Found: A "Something's Gotta Give" Table...Sort Of

A while back I shared a tour of the wonderful beach house in the movie, Something's Gotta Give, HERE. In one of the scenes in the movie, specifically this scene in the bedroom of  the main character Erica Barry (played by Diane Keaton) I spied the cutest little table.  Well actually, it isn't that little, but it's definitely cute.

Just prior to watching the movie, I had been on an all out quest for a small chest to go beside the green and white floral Rosalie chair in my office.  Since I hadn't been able to find a chest I liked, I started looking for a table like the one pictured in this scene.




In the end, I found the chest I really wanted, so all turned out well.  (You can read about that in THIS post.)

It's a good thing I found the chest because it turns out the table in the movie, Something's Gotta Give was definitely more than my office budget would allow.  (Pssst:  If you're looking for the table in Something's Gotta Give, Rose Tarlow carries it and it's called the Nantucket Side Table.  You'll find a link to the Nantucket table in THIS  post.)

During my search for an affordable table like the Nantucket table, I came across this table below at another online store, Cottage Chic.   Notice the similarities.  I loved it, too...but again, at $636.00, it was more than I wanted to spend.

So, imagine my surprise when I was shopping in Marshall's and spied this cute thing.  Hold the phone!   It looks a lot like those other tables, doesn't it?  It's called a "Fleur De Lis Round Accent Table."  The design does look like an upside down fleur-de-lis.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Dream Towns, Fantasy and Real

When I visit my doctor once a year for a check-up and whine about that 15 lbs I can never seem to lose, he always goes into this big spiel about how I should buy one of those exercise stepper thingies, forgetting we've had this talk before.  He pulls out the step he has tucked under the examining table just for these such moments and he demonstrates, stepping up and down, up and down, all the while explaining it's a great way to get exercise each day because you can do it "while you watch TV."

I interrupt his demonstration saying, "I never watch TV."  He stops and stares at me with this blank expression, like no one has ever before uttered those words in examining room B.  Crickets.  I break the silence saying, "There's just never anything on that I like."  He's got nothing and we progress on with our yearly visit. ;}

On those rare occasions when I do watch TV, it's usually PBS.  So, when Maree shared the beautiful photos of her sister Kae's backyard, and said they had decorated it like "Stars Hollow in the Gilmore Girls," I was sadly clueless. I had heard of the show, but had never seen it.  Now, I wish I had.  Wonder if it's still on.

After seeing Kae's backyard, I couldn't wait to Google "Stars Hollow."  Seriously.  I could hardly finish writing yesterday's post.  I kept thinking, "There's a little town (real or not, I didn't care) that has a resemblance in some way to Kae's lovely backyard with the beautiful gazebo?"  Point me in the right direction...I'm own my way!

As I was driving into Atlanta to meet a friend for lunch today, I was once again obsessing thinking about Stars Hollow. There's the gazebo!  We actually have a gazebo in my not-so-small town.  And come to think of it, we had one in the town where I grew up.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Christmas Vacation, A Movie House Tour

Christmas Vacation: A Movie House Tour

When Christmastime comes around each year, do you and your family have a favorite movie that you just have to watch?   Mine without a doubt is the classic, Home Alone.  Love the house, love the humor and I can't help but feel a little sentimental when I see it since my son was about Kevin's age when the movie first came out.

Another movie that's become a favorite over the years for many folks is National Lampoon's Christmas Vacation starring Chevy Chase as Clark Griswold and Beverly D'Angelo as his wife, Ellen.

In the movie, Clark has big plans for a "good, old-fashioned family Christmas."  Both sets of grandparents are coming for Christmas, along with his Aunt Bethany and Uncle Lewis.  The Griswolds get a surprise visit from Cousin Catherine (Miriam Flynn) and her moocher husband, Eddie, played by Randy Quaid.

The movie takes place in this adorable house.  You know I have an affinity for yellow houses from THIS post.  It definitely has that "all-American, mom and apple pie" look.




