but it was too much of a blank slate and lacked the personality and color they knew her mother would love. So they set out to revamp the home with a few clever budget-friendly projects, including painting blue kitchen cabinets with our Good Jeans color and swapping in fresh lighting and decor—no renovation necessary!

The result is a coastal grandmother-inspired kitchen (more on that below) that Nancy Meyers would approve of—warm, breezy and brimming with beautiful blues and naturally textured accents. Read on for major color inspo from Victoria and simple tricks to spruce up any space on a budget.

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The result is a coastal grandmother-inspired kitchen (more on that below) that Nancy Meyers would approve of—warm, breezy and brimming with beautiful blues and naturally textured accents. Read on for major color inspo from Victoria and simple tricks to spruce up any space on a budget.

Going “Coastal Grandmother”

The coastal grandmother aesthetic has been trending in fashion and interiors for some time now, and if you’re not familiar, think: Beachy pastel hues, cable-knit sweaters, weathered wood tones, and loose linen pants. The trend often points to Dianne Keaton in the Nancy Meyers film, Something’s Gotta Give, as it channels classic prep with a decidedly laid back vibe.

Given that Victoria's mother already embodies this aesthetic, it was the obvious choice for design direction. “My mom is like a Nancy Meyers movie,” she says, “but with more blue. It's always been her vibe—coastal, stripes, rattan—so naturally, I began pulling those into the space.”

Even though Raleigh isn’t technically by the beach, Victoria wanted to choose elements that felt familiar to her mom, so she channeled the TikTok-popularized coastal grandmother aesthetic to inform design choices in the home. “This aesthetic is simple without being boring,” she points out, “and flexible enough that she could change it if she wanted to when she moved in.”

Choosing Blue Kitchen Cabinets for Maximum Impact

Sticking with the coastal grandmother theme in the kitchen, Victoria considered colors that felt nautical but sophisticated. She wanted to paint the cabinets to refresh the space and give it new life, and narrowed it down to color options Like Buttah, Nearly Navy and Good Jeans—all of which played well with the existing printed tile on the floors. In the end, Good Jeans and blue kitchen cabinets won, with Victoria pointing out that “my mom is blue's biggest fan and Good Jeans just felt like such a no-brainer. It's a medium blue with just the right hint of gray and it's almost a perfect match for the blue in the tile.”

For the walls, Victoria took the floorplan of the home into consideration when choosing a color. Since the first floor of the home is relatively open-concept, she wanted to keep things simple. They went with Snow Day to provide Victoria's mom with a blank slate to make her own, and she notes that it’s “the perfect white—light and bright without feeling hospital-sterile.”

“I couldn't be happier with the colors,” Victoria says. And while she admits she loves a white kitchen, Good Jeans was exactly the right move to breathe new life into the space. “Between the white counters, walls and the floor, it was a lot of white before,” Victoria says, and adds that there’s “something surprisingly warm about the way Good Jeans makes you feel in a kitchen. When paired with my mother's belongings, it feels like the kind of place where you can come home from work, throw off your shoes and make a cup of tea. It's amazing what color can do to transform a space.“

Prepping and Priming for Cabinet Painting Success

One of the quickest and most affordable ways to give your kitchen an immediate facelift is by painting the cabinets. You’ll want to be diligent in your prep work, though, as a prepped and primed surface is the most important part of achieving a foolproof finish. For detailed instructions on refreshing hardware, sanding, and priming, check out this step-by-step guide.

Sure, you could hire someone to paint your cabinets, but if you’re looking for the most cost-effective solution, Victoria recommends putting in some elbow grease yourself. “I actually enjoy painting cabinets,” she says, “and since the house was empty while I waited for my mom to move, I had plenty of space to spread out and do the cabinets the right way.”

What’s the right way? Well, beyond doing the prep work, Victoria emphasizes taking your time. “Painting cabinets takes lots of layers between priming, sanding and the final coats,” she says. “Going slow and waiting a full 24 hours between coats was key for me to not make mistakes and get smudges.”

In high-traffic areas like the kitchen, you’ll also want to give the cabinets plenty of time to harden and cure, and thanks to going 30 days untouched after painting, Victoria says the cabinets are rock solid with no chips. One trick Victoria shared to make the whole painting process easier: “I put all of the doors on paper cups. It elevates them off the floor so I can get all of the corners without smudging.”

Adding Budget-Friendly Finishing Touches

No space is complete without bits of decor and personal effects to round it all out. The Good Jeans blue kitchen cabinets do the heavy lifting to create the coastal grandmother vibe, so Victoria only needed to add a few final accents to pull it all together. And her budget-friendly secret weapon? Facebook Marketplace. “It is my greatest ally in creating a beautiful space,” Victoria says. “I was able to snag enough unlacquered brass knobs for this entire house for less than $20, a new range vent for $30 and new chairs for around $100.”

Another way to cut down on costs is to repurpose what you already have. Many of the decor pieces in this kitchen were sourced from Victoria’s mom’s previous home—a framed recipe card of a family 7-Up cake recipe, cookbooks they’ve cooked through together, an extendable table for hosting the whole family—which makes the space feel instantly her own.