22 Aug Five Inspiring Movie Interiors
Like many Toronto film buffs, by mid-August we start getting super-excited about the upcoming Toronto International Film Festival. Ok: confession time… is it wrong to admit sometimes we get carried away as much by a film’s set design as by its plot? Probably not, since directors and set designers spend a fortune to get their movie interiors looking just so. Do you love décor-spotting as much as we do? Join us in celebrating our five fave movie interiors.
MOVIE: Gone With the Wind
VINTAGE: American, 1939
INTERIOR NOTES: With its lush Southern plantation setting, this movie epic is over the top in decorating splendor. Lavish ceiling to floor drapery, ornately upholstered furniture, beautifully draped bed canopies and classical wallpaper brought sumptuous colour and pattern to the big screen in a big way.
MOVIE: Something’s Gotta Give
VINTAGE: American, 2003
VINTAGE: INTERIOR NOTES: Possibly the most coveted movie interior of the past decade or more, the Hamptons beach house in this rom-com beguiled many with its timeless coastal-chic style. Where can we start? Maybe with the welcoming slipcovered sofas, the cool blue-and-striped cotton rugs, and tailored linen draperies. Everything in this set says effortless elegance.
MOVIE: The Devil Wears Prada
VINTAGE: American, 2006
INTERIOR NOTES: Miranda Priestly may be the fashionista from… you know…but she certainly has heavenly style. In this movie interior, the fashion editor’s luxurious Manhattan apartment is decorated in lush classical French style: perfectly layered curtains and sheers, prettily upholstered Louis chairs and a settee with cushions set “just so.”
MOVIE: A Room With A View
VINTAGE: England, 1985
INTERIOR NOTES: Kicking off the super-stylish period productions of producer Ismael Merchant and director James Ivory, this historical romance won an Oscar for Best Set Design in 1985. Many of the Italian interior scenes were shot on location at the four-star Hotel degli Orafi where avid movie interiors lovers can take in the lush frescoes and sumptuous details that made the phrase “Merchant-Ivory production” synonymous with lush, turn-of-the-century sets and gorgeous costumes.
MOVIE: Lost in Translation
VINTAGE: American (filmed in Tokyo, Japan), 2003
INTERIOR NOTES: Set in one of the of the world’s hyper-modern metropolises, director Sofia Coppola’s film bounces from high-rise hotels and downtown karaoke bars, with a visual palette that ranges from muted naturals and whites, to bright prints and pattern. The zebra-print wallpaper at one of their bar-crawl stops is a startling juxtaposition to the natural tans of a tatami room where they dine, and main character Charlie’s hotel room, a minimalist-but-cozy cocoon of white upon white.
MOVIE: Grand Budapest Hotel
VINTAGE: American, 2014
INTERIOR NOTES: So de trop in its historic grandeur, the sets in this movie have a theatrical appearance that takes the more-is-more ethos and pushes it….just a little more. From wildly patterned wallpaper, to hundreds of miles of lush jacquard draperies, and eye-popping Miami-Beach-in-the-Mountains colour palettes, the Grand Budapest Hotel is about design fantasies brought to life on the silver screen.
