Take your spaces to the movies
On-screen rooms inspire beautiful, dramatic makeovers
I love movies and I love interior design. Throughout the last century, movies have not only inspired us on ways to decorate our homes, they have also created trends. So many films have brilliantly incorporated a historically famous style and in return showed us, the viewing public, how to use these looks in our own homes.
One of my favourites is the original Wall Street with Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen, about the opulence of the ’80s and the quick money that the guys on Wall Street were raking in. Their greed and yearning for the high life were depicted in the character of Gordon Gekko and his office. It was opulent with textures of metal, leather and rich, deep colours, but it was the paint finishes that had me on the edge of my seat. Surfaces were painted to emulate the luxury of velvet, the coldest of steel and the warmth of leather. I was hooked.
I also remember Something’s Gotta Give, with the fabulous Jack Nicholson and Diane Keaton. In the theatre, you could hear a collective intake of breath from the audience at the sight of the home belonging to Diane Keaton’s character. There were enthusiastic whispers as friends discussed the subtle shades of pastels with fresh, white mouldings, the oversized oat-coloured sofas and bookcases panelled in glossy white wood. How many of us, I wonder, rented the movie just to help choose a colour palette for our own walls?
Movies and TV shows can offer us a vision of trends that are about to reappear. Mad Men is the perfect example. Furnishings, patterns, colours and textures from the early ’60s are once again becoming a staple in our homes, albeit with a slight twist. Coloured appliances are now back in vogue, a relief from the decades of stainless steel and white. I just bought a lemon yellow toaster and I have a wild “noodle” rug in pistachio green.
This year, we spent my birthday at an ancient castle in Tuscany, the setting for Letters to Juliet, starring Amanda Seyfried and Vanessa Redgrave. We stayed in the room where they filmed many of the scenes. Borgo Scopeto, which should be added to everyone’s bucket list, was built more than 600 years ago. The latest restoration of this stunning hotel incorporates today’s modern comforts, and paint techniques have been applied that have been used in Tuscany for centuries. The use of colour blocking and what is known as “lining” in the hallways and bedrooms of this hotel encompass both the practical and esthetic sense integral to good design. Creating blocks of colour on a wall brings large rooms to scale. Bands and lines of colour usually replace baseboards in these old villas. A roll of low-tack masking tape, a base colour on your walls and an alternate colour will create a clean, modern element for the plainest room.
The next time you watch a movie, whether it’s a historic European romance or an America drama, dwell on the backdrop of the homes as well as the action on the screen. You will find so much to be inspired by for your own home.