Movie Homes...

Filming Hitchcock's "Shadow of A Doubt"

• In my book NO PLACE LIKE HOME - I talk about how films have long been a creative influence to me personally...Even today, films are very much a part of what I urge homeowners to use as a creative tool in creating their own homes...

Filming continues...

• Even as a kid, movies were always a part of my life.  In the book, I write about how I would sit with a sketch pad in front of the television and I'd be watching old black and white movies from the 40s.  I would sketch the houses I was seeing in those old films...I would even imagine the floorplans of what those houses might be like beyond the rooms I was seeing on the screen...

Bedroom interior "Shadow of A Doubt" production design sketch

• Production Design in films was something that I always found interesting because it was all about creating an atmosphere - which is what I get to do with design work for homeowners today...

Exterior of house set "Shadow of A Doubt"

• The film "Shadow of A Doubt" directed by Alfred Hitchcock is a great example of filmmaking during the golden years of Hollywood.  Shot during World War II, Hitchcock chose to shoot on location instead of having every home set built on a soundstage to save on the cost of wood...

Scene from the film in front of real house in the 1940s

• The main house exterior for this film (shown above) was the same classic home style that I grew up walking by as a kid coming home from school...front porches, white clapboard, front yards, big trees...

The actual house used for the film - today

• Here is the real home that was used in the film (shown above) - as it looks like today...

The film's stars - Teresa Wright and Joseph Cotton

• Old movies are still something I put on when I am designing a project - or beginning a design.  There is something about the crisp black and white picture that allows your imagination to think about what the colors in the room could have been...There is something very grounding about these old films that are very familiar to me...In many ways, each film is like an old friend...you return to see them and they are unchanged.  

• Teresa Wright (shown above) was the All-American girl during World War II.  She starred in this film and many others - including another one of my favorites: "Pride of The Yankees" - The Lou Gehrig Story.

• A few years back, before she passed away, I met Teresa Wright - by chance - on a train heading out of New York City.  It was a very exciting moment for me to talk with her and I knew who she was instantly - even though she was in her eighties by then...I was pleased to have been able to tell her directly how much her film's were very much an influence on my work as an American designer...

• All those old Hollywood films were a part of my growing up years and serve as a reminder of classic styles that I love: livable, simple and attainable...

• I'm often asked what my favorite film is in modern day?  That would most-definitely be "Out of Africa" directed by Sydney Pollack.  That film has an atmosphere about it that is stunning...the music, the setting, the acting and the house...It is one of my favorite film homes...

• So film homes still inspire me. Even in NO PLACE LIKE HOME - I talk at great length about how film homes can be used as a creative tool for homeowners that want to figure out their own personal home styles...Sometimes seeing is believing and it can truly inspire you to know more about what you like or do not like...

• Want to see some other great film and television homes?  Check out one of my favorite blogs on a subject that will always serve as creative inspiration to me...A big thanks to Julia (it's creator) for bringing it to life!  Have a favorite film home?  No doubt there are probably images of it there...

• Check it out here - you can also see more of the "Out of Africa" house I'm talking about:  HOOKED ON HOUSES