Have You Ever Been Inspired By The Decor You Saw In A Great Movie House?

Not sure what got me thinking about this, but a few days ago I was thinking again about how much I loved the home in the movie, Home Alone, and how it had made such an impression on me when I first began buying furniture and decorating my own home. That sent me down another rabbit trail wondering what else have I done in my home that was the direct influence of something I had noticed in a movie house.

 

Several years ago I watched the movie Home Alone again, and I think that’s when it actually hit me. I had loved the “feel” of the home in the movie, how it had exuded such a warm “family” feeling, but I hadn’t realized just how much the colors red and green were used throughout the home until I rewatched it with a new perspective–actually paying close attention to the decor. Red and green were literally everywhere, including on the walls and the carpet.

House in Movie, Home Alone

 

Red and green even appeared in the paintings and the clothing of the characters.

Tour the House in the Movie, Home Alone

 

The kitchen had green countertops. Even the pots and pans were red and green! (Take a tour of the house in the movie, Home Alone, here: Home Alone.)

Tour the House in the Movie, Home Alone

 

Fast forward to when I moved into my home–there’s definitely a lot of red and green going on throughout my own home. I can’t help but wonder if I was influenced by how much I loved the “feel” of the home in Home Alone.

View into Living Room, Bird Prints, Paneled Walls

 

Around the time I was decorating this room, a decorator told me that jewel tones were now out of style. I think that was the first time I realized decor actually followed trends. I didn’t care because I never decorate according to what is “in style” and just go with what I love.

Paneled Living Room, Judges Paneling

 

Red has popped up in several places throughout my home, including here in the dining room. I discovered this paint color in the den of a home during a Christmas tour of historic homes and loved it.

Red Dining Room, Crystal Chandelier, Venetian Glass Mirror

 

I just purchased my winter bedding from Williams Sonoma a few years ago, and the green drapery panels were a fairly recent purchase, I think last winter–or maybe it was the winter before. (They are still available here in several colors: Curtains. Apparently, I’m still a big fan of red and green in decor. My likes and dislikes don’t seem to evolve with the trends.

New Drapes for the Bedroom, Dark Green Drapes, Worn Velvet

 

Another idea I fell in love with after seeing it in a movie was the concept of having a little “baking center” in my kitchen.  Do you remember the large glass containers of flour, sugar, and other baking “stuff” Jane had here in her kitchen in the movie, It’s Complicated? (Tour that movie house here: It’s Complicated.) Of course, in the movie, Jane actually owns a bakery, but I loved the little baking center she had set up here in her kitchen at home.

 

I don’t do a lot of baking these days, but I decided to copy this idea for my own kitchen. I’ve since replaced the flour with Cheerios, but this little “baking” center still remains in this corner of my kitchen and I still love how it looks.

 

There are probably other details in my home that were inspired by something I saw in a movie. One more that comes to mind is how much I loved this tole chandelier from the movie, Under the Tuscan Sun. I must have rewatched that movie around the time I was working on furnishing my home office because I remember being determined to find a charming tole chandelier for that room. I didn’t want the office to feel too officey. I was going for a more cozy, whimsical feeling.

Tole Chandelier from Under the Tuscan Sun

 

This was the tole chandelier I discovered on eBay and purchased for the office. Tole chandeliers were very popular back then I think because I kept losing all the auctions I was bidding in. In the end, I was glad I had lost the others because this chandelier was my favorite of all I had come across. I guess it was meant to be!

tole-chandelier-with-flowers

 

I later replaced the plastic candle covers with beautiful resin covers that mimic beeswax candle covers. I now have those on all my chandeliers including the one in the dining room and in my bedroom. You can read more about how I replaced those in this post: Realistic Beeswax Resin Candle Covers.

Vintage-Floral-Tole-Chandelier

 

I would love to hear what decor ideas or things you have done in your home that were inspired by something you saw in a great movie house! Have you painted a room a particular color after seeing something similar in a movie? Have you ever struggled with furniture placement, but then fell in love with a room in a movie and instantly knew just how wanted to arrange the furniture in your home?