If you've seen some of the other movie house tours at BNOTP, you are probably wondering if the movie was really filmed in this house.

Click HERE to continue reading...

The Baking Center in "It's Complicated"

Hope your day is going great!  It's been gorgeous here...in the 70's, so I've been spending some time out of the porch enjoying the fall colors.

I know the cold is coming so I'm trying to fully enjoy these last warm days of fall.

A while back I posted a tour of the house in the movie, It's Complicated, starring Meryl Streep and Alec Baldwin.  (That movie house tour is available, HERE.)

When It's Complicated first came out, the kitchen was one of the most talked about rooms in the Mediterranean-style home featured in the movie.  Even though it isn't overly grand, it had that special something that drew you in.  Nancy Meyers, the writer and director, knows how to create kitchens that truly feel like the heart of the home.  She did the same in the cottage featured in the movie, The Holiday. (That house tour is available, HERE.)

In It's Complicated, Jane, is working with architect, Adam (played by Steve Martin) to re-design a whole new kitchen for her home.  Jane is a serious cook--even owns her own bakery!  While watching the movie, something really caught my eye in this scene.  Do you know what it was?

I hinted in yesterday's post about making a little change in my kitchen recently, a change inspired by a scene in the kitchen.  Foley, guessed what it was in her comment on yesterday's giveaway post!   I loved the "baking" center Jane has over in the corner of her kitchen. We just get a glimpse of it behind her here in this scene.

I have no idea why, but I haven't been able to get it out of my head.  I think it's just all that potential goodness waiting to be explored.  The flour, the sugar--it's all saying come play with me.  Make something delicious and wonderful.  Fill the house with amazing scents of homemade goodness.  Yep, I got all that out this one scene. lol  You know a serious baker lives here when you see all those big glass jars.

My kitchen is definitely nothing like the one in It's Complicated.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Make a Wind Chime from Orphaned Spoons and Forks: Welcome to the 143rd Metamorphosis Monday!

Happy Metamorphosis Monday!

For Met Monday, I'm sharing a fun Before and After you can make at home.  Recently, I posted a movie house tour of the amazing house in the movie Practical Magic, HERE.  While watching the movie, there was a scene that reminded me of  something I had seen recently while out antiquing.  In the movie, the Aunts (Aunt Jet and Aunt Frances) have a fun wind chime hanging out back in one of the trees.  This was the best view I could capture...it was only on the screen for quick second.  I could see it was made from spoons, knives and forks.  Looks like they spread out and curled the tines on some of the forks.  

The wind chime in Practical Magic made me think of two wind chimes I saw a few weeks ago hanging outside a local antique shop.  (These next two pics were taken with my camera phone.)   Is this not amazingly clever?   It appears they just punched some tiny holes in the bottom of an old tin and suspended beads and odd pieces of stainless flatware with fishing line to create this cute wind chime.  I love the salt shaker hanging in the center.  Fun metamorphosis!

Click HERE to continue reading...

Practical Magic: Tour This Beautiful Victorian Movie House

Last October, I posted a movie house tour featuring one of my favorite comedy movies, The Burbs, starring Tom Hanks and Carrie Fischer. The Burbs is a fun movie to watch around Halloween time.  It's not scary or gory, just mysterious and funny.

When I posted about The Burbs, several folks suggested I post a tour of the Victorian house in the movie, Practical Magic.   I couldn't wait to watch the movie to see the house.  The movie, Practical Magic is based on the book of the same name by author Alice Hoffman.

I can't really say I liked the movie that much, parts of it were a little too morbid for me, but it was definitely worth watching to see the interiors of the house.  If you would like to know more about the story line, Wikipedia has a really comprehensive overview.  This post is a detailed tour of the amazing Victorian house that is so prominently featured throughout the movie.

The Victorian House:
The house. Oh. my. stars!  It's awesome!  There are a couple of rooms (Parlor and Dining) that are a definitely Victorian style and quite dark.  But the kitchen and conservatory are light and bright.  The gardens are wonderful, too!  While watching this movie, you'll find yourself craning your neck to try and see more.

