I am the type of person that really pays attention to scenery and settings when I watch movies. Over the years, there have been houses in movies that I have really loved and even copied some of the decorating in my own home. I find myself often wishing they would turn the corner in the kitchen, give the viewer a peek in that spare room, or show us what’s behind closed doors. If the house is good enough, I can start to tune out dialogue in favor of soaking in every detail of the characters’ abode. Some that have stuck with me…
The house on “Father of the Bride/Father of the Bride II”. Classic. BOTH houses on” The Holiday” (actually, all 3 houses, if you count Jude Law’s, too…it was wonderful). Each terrific in their own way. I was in love with the Walsh’s house on “90210” (okay, okay, it’s not a movie, but it was sure a great house). More recently, the transformed Faraway Downs on “Australia” captured my attention, it was so exotic and bohemian, yet refined. Susan Sarandon’s home on “Stepmom”–talk about a dream house! Meg Ryan’s townhome on “You’ve Got Mail” is another of my favorites. Her shop on this movie was also charming! I loved the contrast of the London townhouse and the breezy California home on “The Parent Trap” (90s version). The California home on the original Parent Trap was also incredible with it’s courtyards and open layout. The house on “10 Things I Hate About You” (the main rooms, NOT the girls’ bedrooms–those were awful). Helen Hunt’s first apartment then the one she purchases yet never moves into on “What Women Want.” I could go on and on.
However, one of my all time favorites is the Hampton’s beach house featured on “Something’s Gotta Give.”
Most of my favorite movie sets (“The Holiday”, “Something’s Gotta Give”, “What Women Want”, “Parent Trap”, “Father of the Bride”) come from director Nancy Meyers. This lady sure knows her decorating…or at least, know the right people to hire!
One thing that really struck me about the “Something’s Gotta Give” house was the artwork. A few years ago when I first saw the movie, I immediately did a search for the artist…it was clear that most of the paintings featured were by one person. Turns out the artist is Kenton Nelson who has been featured in other Nancy Meyers’ films (although much, much less prominently) and on the cover of New Yorker magazine.
Here are a few of my favorites…
The first one is very reminiscent of the art found in “Something’s Gotta Give”–a very beachy, feminine theme. I love his work. It conjures up ideas of Normal Rockwell meets Grant Wood meets vintage travel posters. He also has some flavoring of Edward Hopper. Just my opinion.
Scope for the Imagination 
Have you been reading Hooked on Houses?
No, I haven’t. Did you send me the link for that?
I don’t think I sent this one to you, but I thought for sure you must have seen it. She does a Movie Monday, where she focuses on homes from movies. She’s covered the majority of the movies you talked about. Check it out… hookedonhouses.net.
I went to the blog…that is funny!!! I had seen an article in a design magazine a long time ago about how many people copied the Something’s Gotta Give house/kitchen and then I watched the movie again while I had strep throat (I own it and it’s one of my favorites) and it sparked the idea to blog about it. Total coincidence that Hooked on Houses does a Movie Monday, but I will definitely be adding that blog to my list.