One idea that I’ve always LOVED but have never really been able to work into a home is the placement of Kathleen Kelly’s desk in her home in the movie, You’ve Got Mail. This may sound backward, but sometimes I will see something in a movie or during a Christmas home tour, and once I’m back home, I try to figure out how I can work what I saw into my own home. That’s how Benjamin Moore’s Raspberry Truffle ended up on the walls of my dining room. Ha!

 

I love how this desk is placed with one end against the wall and protruding out into the room. I love it when furniture isn’t lined up all around the walls but actually protrudes out into a space–but in a way that isn’t awkward or in the way. This is so much better than if the desk had been placed length-wise against that wall where the pictures are hanging. There are two places/rooms in my home where I could use this idea if I really wanted to, but I just haven’t had the need for a desk in those two rooms, so I haven’t done it. It really is fun, though–all the decor ideas you can pick up from just watching a movie! (Take a tour of character, Kathleen Kelly’s brownstone in the movie, You’ve Got Mail, here: You’ve Got Mail.)

 

I know we all garner inspiration from Pinterest and Instagram, but I would love to hear about a time that you were inspired by something you saw on a home tour or in a movie! Did you see a picture arrangement on a wall and go home and recreate it in your own home? Has the decor you saw in a great movie house ever inspired a design idea, paint color, or some change you made in your home?

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Comments

  1. Michele M. says

    What a fun post. I have never really copied any movie set design but you have shared a few of my favs. LOVED her kitchen in I’ts Complicated. And my all-time dreamy dream cottage space is The Holiday. finding out it wasn’t real broke my heart – but never stopped me dreaming of it. I’d love a space in the woods someone like that. I have so many movie set designs/homes I love. I need to revisit to try and remember their names.

    Great post. I think of you often when I look at my pretty bird painted ceramic tissue holder you posted about that I mentioned to my MIL and she bought me as a gift. I don’t have it out at Christmas or Winter – but I put all my white winter stuff away with this unseasonably warm winter recently….and out it came, so you’ve been on my mind. I love how it looks next to my olive green sofas. I love an earthy green as the best color in the universe. Red is much too warm for me, but I am all about green, brown, beige, natural textures in decor.
    You use a lot of it and I have always loved your gorgeous home. I pare down my decor more than most, keeping it simple. I do so enjoy every space you share with us. ♥

    Never EVER will I do the greys. It makes me uncomfortable, it just isn’t warm enough for me.

    • Michele, in case it makes you feel better, just know that the home in the movie, The Holiday, was based on real homes in that area. I just recently came across an account on Instagram where the IGer (Rebecca) lives in a home with an interior very much like the home in movie, The Holiday. I bet you would love it. The account is called myenglishcountrycottage.

  2. You’ve mentioned Home Alone many times so I finally watched it this past Christmas. Really entertaining, so thanks for the recommendation!

    • Okay, you must have been the last person on earth who hadn’t seen that movie! 😉 I’m glad you got to see it–it’s definitely a cult favorite! I think it may have its own fan club. lol

  3. Joyce B Smallwood says

    I bid on a chandelier like this once at auction and like you, I was outbid. I don’t care either if things are in style or not….. it’s my taste that matters to me

    • Joyce, I so agree! I know, I just kept constantly getting outbid. I can’t remember now if I won the bid on the one I was finally able to purchase, or if I found a “Buy Now” auction. It can be so discouraging sometimes to shop on eBay.

  4. Barbara L Armacost says

    I love the house in Home Alone and all the rich colors!!! I have always had red and sometimes green in my homes. That is the main reason I watch that movie every Christmas season. It’s always fun to get inspiration from the movies. Your home always looks so lovely!! I always find the mirror in the dining room amazing – it just makes the room.

    • Thanks so much, Barbara! I lucked out when I came across that mirror. A company that was local and that used to make lamps for all the big-name furniture stores used to have a warehouse sale a couple of times a year. I’m not sure why, but during one sale they had that mirror available to purchase. Usually, their sales were all just lamps. Unfortunately, they’ve gone out of business now. Seems like all the best stores in my area have closed.