Of course, the exterior is fabulous!  Just look at it!  I've always adored the exterior design of an historic Victorian home.  And you know I"m loving that white picket fence!

Victoria Magazine

You're going to disown me for telling you this, but you gotta know.

Click HERE to continue reading...

A Good Year, Dining in Provence: Welcome to the 159th Tablescape Thursday!

A Good Year, Starring Russell Crowe and Marion Cotillard

Tablescape Thursday:
A few months ago I had the opportunity to see the movie A Good Year starring Russell Crowe as Max Skinner and Marion Cotillard, as Fanny Chenal.  A Good Year is a British romantic comedy based on a book by Peter Mayle.  He also wrote, A Year in Provence .   A Good Year has been described by some as the male version of Under the Tuscan Sun.

The  majority of the scenes in this film take place on a vineyard estate in Provence (southeastern France) so the setting is truly beautiful.

Even with the somewhat predictable story-line, it's worth a watch if for no other reason than the beautiful scenery.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Tour the Apartment and Greenhouse in the Movie, Green Card

Take a Tour of the Beautiful, Historic Apartment in the movie, Green Card

While putting together a recent post listing a whole bunch of my fave decorating and design books, I came across my copy of The Conservatory Book by Peter Marston.  This book is filled with pictures of beautiful greenhouses. The book reminded me of another beautiful greenhouse, the one in the movie, Green Card.  Green Card is a romantic comedy, written, produced and directed by Peter Weir, starring Andie MacDowell who plays Brontë Mitchell, and Gérard Depardieu who plays Georges Fauré.   In the movie, Georges is in a difficult situation because his visa is about to expire and he will have to return to his home country, France.

Brontë, a horticulturalist and an environmentalist, is also in a predicament.  The Manhattan apartment of her dreams with a to-die-for greenhouse, has become available for rent, but the board of trustees overseeing the apartment building only rents to married couples.  Brontë isn't married.  You can see where this is going.

Brontë and Georges get married for the sole purpose of achieving their individual dreams: Georges gets to stay in the country and Brontë gets her dream apartment with a beautiful greenhouse.  They have no plans to live together and go their separate ways after they exchange vows.

As you might imagine, things go terribly awry.  The movie is funny, sweet, romantic and has a surprise ending.  The majority of this movie is filmed in the apartment and it becomes an important character in the movie...a charming, captivating, wonderful character...especially the greenhouse.

The entrance to the apartment is one level down from the rest of the apartment.

Whenever anyone stops by (like Brontë's parents in this scene) they ring (or the doorman) rings on the little call box on the wall to the right.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Cottage In the Movie, It's Complicated

Seventy-eight beautiful tablescapes were posted for yesterday's Tablescape Thursday!  Wow!  Be sure to check them all out...so much beauty and inspiration in one happy day around the Blogosphere!

Little Announcement: Non-Holiday Tablescapes are now grouped by season/event.

Last night, I worked into the wee hours sorting and grouping the "non-holiday" tablescapes under the Tablescapes♦NapkinFolds♦Recipes category header here at BNOTP.   The "Holiday" tablescapes were already sorted and grouped according to the holiday.  I had been putting off dividing out all the "non-holiday" tablescapes into categories since I wasn't quite sure how I was going to organize them...and there were A LOT of them.

If you have a sec, make a girl happy and click on the Tablescapes♦NapkinFolds♦Recipes header category at the top of this blog and check out my "wee hours of the night" work. :)  There's a little bit of overlap with a few of the categories.  For example a "Floral" tablescape may also have a "Nature" theme or a "Romantic" feel, so it may be found in all three categories.  Surprisingly, I didn't have that much overlap.  I think by placing them in the different categories, you'll be able to more quickly find a past tablescape...at least, that's the plan. :)

Even though this system isn't perfect, I think it's a whole lot better than one big pile of tablescapes grouped under a "non-holiday" heading.  If you see one you would like to refer back to later, now you'll just need to remember what category it was in, instead of having to dig through a huge group.

