“Mad Men” is Back with More Retro Goodness

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on JULY 27, 2008

By now you’re probably onto me and figured out I’m not one of those intellectual “I only watch educational programs on PBS” types. I love me some good TV. If there are fabulous sets involved with the show, all the better, which is why “Mad Men” is one of my favorites. Season 2 premieres tonight (Sunday) on AMC, and my DVR and I can hardly wait.

“Mad Men” takes place in the early ’60s–the so-called “good old days” when men were men and women knew their place (which was either at home or in the secretarial pool). I wouldn’t want to go back and live like that, but it sure is fun to watch.

Take a look at Don and Betty Draper’s retro kitchen:

Here’s Betty (on the left) chatting with her friend Francine in the kitchen. When I first saw the kitchen last season, it seemed wrong to me somehow. It just didn’t feel like a ’60s kitchen. I expected it to look cleaner and sleeker. Instead, it has lots of dark wood and an almost rustic look to it. All that dark wallpaper looked more ’70s than early ’60s to me.

But then I came across a photo of a kitchen in one of my old Better Homes & Gardens Decorating books from the late 1950s that was strikingly similar:

The kitchen’s floor plan is almost identical to the Drapers’. They enter from a back door to the right and the breakfast nook is separated by a similar peninsula with overhead cabinets and open shelves. They also have the same white appliances. The wallpaper is brown and plaid instead of blue like the BHG one, but they have the same overall vibe.

(Trivia alert! Betty’s friend Francine is played by Anne Dudek. Recognize her? She plays Alby’s creepy polygamist wife on Big Love.)

Here’s the Drapers’ bedroom. Look at the headboard on this bed (anyone who saw the premiere of Season 1 may remember they originally had Colonial furniture in here instead):

Now contrast it with the bedroom of Don’s mistress Midge, who’s a bohemian artist:

Are there any other “Mad Men” fans out there? Be sure to tune in to the premiere tonight. Season 2 will jump 18 months into the future, so I’ll be paying close attention to see if any of the rooms have been redecorated since Season 1.

For more information, visit the AMC website. You can read more about how the sets are designed and furniture for them is painstakingly chosen for each room in an interesting articlehere.

If You’re Hooked on Retro Rooms:

• Retro ’50s Kitchens
• Then & Now: Retro Kitchens Today
• A 1950s Housewife in Her Yellow Kitchen

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An English Country House in “Death at a Funeral”

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on MARCH 8, 2010

For the 2007 British farce Death at a Funeral, director Frank Oz says it was important to find the perfect English Country house where the family and friends would gather. Luckily, the first one they saw was this ivy-covered home in Henley, an hour outside London, and it was so beautiful, he says, that they knew they didn’t have to look any further.

The movie, written by Dean Craig, is about the people who come together for a funeral service. Daniel is in charge of organizing his father’s memorial, but his efforts to keep things dignified and respectful are in vain. Things start off badly when the funeral home delivers the wrong dead body to the house and go downhill from there.

It’s a farce, so there’s lots of wackiness and unexpected turns of events, but I was busy staring at the sets. Frank Oz says that the interior of the house in Henley wouldn’t work for the movie, so they built the sets on a soundstage at Ealing Studios (London).

Daniel and his brother stash another body in the casket with their dad as a last resort (it’s a long story):

Michael Howells was the production designer. He also worked on movies likeEmma (1996) and Nanny McPhee.

Daniel giving the eulogy for his father:

A question for my U.K. readers: Is it common to hold funerals at home like this? Or is this just a movie thing?

Jane Asher plays the widow, Sandra:

When I first saw the movie, I knew I had seen the actor who played Daniel somewhere, but I couldn’t quite place him. It was driving me nuts. Then it hit me–

It was Matthew Macfadyen–the actor who played Darcy in one of my favorite Austen films, Pride & Prejudice! He looked so different and played such a meek and nervous character in Death at a Funeral that he was practically unrecognizable as the same person.

Here’s how Macfadyen looked in P&P:

The woman who plays Daniel’s wife Jane is Keeley Hawes. Macfadyen and Hawes are also married in real life, and they were expecting a baby boy during filming.

I really liked how they hung the artwork up the stairs:

Upstairs in the bedroom, where Daniel and Jane are getting ready for the funeral:

This is one of the only rooms that are actually in the house in Henley (not a set).

The upstairs hallway:

Daniel takes Peter (played by Peter Dinklage) into his father’s study to talk. Peter has a bombshell he’s about to drop on him.

Frank Oz says that the script called for a “regular height person,” but he thought Dinklage was the perfect actor for the part. (He was also great in movies likeElf and as Liz Lemon’s love interest on “30 Rock” recently.) He’ll reprise the role in theupcoming American version of the movie with Chris Rock in role of Daniel.

Why on earth they think we need an American version only 3 years after the original came out, I have no idea. Especially since the original didn’t do all that well at the box office here. (Current release date is June 2010.)

I love this garden shed or whatever it was behind the main house. Several scenes take place on the covered porch:

I wish I had gotten a good photo of Rupert Graves, who plays Daniel’s brother Robert, a successful novelist who has flown back from New York City for the funeral. Graves played Freddy Honeychurch in one of my favorite movies–A Room With a View.

You can see more photos from the movie at Sweet Sunday Morning. I was so wowed when I saw the house on her site that I had to see the movie. (I used a couple of her screen shots, too. The rest I took myself while watching the film.)

P.S. Did you watch the Oscars last night? I stayed up late to see it all and then overslept this morning. Oops! If you missed my fun quiz about Oscar-nominated movie houses, take ithere.

Visit my TV/Movie Houses page for links to all the others I’ve featured, from Housesitter (another Frank Oz film!) to The Family Stone.

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Eddie Murphy’s Yellow House in “Daddy Day Care”

by HOOKEDONHOUSES on APRIL 5, 2010

After getting repeated requests for pics of the Daddy Day Care house–including one e-mail that shouted “I CAN’T BELIEVE YOU NEVER DID THE DADDY DAY CARE HOUSE!!!” I broke down and rented it last week to see what all the fuss was about. Well, this movie had me from the minute it opened on this charming yellow house. What a pleasant surprise!

The 2003 comedy stars Eddie Murphy and Regina King as Charlie and Kim Hinton, a couple trying to make ends meet after he gets laid off. She goes back to work, leaving him to be a stay-at-home dad to their young son Ben (the adorable Khamani Griffin). That’s when he comes up with the idea of starting an in-home day care.

The Living Room:

The movie also stars Jeff Garlin (who you may recognize from “Curb Your Enthusiasm”) and Steve Zahn as Charlie’s partners in Daddy Day Care.

Looking through the living room into the dining room:

The Dining Room:

The woodwork and built-ins are just amazing. One of my favorite rooms in the house.

The Kitchen:

The Laundry Room:

The “Turret Room:”

Looking up the stairs to the stained-glass window on the landing:

Master Bedroom:

Master Bath:

Ben’s Bedroom:

The actual house is located in Pasadena, as so many beautiful movie houses seem to be (Father of the Bride and Mr. and Mrs. Smith, among others.)

They filmed most exterior scenes on the property, but I’m assuming the interiors were on a soundstage. I could find very little information about the sets, though, so if anyone knows anything about them, fill us in!

Are there any “kids’ movies” you enjoy watching because of the great sets? Alvin and the Chipmunks is one of my faves (I posted photos of Dave’s cottage here).

Visit my TV/Movie Houses page for links to all the others I’ve featured.

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