  5. Antoinette says

    Susan, the colors and textures of your home exude so much warmth! I also love the colors in the movie “Home Alone” since Christmas is my favorite holiday for decorating! Another movie that has influenced my home decor is “Something’s Gotta Give”, with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicolson. I loved the beachy colors so much that I was influenced by them when I built my current home in a Southern coastal town.

    • Thanks so much, Antoinette! Oh, I love the decor in Something’s Gotta Give, too! Did you use the beachy colors on your walls or in your furniture…or both? I bet your home is beautiful!

      • Antoinette says

        Susan, I used the beachy colors both on my walls as well as in my furniture along with some beachy accessories sprinkled here and there throughout my home (without overdoing it) along with some coastal paintings that I painted.

  6. Over the years I have been drawn to a couple favorite movie home interiors. Specifically, the house that Myrna Loy and Shirley Temple live in. The movie is an oldie – ‘The Bachelor and the Bobbysoxer.’ I absolutely love the entire house, including the exterior.

  7. Tina W Reynolds says

    I don’t think I’ve been influenced by movies, but I was very influenced by my husband’s Nana! She was a very gentle and classy lady. Her home was filled with lovely antiques and classic traditional pieces. She had created the feeling of beauty and warmth all while giving the feeling that you were in the home of an important and solid family. A marvelous style trick since by the time I met her, she had downsized to a ranch style home! I am now blessed to have two of her large scallop-backed chairs and a wing-back setee that belonged to her. I also have her Coalport Indian Tree china in my china cabinet and love passing it multiple times per day. It is her style, quintessentially. She was married in 1913 and chose this china. It also causes me to think of her daily. When I watch movies, I always try to see what dishes/china they are featuring! Lastly, I saw a tole chandelier nearly identical to yours in a show house a few years ago. It was in a bedroom and I just loved, loved, loved it! Those are really versatile, I think. ALWAYS buy what you love. You live with it! I never care much for trends. An older aunt of mine with a formidable education and a great brain, hired a decorator once. The decorator removed and boxed all of the books from the living room shelves. They were replaced with a variety of glass orbs. That lasted one week. My aunt called me and we had a lovely day putting all of her books back in order. It was in fact, a working library!

    • That’s so wonderful that you were able to inherit such beautiful pieces and they are a reminder of such a special lady. I love that your Aunt chose to go back with her books, books are so much better than orbs any day! ♥
      The tole chandeliers really are versatile, I can def see it in a bedroom.

  8. The house I want is the one in Practical Magic!!! So disappointed to discover it was just built for the movie and dismantled after!

    • That was an amazing house! I think a lot of people were shocked to find it was just a shell built for the movie, then torn down afterward. If someone ever builds that house for real, you know it will set in a skinny minute!

  9. franki parde says

    A LOT of movie “sets” end up in magazines…and…that is my dowfall…or I prefer, “windfall.” I get a LOT of magazines. It’s crazy…when I see something I’ve upcycled, modified, etc. IN A MAGAZINE…I actually cheeer….”see, there it is!!” Susan, I’ve used a number of suggestions, things I’ve seen, from your blog, too. Just sayin…franki

    • Oh, that is so true–when a house set is awesome, the magazines love to showcase it! Franki, you are so creative, I can just imagine that you would often run into ideas in the magazine that you’ve already done in your own home.
      XXX

  10. Kimberly says

    Love, love, love the house in the movie “Something’s Gotta Give”. I also adored the kitchen in the Hallmark Series, Chesapeake Shores. I don’t follow trends either. I decorate with what I love. Great post, Susan.

    • I love that house, too! I wish I could have three houses, one for everyday, one for time in the mountains and one for time at the beach! That sure would be a lot to keep up with, though. Ha! It would be so much fun decorating a beach house!

      • Kimberly says

        Susan, That would be fun, but a lot to keep up with for sure! You’d certainly have all the pretty tablescapes for each location. Your 4th of July tablescapes are my absolute favorites. I love and enjoy seeing all of them, though.