The "Holiday" tablescapes are still located toward the bottom, as before.  There can also be found under the category heading "Holiday Decorating" at the top of this blog.


Lauren and Harley's Cottage Home in the movie, It's Complicated
A few weeks ago, I took you on a tour of the house/set featured in the Nancy Meyer's movie, It's Complicated, starring Meryl Streep, Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.  (If you missed that tour, you'll find it HERE, or just click on the category header, Movie House Tours.)

We all pretty much fell in love with Jane's home in the movie, but there was a second home that also caught my eye when I watched this funny movie.  During the course of the movie, Jane (Meryl Streep) takes her new friend, Adam (Steve Martin) to a graduation party being held for her son, Luke.  The party takes place at Lauren and Harley's home.  Lauren is Jane's daughter (Luke's sister) and Harley is Jane's soon-to-be, son-in-law.

When we first see the home, it's the evening of the party and it looks like this...all lit up.

These scenes do appear to have been shot in a real home.  What do you think?  You can tell it's an older home by all the heavy moldings, and the wainscoting/wood paneled walls all throughout the home.  Though the home feels really traditional for the most part, you'll catch glimpses of lamps and decorative pieces with a more modern style.

Click HERE to continue reading...

The "Up" Movie House is Real!

The Movie House in Up is Real!

Wow! 221 Amazing "Before and Afters" have been linked so far for yesterday's Metamorphosis Monday! I've been having so much fun clicking on all the links.  So many creative, talented souls inhabit this land of Blog!

A Most Unusual Home
Recently, my friend, Gloria, alerted me to a another very creative individual.  It seems a rather unique home has come on the market. You know I'm always talking about how I'd love to live in a fairytale house?  Well, this home takes that idea to a whole new level!

If you have young children, or if you're just a big kid at heart, you may have seen the Pixar animated movie, "Up" when it was released a couple of years back.

The movie was a big success, receiving lots of favorable reviews.   As you can see in this image from the movie below, the house in this movie was absolutely adorable.  It was colorful, homey and magical, capable of flying through the air via balloon power like a house-shaped "hot air balloon" of sorts.

The cute house in "Up" caught the eye of a a home builder, Bangerter Homes, in Herriman, Utah.  With the permission of Disney, they scaled out a floor plan for the house and built their own "Up" house!  Isn't it wonderful?!
Click HERE to continue reading...

It's Complicated: A Movie House Tour

Tour the Home in the Movie, It's Complicated

It's been almost two years now, but I still remember how excited I was when I heard another movie written and directed by the talented Nancy Meyers was about to be released.  It's Complicated was released in December 2009 and since I'm a self-confessed movie house junkie, I wondered if another amazing house would be "starring" in this movie, too.  Nancy Meyers has the amazing ability to turn the sets/houses in her movies into full-fledged characters, just as she did with the darling English cottage in The Holiday, the beach house in Something's Gotta Give and the stately Colonial in Father of the Bride.

In an interview with Indiewire, Ms. Meyers described the house in It's Complicated as "an extension of character."  It's so true; often the houses in the movies written and directed by Nancy Meyers deserve top billing along with the stars.  They bring so much to the movie, establishing the mood and atmosphere that permeates the entire movie from start to finish.

Synopsis:
It's Complicated is a movie about a couple who were married 20+ years and have been divorced for 10.  Jane, played by Meryl Streep, owns her own bakery and Jake, played by Alec Baldwin, is a successful attorney.  In the movie, Jake has married a much younger woman, Agness, with whom he had an affair.  Agness is interested in having more children, in addition to the child she already has who was the result of a brief romance she participated in when she and Jake were temporarily split up.  Did ya follow all that? lol  It's a soap opera life.

During the movie, Jane and Jake find themselves back together again at their son, Luke's graduation and before you know it, they are having an affair.  Jane now finds herself in the role of the mistress to her ex-husband.  She is now cheating with her ex-husband on the woman who broke up their marriage.  Yep, it is definitely complicated.

