4 years ago I wrote a blog with the homes in some of my favourite movies. Home like Iris’ cottage in The Holiday and the Owens sister’s victorian home in Practical Magic. Part of the allure of watching movies for me is forgetting about the world for those 2 hours and immersing myself in the characters lives; a lot of this includes where they live, how they decorate, who they are.
Today I’m sharing a new list of my favourite movie homes so grab a cup of coffee or tea and let’s tour these cozy homes.
Meg Ryan’s Brownstone Apartment in You’ve Got Mail
In You’ve Got Mail Meg Ryan’s character Kathleen lives a quintessential New York apartment. Housed in a stone walk up located at 328 West 89th Street in Manhattan; it’s decorated in a very eclectic way. Being a bookstore owner she has shelves filled with books, hand-me-down quilts and wood furniture that look like they were picked up at antique shops and garage sales around the city. The wainscotting and wall paper give the home an old, lived-in house feel with a lot of interesting stories. The kitchen is my favourite room in the house. An old desk doubles as a chopping board and a window – regardless of it facing a brick building- creates warm lighting.
Hocus Pocus: Max’s Bedroom & the Sanderson Cottage
Max Dennison’s house in the movie Hocus Pocus is located at the corner of 4 Ocean Avenue in Salem Massachusetts. Constructed in the second empire Victorian fashion, my favourite feature of the house is the cupola (at the very top of the house) which is accessible by stairs inside Max’s bedroom. The first time I saw the movie I loved that feature and still do. I’m imagining taking a blanket and pillows up there to read on a stormy night in Autumn.
The Sanderson sister’s cottage (which in the movie has been converted into a museum) is exactly the type of home you’d imagine 3 witches to be living in. Creaky floorboards, candles dripping with wax, cobwebs, bottles filled with strange concoctions and the giant cauldron in the centre of the home. Any home with a giant fireplace in the kitchen is a winner for me.
ELF: Emily & Walter Hobbs NYC Apartment
In the movie ELF Walter and Emily come home soon after learning that Buddy is Walter’s son to the apartment having been decorated like the North Pole. Paper cutout snowflakes and garlands stream from the ceiling and fairy lights twinkle in the background of the nighttime dinner scene. Despite the apartment being in the affluent Upper West Side area of New York, there’s a lived-in feel that makes this home so inviting. Persian rugs and the China cabinet with heirloom dish ware in the dining room. Lot’s of plants and sunlight streaming through the kitchen window and the counter covered in ingredients as if someone had spent the day baking Christmas cookies. If you want to visit the building, it’s at 55 Central Park West in Manhattan NY.
Big Eden: Sampa’s Montana Log Home
When Henry Hart arrives at his grandfather Sam’s cabin in Big Eden, the camera pans over the living room, the large stone fireplace mantle lined with “Sampa’s” wood cabin carvings and Henry’s childhood bedroom, the bed draped in vintage wool blankets. On a lake in glacier Montana with views of the snow capped Rocky Mountains, this home is stunning. Native American style tapestries hang on walls and pillows that look straight out of the Pendelton catalogue. I could lock myself in this home and throw away the key.
Harry Potter: Gryffindor Common Room & The Burrow
Few movies are ever better than the book but when Harry Potter came to the big screen I was ever so delighted that it had all the feels I had envisioned while reading the books years before. I’d purposely go to work extra early so that I could breakfast at a cafe near my home in Victoria. I spent many Autumn mornings next to the crackling fire in the common room with Hermione, Harry and Ron only coming back to reality from the rain tapping on the window where I was seated. Floppy velvet upholstered chairs, dim lighting coming from kerosine lamps, rugs layered overtop one another bazaar style and paintings that move and talk. I’ve also always loved the idea of curtains around the bed to create a cozy intimate setting for a long sleep. I do realize this isn’t really a home but it was more of one to Harry than Privet Drive ever was.
The Burrow is the home of the Weasley family. Although the lack of luxury makes the kids feel a little embarrassed with some of the school colleagues who are “better off”, The Burrow is a chaotic masterpiece you wish you could live in or at least befriend the Weasley’s so that you could enjoy breakfast at the long wood kitchen table or exchange gifts with this quirky family on Christmas Day. I don’t think anything in this creaky wood home came from the same shop and that’s what makes it so charming. The I-don’t-know-how-many flight of stairs with rooms here and there make you want to explore or better yet: have a game of hide and go seek. And as the saying goes “it’s not the house that makes the home”, Mrs Weasley has spun her magic and the Burrow certainly feels like home.
The Proposal: Paxton Family Home in Sitka Alaska
The house used as the Paxton Family’s Sitka Alaska home is a cedar shingle, post and beam home with rock fireplaces, a huge wrap around porch and views of the bay. The real home is located in Manchester MA but really does have that Pacific Northwest home look. Lots of organic colours throughout; rusts, embroidered pillows, suede headboards and even the clay bathroom sinks bring some of the outdoor colours in. Its apparent the family is very wealthy (they own the entire town!) but the home still feels warm, like it holds the history and memories of the family.
Miracle on 34th Street: NYC Apartment & Susan’s Dream Home
Dorey and Susan’s New York Apartment in Miracle on 34th Street very much reflects Dorey’s character: very proper, somewhat rigid and a perfectionist, the home is very organized and has an almost sterile vibe. Lot’s of clean colour’s: whites and greys. It’s elegant and almost too clean for a child to be living in. Susan however is a dreamer and romantic at heart and this is reflected in her dream home. Bay windows let sunlight stream in and it even has a small table and chairs in the centre of the living room for a proper tea party with dolls. The fireplace crackles as a backdrop to plaids and velvets and the lavish table dressed for Christmas dinner. The real home is in Lake Forest, Illinois and was on the market just 5 years ago. Which home would you rather live in?
If you’d like to read part One of this entry, I’ll leave it for you here: https://thebellwitchmanor.com/2016/03/18/cozy-homes-from-my-favourite-movies/
Thanks for joining me today and I hope you’ve enjoyed these wonderfully cozy homes. If there’s a home you love from a movie, I’d love to hear about it.
Until next time.
Love,
Jennifer