Father of the Bride (1991)

I would like to start this post by dedicating it to my cousin Erin.  She emailed me tonight saying she loved the blog, but why haven't I featured the Father of the Bride house on it yet.  Father of the Bride was our favorite movie for a very long long time, and still up there in the top 10 for me and I am sure for her as well.  The thing I just can't get over is that this movie came out in 1991! It feels like just the other day... When this movie came out we were 13 (me) and 12 (her) respectively.  Our wedding dream, was this movie.  So for her I dedicate this house, our house.  :)

 The house - located in a residential section of Pasadena, near San Marino (where the movie takes place).  A very traditional colonial style home, complete with a white picket fence, wasn't always this way.  According to rumors, when filming began - the house wasn't in such great shape.  Filmmakers came in, repainted the exterior, added new landscaping (even the picket fence) and remodeled the interior prior to filming.  The house is everything you would expect it to be for the "Banks" family.  

Remember Annie at the top of the staircase seeing her dad for the first time in a while?  Sliding down the banister to a hug?  This house really seemed like home to her.

The kitchen, while a bit cluttered nowadays seemed like anyone else's kitchen.  Well, except for a bit bigger.  

Annie's windows in her bedroom.  Only what I wish for!

And the favorite basketball scene...did you know that this was not actually shot at the house, but in Alhambra,CA??

And finally the reason we all fell in love with the movie...the wedding!!!  A wedding at home on January 6th!

And the house how it looks today at 853 S. El Molino in Pasadena...

most images via Hooked on Houses

It's Complicated

Set in Santa Barbara, the movie It's Complicated has my favorite house in a movie so far.  This is the house that inspired me to write a blog about movie houses.  The movie is set in Santa Barbara, by far one of my favorite places to be.  The 1920's Spanish style home actually is located in Thousand Oaks, CA.  Check out some of the pictures of the actual home.  The grounds, the driveway, the garden..oh, the garden and the pool...

While the inside design was actually shot on a sound stage in New York city, you can't help dreaming that you lived on the sound stage if it looked like this...

The kitchen is probably my favorite room in the house.  I love the open floor plan and that the kitchen is a usable kitchen.  Everything is classy, yet casual.

And let's not forget that gorgeous bakery...

For more information on the set design of It's Complicated, check out the piece Traditional Home did on the project