The story is told with  humor and when asked what "genre" the movie falls in, Nancy Meyers called it a "Relationship Comedy."  The three children of Jane and Jake are played by Hunter Parrish as Luke, Zoe Kazan as Gabby and Caitlin Fitzgerald as Lauren.  Lauren's fiancé Harley, is played by John Krasinski who I read had a small role in another Nancy Meyers film, The Holiday.  There's a great article about the movie and how the cast was chosen HERE.

Exterior:
Now, let's get to the good part...the tour!   Seventy percent of the movie takes place in a beautiful Spanish style (Mediterranean) home in Thousand Oaks, California, although, in the movie, the house is supposed to be in Santa Barbara.

As is so often the case with movie houses, only the exterior shown in the movie was that of a real house.  The home is located at 714 West Potrero Road, Thousand Oaks, CA.  All the interior scenes were filmed on set in New York.

Don't be disappointed, though.  You can take heart in knowing that Ms. Meyers did use the interior of this home as inspiration for the layout of the set in It's Complicated.  She wanted the interior scenes to make sense in relation to how the real house appears on the exterior in the movie.  This pic below shows how the exterior of the home looks in the movie.  In this scene, Jane and Jake's youngest daughter, Gabby, is leaving the nest, heading off to college.  A pretty important scene takes place on the tree swing toward the end of the movie.

Another view of the exterior of the home in the movie.  Behind the gated area on the left is an interesting courtyard where another scene takes place.  You'll see that area in just a sec.
Click HERE to continue reading...

A "Something's Gotta Give" Table

So many beautiful table settings posted for yesterday's Tablescape Thursday! If you haven't had a chance, yet, you'll want to scroll down or click HERE to view them. So much inspiration!

The Tale of a Table

Not so very long ago, I was a woman on a mission.  My sewing room/craft room/office  (Sewcroff) was gradually moving closer to being completed.

But I still needed a small chest to go along side the chair in my little reading corner.

Click HERE to continue reading...

Father of the Bride Movie House Tour

Tour the Home in the Movie, Father of the Bride

Recently, we took a tour of some beautiful neighborhoods and homes in the south. This house, located not far from my home, was included in that tour. Each time I drive by it, I'm always reminded of a famous movie home we all know and love. Do you know the one I'm thinking about?

Yep, it's this one! Recognize it? It's the house from the movie, Father of the Bride. I'm happy to say this much-loved movie house is a real house and not a just a movie set. :) So nice when that happens! I hadn't realized it, but Father of the Bride is actually a remake of a 1950 Spencer Tracey classic by the same name. Did you know that?

What is it about this house that captures our hearts? It just says home, doesn't it? I love the white picket fence, the vines/flowers growing up the front and the cute dormers lined up along the top.

Add caption

Many years ago, I read an article in a magazine where they interviewed a young couple who bought this house in real life when it became available a few years after the making of the movie. They had some pretty wild stories to tell about folks walking right up to their door, ringing the bell and asking for a tour. One of the things they said that really stuck with me was that some of what we saw in the movie was constructed just for the movie, like the white picket fence.

Click HERE to continue reading...

The Marley & Me Movie House is for Sale: Take the Tour!

Tour the Home in the Movie, Marley & Me

Years ago a friend suggested I might enjoy reading the book Marley & Me because we had a "Marley" dog. Jake, our sweet, rambunctious and very badly behaved Golden Retriever, ate our kitchen for the first two years of his life. I am not exaggerating. He really ate the kitchen....the whole kitchen. He ate the chair rail, baseboards, door moldings (both stained and painted), kitchen cabinets, the rungs on the breakfast chairs, the walls, the wallpaper, and the hardwood flooring. Everything. He ate everything...and then some. The repairs and buying new furniture was quite expensive, except for all the molding which I replaced myself with the help of a plastic miter box from The Home Depot.

