Film Interiors: Addicted to Love

I recently read an article in New York magazine about design team Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch of the firm Roman and Williams and was intrigued enough by their old school materials meets modern living aesthetic to re-watch the film Addicted to Love in order to see some of their early work as set designers. The movie turned out to be better than I remembered and the sets did not disappoint. Though its release date was in 1997, the images could be ripped out of today's magazines. 

Meg Ryan and Matthew Broderick play jilted lovers Maggie and Sam, who camp out together in an abandoned building to watch their exes Linda and Anton through a camera obscura aimed at Anton's expansive loft. Their envious gaze falls both on the amorous new couple and on the space they share. When the apartment is vacated for a weekend, Sam and Maggie move in and comb each room for clues about who their partners have become in their absence. Though the loft takes center stage, the country house that Sam leaves to pursue Linda has plenty of charm of its own and even the shell of an apartment that Maggie and Sam share has a bit of steampunk appeal that Maggie's inventive wardrobe complements perfectly.

Sam's country home full of fresh flowers in anticipation of a dinner with Linda.

Linda's father arrives instead with a "Dear John" letter. 

The carved mantel is the showpiece of this room.

Decorative plates hang on the wall near an elegant settee.

Anton's workspace employs old metal locker bins for organization.

The neighboring kitchen features a carpenter's bench as an island.

A farmhouse table with mismatched chairs leads to a kitchen full of industrial elements--an old chalkboard, schoolhouse pendant lamps, a drafting chair and factory stool.

A vintage metal hospital cabinet is filled with fresh towels and strikes both a masculine and feminine note in the all-white bathroom.

The following are a few items on the market that channel the essence of Sam's house in Delaware and Anton's New York city loft.

Regency walnut fireplace mantel from Pegaso Gallery Design.

Plate Shelf from Silverfox Originals.

4 piece sofa set by Kai Kristiansen at Arenskjold Antiques Art.

Work bench from Lillian August Designs.

Vintage desk chair from Topsy Design.

Vintage metal locker basket from Haven Vintage.

Vintage medical cabinet from Amsuarezfl.

Film images are property of Warner Bros. Pictures.

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Film Interiors: Penelope

When I'm watching a movie, I pay as much attention to what is taking place behind the actors as what they are saying to each other. I'll watch a mediocre film over and over if the set design has captured my imagination. This is the first in what I hope will be many posts on inspiring film sets. Not satisfied to appreciate the handiwork of talented designers and cinematographers, I will focus on specific elements of the eye candy on screen and suggest places to buy similar items or pieces that invoke the general aesthetic of a space. 

The first film on my agenda is Penelope. This is a modern day fable about an affluent girl living with a family curse that has saddled her with a pig snout (played as beautifully as possible by Christina Ricci). Penelope spends her childhood hidden away in her room, but prejudice and heartache find her there nonetheless. So she ventures out into the world in hopes of making peace with her fate. Along the way she discovers her own worth and the love of a man named Johnny (James McAvoy). There are two spaces that beg to be given the microscope treatment: Penelope's bedroom--which operates more like an apartment because she spends so much of her time in it--and Johnny's loft.


Given her overwhelming solitude, Penelope has created a small wonderland of her own that reflects her passions. She dreams of becoming a horticulturist, which is evident from this army of terrariums on porcelain pedestals and the black paper butterflies on the wall. Because she never leaves the house, she must handcraft all of her artifacts of nature.

Her room is her backyard and playground. Saturated greens and reds accompany her throughout the film--a nod both to her longing for the outdoors and to the overall mood of the film that location manager Pat Karam calls "Victorian Gothic". 

A framed chalkboard captures Penelope's thoughts and sketches. It is one of the elements of her childhood room that remains. What doesn't seem to make the cut into her adult room is an extraordinary industrial desk that is propped on vintage wallpaper printer rolls. Covered as it is in art supplies, I imagine the young Penelope spread out on her hardwood floors with the creative project of the moment and its accompanying supplies camouflaging the floor around her.

Here are a few items from Etsy and beyond that channel some of the fun and whimsy of Penelope's living space.

The Masses Guest Book Butterfly Pack from Jaime Mancilla.

Lovebirds Made-to-Order Birdcage Chandelier from Meggancolleen.

Bell Jar Dome from The Wallflower Company.

Vintage Chalkboard Long White Frame from Revived Vintage.

Tree Swing made of Reclaimed Wood from Peg and Awl.

Vintage Wood and Brass Wallpaper Roll Lamps from Shandell's as seen on Rural Intelligence (left). I made and sold one myself last August at The West End Garage in Cape May (right).

When Penelope leaves the stifling comfort of home and makes her place in the world, she carries her own unique aesthetic with her into her new life as a horticulturist and school teacher.

Terrariums and black cutout paper garlands are perfectly suited to Penelope's classroom. Her school books are color coordinated just as her own books are at home.

A Vintage Pedestal Steel Tanker Desk and Chair from Daily Memorandum would be right at home at her school.

Johnny's loft is a stark contrast to the warmth of Penelope's digs. As a formerly successful musician who has gambled away much of his earnings, his apartment suggests a once thriving creative space that has been slowly stripped of its furnishings so that only a few choice pieces remain.

A few of the standouts: Tripod spotlight lamps, a vintage leather car seat sofa, a simple wood folding tray table  and vintage metal lockers with old suitcases stored on top.

Photographer's Tripod Floor Lamp at Pottery Barn.

Industrial Metal School Locker from Hudson Goods.

Antique Striped Luggage Set from Bright Wall Vintage.

Butler's Tray on Stand from Ernest Johnson Antiques.

(Film images are the property of Summit Entertainment and Stone Village Pictures. Production Designer: Amanda McArthur. Set Decorator: Bridget Menzies.)

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