    • I’m in total agreement with Kimberly on “the somethings gotta give” house.I was disappointed to discover that the interior was also a film set and only a shot of the outside was real.

      • Makes me wonder what set designers do with all the things once a movie is shot? I know they keep some props, but would love to go to a sale for movies shot here in GA. That would be fabulous!

  11. Cat Henderson says

    My goodness! I just lose myself in your website. I’ve been back to posts from 2010 or maybe even 2009! Your eye for detail is delightful.
    I’ve never copied a look from a house, although if I did, it would probably be Home Alone, which is why I love seeing what you do in your home, it reminds me of that house.
    A movie house that wowed me was…Panic Room! Even though it is not decorated, and it is a dark and intense movie, I was fascinated by the architecture of the house. I could not have LIVED in the house, the stairs would have killed me, but the kitchen, the garden, the staircase, the woodwork was just gorgeous.

    • Thanks so much, Cat! ♥ It’s funny how they often uses the most beautiful homes in some of the scariest movies. Another BNOTP reader told me about a house that she loved in a really scary movie and wanted me to do a post on it, but I read some info about the movie and I knew there was just no way I could watch it. I’ll have to do a Google Images search for Panic Room to see if it will show some of the rooms.

  12. Susan, you could walk out of your house and sell it furnished tomorrow. For me, I loved looking at new homes that were staged. My favorite was a place with silver carpet and mirrored walls. It was so glamorous. I bought my chrome and glass pieces at a furniture expo. I still love it. I like white walls and cabinets. Change the accessories every season and you are good to go. The top of my cabinets are vignettes for the season.
    But, that said, I love your home, especially your upstairs den and sofa. It would be easy to curl up with a good book. I am so glad you finally worked on the basement.

  13. Persia Barile says

    When I first saw the movie A King’s Speech, I fell in love with the walls in Lionel Logue’s sitting room where he spent time helping the future King of England. I did a lot of research. There is a paint technique which can duplicate that look; also a wallpaper, made in England, which has sold out after thousands of requests from the movie…yes, it is crazy busy, but when I win the lottery and have my custom built 10 bedroom home with at least two or three sitting rooms, there WILL BE one with those walls, probably a well worn velvet sofa and a lovely tea service just in case the soon to be named new King of England should show up.

  14. I adore your home! It’s so inviting. And I love the fact that you decorate according to what makes you happy. Thanks for sharing this post.

  15. Calypso in the Country says

    Great post with some of my favorites! Yes, that kitchen in It’s Complicated was amazing and I was surprised that Meryl Streep’s character wanted to redesign it in the movie! In my opinion, it was already perfect! I also loved the house in Something’s Gotta Give – a classic! A few years ago, my family and I went on some studio tours in Hollywood. We got to tour the set for the Netflix show, Grace and Frankie. While our tour guide was trying to explain the set and info about the show to our group, I was gushing over the interior design! Unfortunately, they wouldn’t let us take photos but it was definitely fun to tour!
    Shelley

  16. Lisa A Kelly says

    I love your home interior. So warm and inviting. I love home interiors from certain movies as well. Some of my favorites are the house in Mrs. Miniver and Father of the Bride (Steve Martin version). Especially love the outside and the kitchen of the home in F of the B. Enjoy your posts.

  17. Elizabeth Roderick says

    Love your home and Home Alone house too. I have navy linen like sofas but in the dining room I bought Stewart plaid parsons chairs at Christmas and they’re still there after almost 4 years. It’s very lively. We love color.

  18. You have given me a wonderful tip. I had no idea I could replace the candle covers on my chandelier. I’ve been looking to replace my chandelier. I have not found one that I thought was perfect. I just took the shades off and I think I will replace the bulbs with satin-wrapped ones and replace the candle sleeves and keep my chandelier. I think those changes will be enough to give my chandelier a whole new look. I just subscribed to Lumiere’s newsletter.