Jake was unrelenting and no amount of training worked. We read books, talked to the vet and took him to dog obedience training, beginning and advanced classes. We tried everything! I won't even describe what he did when we put him in his huge doggy crate one night to avoid having him loose and unattended while we slept. You know that old rule that says dogs won't "go" where they sleep. Wrong. Whoever wrote that rule had never met Jake.

When crating him didn't work, I left him out of the crate in the laundry room itself overnight. Just imagine the worst thing ever and multiply that a thousand times and you'll be close. A hazmat suit would not have been enough. That definitely goes down in my book as one of the worse days of my life.

My husband and I had grown up with cats so Jake was our families very first experience with owning a dog, and it was a memorable one. When Jake went to doggy heaven at age 13, I cried without stopping for three solid days and nights. I couldn't sleep, eat or even swallow water. It was bad. I am a total wimp when it comes to losing a pet...a total wimp. Y'all may have to have me committed when Max goes to kitty heaven one day. Seriously.

When the book, Marley & Me, was made into a movie (starring Owen Wilson and Jennifer Aniston) and I found out the ending, I knew there was no way this girl was going to go see it. I later discovered there was a wonderful house in the movie.

Have you seen Marley & Me? Well, if you didn't, or if you did and loved the house...guess what?! We can all take a tour because it is on the market and available for purchase! Apparently, it was listed for sale in April of this year, but a friend e-mailed me last night to let me know it has just gone on the market. All the recent articles I found today state it has just been listed. Ummm, maybe they pulled it off the market and decided to wait a bit and then relisted it. I noticed the price has dropped a fair amount from the quoted price in April.

The Marley and Me house located in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania, is listed at $1.25 million. The real estate listing by Holly Gross Group describes it as a "greeting-card perfect stone house."

The home was built in 1830 of native stone and has 5 bedrooms and 3 baths. It definitely has great curb appeal. Ummm, is that a ghost looking out that top left window? ;)

Click HERE to continue reading...

For Sale: Father of the Bride Movie House and An Historic Home Tour

Well, THE Father of the Bride movie house isn't for sale, but the other one is. Huh? Apparently, there were two houses used for the filming of the first Father of the Bride movie. The one that we all remember below that's located in Pasadena, CA is NOT for sale.

But the home that's located at 500 North Almansor Street in Alhambra, CA and was used for the backyard dining scenes on the deck and for the basketball playing scenes, is available to purchase.

According to the real estate listing, the home is available for $1,350,000. It has just gone on the market and you can take a tour of the inside.
Click HERE to continue reading...

The Beach House in Something's Gotta Give

Recently, I took a little vacation to Savannah, Georgia. It was a wonderful trip and when I returned home that weekend, I couldn't wait to pull out one of my favorite "beach house" movies, Something's Gotta Give.


Somethings Gotta Give is one of those movies you just have to watch at least once every summer. Joni, whose beautiful blog is Cote de Texas, believes the beach home in this movie to be the most beloved "movie" home ever. I might have to debate that one with her because I kind of think the house in Home Alone takes that honor. ;) Okay, maybe they both qualify since the movies are from different time periods and the homes are so very different in style.

A while back, Linda, Megan and Joni of The Skirted Roundtable, interviewed Beth Rubino, the Set Decorator for Something's Gotta Give. In The Skirted Roundtable interview, Beth Rubino says, "The house was the 4th main character in that film." She is so right. The phones of designers were ringing off the hook for months and months after the release of Something's Gotta Give. It seemed everyone on planet Earth wanted their home decorated to look exactly like this wonderful beach house.


We get our first look at the home when Harry Sanborn, played by Jack Nicholson, and Marin Barry, played by Amanda Peet, first pull up to the house with plans of a romantic weekend. Marin thinks her mom and successful playwright, Erica Barry, played by Diane Keaton, is away for a few days. Surprise! Erica walks in shortly after the pair arrive and the fun begins.

This beautiful home is actually located in Southampton, NY. But, I might as well break the news to you early on...in case you don't know.
Click HERE to continue reading...

