Redecorating casa Cruz
Coastal Grandmother style trend (see below) was influenced by movies. Since I'm bored with bland neutrals, preferring bright colors and inspirations of tropical cultures, I've been redecorating Cruz home in my mind, trying to picture what might appeal to Carmen, with tributes to motion picture magic--imagination and budget practically unlimited!
Coastal Grandmother fashion style includes bucket hats (actually, I prefer hats with broad, shady brims). Blue hat with floral granny squares is my favorite of those featured (motifs might be joined to make top like Lara wears), but other two (Swirl and Stripes) are simpler to make. https://www.yarnspirations.com/search?q=bucket%20hat&includeContent=true
I prefer lively, vibrant look of Tenoch's restaurant to that of washed-out wealth of Cruz chilly mansion. Also, artist(s) who created magical realism murals for "little Mexico" shopping plaza, might help enliven Cruz home.
My ideas for renovating Cruz home include getting rid of most of the furnishings and art (except in George's studio). I'm guessing most of that cold and sharp-cornered angular stuff was chosen by Leti as form of displaying wealth--the art work may be expensive, trendy and "fashionable" designer items, but are mostly very ugly, IMO. Maybe they can donate stuff to museums, especially ones in New York, where Carmen and George may not care to visit again. I'd replace all the pointy cornered hard stone tables with rounded wooden ones.
Instead of harsh modern painting on stair landing that can be seen from entrance (and gives vibe of anger & violence to me...), a large photo or art of the pink Parroquia church in San Miguel de Allende can always remind George and Carmen of how they met, and the hand of Heaven in their lives. Tower sculpture might be replaced with a symbolic flowing fountain.
Disneyland Enchanted Tiki Room style birds (Carmen's also a kind of song bird...) might replace "cuernos" heads by master bedroom (or simply use real plants like orchids that don't need a lot of direct light). Pink/yellow/blue prints in upper hallway--that I mentioned before look like Papel Picado run over by oily black tire tracks--could be replaced with a sort of family portrait gallery, "framed" by painted faux archways visible from below, like San Miguel plaza arches.
Niche by guest room could become sort of shrine to la Virgen de Guadalupe. Re-watching Disney SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON movie (love the airy tree house!); master bedroom in Cruz home might be inspired by that of Robinson parents, with skylight so they can watch the stars at night. Not only would be tribute to Carmen's symbol as star/sun, but by incorporating a window in shape of how iris of human eye works, utilized in a camera-- also refering to George's work in film making.
(Such a circular window shutter can be seen in Disney movie 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea in Captain Nemo's submarine the Nautilus, which has rich Technicolor furnishings. By the way, "Leagues" was favorite film re-watched repeatedly during boyhood of Carlos Eire, who in his memoir WAITING FOR SNOW IN HAVANA jokingly suggests why it was banned in Fidel Castro's Cuba). ).
"Coastal Grandmothers" who have white upholstered couches and other pale furnishings, must not have naturally messy small children or pets around. I'd opt for upholstery with floral or other natural designs, like in 1998 LA MENTIRA's Hacienda La Flor. Ceramic plates with flowers might inspire change in kitchen decoration from monochrome grim black/gray/white tiles to ones showing colorful tropical fruits and vegetables, maybe something like Frieda Kahlo's "Viva la vida" painting of watermelons (and real fruits and vegetables could be grown in Cruz garden, so fresh lemons, red peppers, herbs, etc. are always at hand for cooking.
Leaves might be painted over stark black tiles below upper hall to give impression of San Miguel garden square where George and Carmen first talked about their lives. At back of dining room, a subtle rainbow arc would help soften square rear exit ("Somewhere over the rainbow, blue birds fly..." a slight hint of Wizard of Oz) Other murals of nature scenes could be added to walls of that warren leading to bedrooms of Maria and the twins, making corridors seem less like stark white maze in laboratory, more like a cozy natural home (like Wind in the Willows, Peter Pan, The Hobbit--reason why Weasley home in Harry Potter is called The Burrow?)
Removal of barred screens--like prison bars--in family room and dressing room area of master bedroom would make both more open and welcoming. Perhaps some of the stairs could be replaced by gradually sloping floors, like the 18 degree incline eliminating "floors" in famous Frank Lloyd Wright designed Guggenheim Museum. Increasing staff to maintain gardens, etc. could start new story about new characters (a la Beverly Hills Chihuahua movie)--and maybe romance for Maria!
https://www.whattowearco.com/blog/CoastalGrandmotherStyle article says Tik Tok creator, Lex Nicoleta, coined the term and explains, that a coastal grandmother is “a successful woman who creates a beautiful life for herself” by “embodying elements of coastal living and homemaking,” So essentially age is not a determining factor and you don’t have to be a grandma either! Nicoleta references the neutral, laid-back wardrobe that Diane Keaton’s character, Erica Barry wears throughout Something’s Gotta Give. She also highlights the styles of Martha Stewart, Ina Garten, and Oprah Winfrey as “Coastal Grandmother.”
WSJ (Wall Street Journal) April 30, 1922 article by Rory Satran says:
Although the Coastal Grandmother look is gaining traction among those who still have living grandmothers of their own, part of its power lies in elevating a rarely glorified segment of the population: older women. “I think it’s great that it’s gaining prominence because we have a lot of ageism in the world,” said Anita McKenzie, a 64-year-old photographer in coastal Kent, England with two teenaged grandkids.
Ms. Nicoleta said that she wanted to highlight the idea that you can get better with age, and look forward to getting older. And older women celebrate her Coastal Grandmother videos, Ms. Nicoleta said, often commenting to say ‘Thank you for romanticizing a later age in life.’