    • Lin, the owners of Lumiere are the nicest people! I discovered their shop by searching for candle covers and I measured, then ordered mine based on the size I thought I needed. After they arrived, I wrote a post sharing them and I linked out to the shop in my post. Well, the owner noticed and saw the post–I guess he got a lot of visits from that post. He emailed me to say that the height of the covers I had ordered looked a bit too tall. He asked me to return them and they would recut them to the size he felt I needed…and he was right! They did look a bit too tall before but were perfect after he recut them. I was so impressed that he did that. Most people would never take the time to let me know that they weren’t quite the correct size (which was probably my fault since they were cut to the size I had requested) and would take the time to redo them. So they have amazing customer service! I love giving my business to companies like that!

  19. I’m so glad you asked that question! I was thinking I’m kinda nutty. Well I am but in a good way. I have been obsessed with Nancy Meyers movies and her sets. Particularly, Erica’s beach house in “Something’s Gotta Give”. I live by the Jersey Shore in the Long Beach Island area and have tried to painstakingly recreate it as well as the glassware and dishware. I am obsessed with it. Nobody needs that many dishes! As an empty nester, kinda newly retired I started a blog as well. Not nearly as beautiful as yours. It’s definitely like me, a work in progress. I love your site, it’s nice to know I’m not alone in these “obsessions”.

  20. well, this might not be the greatest thing but I saw Candy Spilling’s redo of her apt. in NY city and they said at the time of tapping the show that it would be the only time her place would be photographed so I watched all of the episodes and in the kitchen she had her backsplash in her kitchen out of the same as her counter tops. I thought that was a good idea..and when I redid my kitchen 2 years ago this year that is what I did and have never regretted it. No more grout to have worry about and when you walk into the kitchen you see the whole kitchen as when you have a stand out backsplash that is what your eye goes to first. I can’t remember who said this but an actor said that before she leaves home she looks in the mirror and what she see’s first she takes off …if it’s lipstick that is to bright or a pin that is to gaudy off it comes so I think it should apply to rooms ….sometimes. One thing is for sure… classic design never goes out of style…wing back chairs…Stiffel lamps etc….rls

  21. How many times did I watch the newest Parent Trap to see the London home? I actually painted my LR walls the orange color and used the greens too in the home we lived in at the home. I’ve done that with many Nancy Meyer’s set designs. Inspired and enjoyable too! I also think reds and greens should be in every home and has been over the year in ours!

  22. Holly Rigby says

    I and about 50 million other people were inspired by Diane Keaton beach house kitchen in Something ‘s Gotta Give. I may be more inspired soon as I just had cataract surgery and colors look very different!

  23. I love Home Alone and also like the house from Who’s The Boss?I think it so pretty and love the wallpaper and color choices.I love that look.

  24. Susan! I have a ‘tole’ chandelier and I never knew about the name/style etc ….I just bought it because I love chandeliers and it was a bargain. We have it in a hallway which I always thought it belonged in a kitchen/nook but I couldn’t use it there…..I would attach a picture if I knew how. Thanks for enlightening me on my chandelier….I just love it.

  25. Hello again! I got so excited about telling you about my tole chandelier that I forgot to mention that I love the houses in “Somethings Gotta Give” and the old standard “Leave It to Beaver”, which back in the day, I thought was the epic of houses. Still love that style. 🙂

  26. My favorite movie house, bar none, is Mimi Rogers luxurious penthouse in the 1987 movie, Someone to Watch Over Me. Mimi plays a wealthy woman who witnesses a murder, and Tom Berenger plays the detective who guards her from any attempts by the murderer to kill her before she can testify against him. Her NYC penthouse is to-die-for. The movie is a bit dated, but not the penthouse decor. My second favorite is Meg Tilly’s house in the 1988 movie, Masquerade, also starring Rob Lowe. Both are good movies, but the interiors are even more fun to look at.

  27. My all time favorite is the beautiful staircase in Susan Sarandon’s home in “STEPMOM”.
    The actual house used for the movie overlooks the Hudson River in Upper Nyack,NY..

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