These films are worth watching for the couches the actors sit on alone.
Sometimes a decent plot (and a young Sean Connery) is not all you need from a film. Interiors create another kind of eye candy for decor inspiration.
1/21
The Great Gatsby
When it was time to decorate the Gatsby mansions, film director Baz Luhrmann called on his wife and designer Catherine Martin for a lavish Jazz Age set. It took her team months to create Gatsby’s larger than life house, complete with gold ceilings, spiral staircases and art deco floor tiles.
2/21
Amélie
Amélie’s Parisian apartment is just as quirky as her character. Striking red wallpaper and furniture is broken up only by an odd bolt of blue, or green and yellow details.
3/21
Marie Antoinette
Filmed mostly in the Palace of Versailles, Marie Antoinette is a feast for the eyes of cake frosting-coloured wallpapers and Rococo designs found in the 18th century. The lead actress, Kirsten Dunst, had to tiptoe her Marie Antoinette mules around the royal château to not break the artifacts.
4/21
2001 Space Odyssey
The best sci-fi interior to date, 2001 Space Odyssey, is decadent in its minimalism. The refined furniture shapes, bright room colours and strict layouts are a treat to see. Perfectionists will love this film.
5/21
Under the Tuscan Sun
The renovation of a run-down Italian villa in Under the Tuscan Sun may put you off a complete do-over in your own home but the finished product, with fresco and exposed foundation feature walls, does make one dream.
6/21
Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky
Who would have thought that in a film that follows a renowned clothing designer the interiors would rival the outfits? But Coco’s recreated villa on the outskirts of Paris has striking monochrome wallpapers and fixtures that command attention in a strong, early twenties aesthetic.
7/21
Beetlejuice
During Tim Burton’s cult classic Beetlejuice, artist Delia Deetz transforms a quaint and quirky cottage into what an 80s sensibility would think is a modern home. Although her art is terrible, the blue, black and white colour scheme combined with jungle motifs is surprisingly lush.
8/21
Ex Machina
When designing the home of an eccentric, tech-genius billionaire, awe and intrigue are a must. Ex Machina achieves this with a minimalist property in Norway complete with a rock feature wall, plenty of glass, greenery and silk-and-steel furniture.
9/21
Goldfinger
All of the Bond films could land an honourable mention in this gallery, being based in exotic locations with modern designs of the time. However Goldfinger is a favorite by interior design buffs for a gadget filled den and a decked out plane, which is complete with a mini study and cocktail bar.
10/21
The Grand Budapest Hotel
How we would love a reservation at this grand hotel! Created by director and interior designer Wes Anderson and his team, the set is a mix of art deco and art nouveau furnishings inspired by historic luxury hotels and department stores, in particular from Germany and the Czech Republic.
11/21
Hail, Caesar!
Although the 1950s movie sets are brilliant in Hail, Caesar! the Malibu home, where the communists convene, is the interior to turn to for bachelor pad inspiration. The minimalist wooden living room with cream carpets harks back to an era of understated glamour.
12/21
Jackie
No detail was missed in the recreation of Jackie Kennedy’s White House for Natalie Portman’s latest film set in the 1960s. The team hunted down antiques across the world and drew on presidential libraries, museums and blueprints to bring Jackie’s love of colour and floral print to life in the famous residence recreated on screen.
13/21
Nights in Rodanthe
The storm-battered home in Nights in Rodanthe takes its cue from the surrounding sea with dark blue and teal walls and crisp white trimmings. We wish this bed-and-breakfast really was on Airbnb.
14/21
The Royal Tenenbaums
Director Wes Anderson renovated this Harlem house in his signature, almost surreal colour palettes. The real house holds a small museum of African art, which you can see sneak onto the scene as kooky artwork and a red wallpaper with zebras across it.
15/21
A Single Man
Fashion designer Tom Ford knows a thing or two about sexy colour schemes and themes. His debut film A Single Man indulges a 1960s aesthetic, helped by product designer, Dan Bishop, who has also worked on Mad Men.
16/21
The Graduate
Cougar symbolism aside, Mrs Robinson’s bar in The Graduate has us green with envy for its leather bar chairs, black bar top and accessories and overall situation in an enclosed patio in a jungle-inspired garden.
17/21
The Holiday
The house swap between Cameron Diaz and Drew Barrymore’s characters on The Holiday gives the best of both interior worlds as we get to see inside both a modern Los Angeles home and a rustic stone cottage in Surrey.
18/21
Crimson Peak
It may be a dimly lit haunted house in decay but the ancient manor in this thriller is more than what first meets the eye. Even if we can’t see ourselves living in a haunted home like this, the hand painted butterfly wallpaper, chiseled stone fireplaces and a gorgeous gothic staircase are still a delight to see safely on screen.
19/21
Scarface
The ’80s gangster mansion’ aesthetic may not suit all homes but Scarface’s mod furniture is worth a second look. We can also all learn from the main ensuite’s bathtub, which is larger than some swimming pools and comes with a TV-cabinet-cum-bar.
20/21
Practical Magic
The Practical Magic house is one of the most pinned movie homes on Pinterest. Tangled with creeper on the outside but refreshingly white on the inside, it’s a modern Victorian home with a romantic conservatory.
21/21
Nocturnal Animals
Tom Ford makes our list again, for his styling of a highly curated Malibu home for an art gallery owner in Nocturnal Animals. The spacious home, made mostly of glass and concrete was filled with dark leather furnishings, inspired by the director’s own home, and splattered with contemporary works from LA artists.