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: Touring Mercer House

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: Touring Mercer House

I've just recently returned from a few days in the port city, Savannah and my trip had me thinking about the movie, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil. The movie was based on the book of the same title written by author, John Berendt. I've visited this beautiful Georgia city several times over the years, including back in June 1995, the year after the book was published. In case you aren't familiar, the city of Savannah is a planned city, designed by General James Oglethorpe. He designed the city around squares and ultimately it grew to have 24 picturesque squares, of which 22 still remain today. The squares make Savannah a unique and beautiful place to visit.



On that visit in 1995 I bought an autographed copy of the book in V. & J. Duncan Antique Maps, Prints & Books located on East Taylor Street which is on Monterey Square.



The V. & J. Duncan book store is located in the basement of this beautiful historic home and the owners (the Duncans) live in the home above. They have a "13 marble step commute" to their shop each day as they say in THIS video.



After I purchased a copy of the book in their shop, Virginia Duncan autographed it for me on page 142 where she is mentioned in the book. Now my book had two autographs. :)



I would manage to get it autographed one more time during that 1995 visit by yet, another one of the real live characters of the book, Emma Kelly...you'll meet her later in this post.



It was exciting and wonderfully strange experiencing the actual places and meeting the real people you read about in the book. It's not often you get the opportunity to fall into the rabbit hole, talk to the characters, touch the places and live the story. And, quite the story it is! It's all about art, antiques, parties, drag queens, voo doo, cemeteries, eccentric characters, murder and revenge.

During that long-ago 1995 visit to Savannah, we did the "Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil Book Tour" which you can still take today. The tour took us to all the places made famous in the book, and later in the movie released in 1997 starring Kevin Spacey, John Cusack, Jude Law and many of the town folk of Savannah. The movie was directed by Clint Eastwood.



During my visit this past week, I was able to tour Mercer House where much of the movie was filmed. Mercer House, previously owned by Jim Williams, a prominent art and antiques dealer, is now "The Mercer Williams House Museum." It is currently owned by Mr. William's sister, Dorothy, and is open for tours each day. Photography wasn't allowed inside the home, but I've snagged a few pics from the movie to share. I asked about the furniture that's in the home today and was told by our guide that much of it is the same as it was in the movie. Of course, some pieces have been reupholstered over the years.

When I visited and took this photograph in 1995, the exterior of this 7,000 sq. ft. Italianate home looked the same as it does in the movie released in 1997. Mercer House was designed by New York architect, John S. Norris for General Hugh W. Mercer who was the great grandfather of Johnny Mercer, the famous songwriter/singer. Construction of the house began in 1860 but it came to a halt during the time of the War Between the States. A gentleman by the name of John Wilder purchased the home and completed it in 1868.



When I visited again last week, I noticed very few things have changed since the movie was filmed here. (See pic below.) Gone is the heavy vine seen growing above the door in the movie. As you might expect, the palm on the right side is much larger, as are the shrubs lining the walkway. Other than that, the exterior of the house today is very much as it was in the movie. This photo below was taken last week.



The book, Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, is based on a true story about Jim Williams. Of course, John Berendt added and embellished to make it more exciting. Mr. Williams bought Mercer house in 1969 after it had been vacant for over a decade. He restored it, as he did 50+ houses in Savannah during his lifetime.

Here's a brief synopsis of the movie from Wikipedia:

Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil is atmospheric and Southern Gothic in tone, depicting a wide range of eccentric Savannah personalities.
The action that serves as a catalyst in the book is the killing of Danny Hansford, a local male prostitute (characterized as "a good time not yet had by all") by respected antique dealer Jim Williams. Four murder trials resulted, with the final one ending in acquittal after the judge finally agreed to move the case away from the Savannah jury pool. The book characterizes the killing as the result of a lovers' quarrel, not a pre-meditated murder. The death took place in Williams' home, originally built by an ancestor of songwriter and Savannah native Johnny Mercer.
The novel also highlights many other residents of Savannah, most notably The Lady Chablis, a local drag queen and entertainer. Chablis provides both a Greek chorus of sorts as well as a light-hearted contrast to the more serious action.
The book's plot is based on real-life events that occurred in the 1980s and is classified as non-fiction. Because it reads like a novel, it is sometimes referred to as a "non-fiction novel" or "faction", a sub-genre popularized by Truman Capote and Norman Mailer. (Booksellers generally feature the title in the "true crime" subsection.) It is among the most popular non-fiction releases of all time.
The title alludes to the hoodoo notion of "midnight", the period between the time for good magic and the time for evil magic, and "the garden of good and evil," which refers principally to Bonaventure Cemetery.
The famous Bird Girl statue, originally designed both as art and as a birdseed holder, was originally located at Bonaventure. A Savannah photographer, Jack Leigh, was commissioned to take a photograph for the cover of the book and created his now famous photograph of the statue. The Bird Girl was relocated in 1997 for display in the Telfair Museum in Savannah.


Let's take a tour of this beautiful home as seen during the making of the movie.



Jim Williams was known for his elaborate and over-the-top Christmas parties. Savannahians eagerly checked their mailboxes each Christmas to see if they had made the cut and would receive a much coveted invite.



Last Sunday, I was standing in the same spot as John Cusack in this scene from the movie. I probably had the same gawking look on my face, too. :) The home is filled with amazing art and rare antiques. To be honest, I'm shocked they allow the public in to tour this house. There are many valuable paintings and antiques throughout the home. When our guide pointed out crystal candlesticks given by Martha Washington to her daughter when she married, I was stunned. They were literally 3 feet in front of me, just sitting on a sideboard unprotected and easily within arms reach. Visit the home now before they come to their senses and put everything in a museum behind locked glass and roped off rooms. The tile in this entry is still in beautiful shape. Really, the whole home is just beautiful. The walls are still painted the soft peach color Jim Williams so loved.



The tour guide told us the dining room table was turned in the movie (as shown below) to create more space for the party that takes place in this room. It was turned the other direction during our visit last week. Many of the characters in the movie are actual town folk and play themselves. I think that was the case for the caterers of the party, if I'm remembering correctly.



Emma Kelly, known as the "Lady of 6,000 songs" has a whole chapter of the book devoted to her. She got her nickname from Savannah-born songwriter Johnny Mercer, who challenged her to play numerous songs that he named. He estimated she knew at least 6,000 songs from memory. Emma always played for Jim Williams at his Christmas party each year and she played herself in the movie. She's the other person from the book/movie who autographed my book back in 1995. When I met her, I found her to be a genuinely caring and generous soul. You can just tell by the sweet autograph/comment she wrote in my copy of the book. (Just scroll back up to read it.)



John Cusack plays a reporter by the name of John Kelso. I think John Berendt was channeling through Cusack. In the movie, he has been assigned to write a story about Jim Williams stunning parties, but he uncovers a much more interesting story along the way.



Prior to Jim Williams purchasing the home, the walls of three rooms upstairs were taken down to create one large ball room. In the movie, Jim takes John upstairs to show him a very rare gun that he keeps in the box he is unlatching here in this scene.



In the movie, Jim tells John about his neighbor's (Lee and Emma Adler) dogs that bark and annoy him. To get revenge, he plays this organ in the ball room really loud.



It would rival some organs found in churches. John is stunned when the curtains roll back to reveal these giant pipes. The movie is full of crazy moments like this.



Here's a picture I took of Lee & Emma Adler's House when I was in Savannah in 1995 on the "book tour." Their home is the one on the left and is across the street from Mercer House on Monterey Square.



While we are looking at other houses from the movie, here's one more. In the movie, John Kelso also meets Mandy Nicholls (played by Alison Eastwood) and Joe Odom (played by Paul Hipp) when Mandy comes to borrow ice from the guest house where he is staying out back behind Mercer House. Mandy invites John back to a party in this house known as the Hamilton-Turner House. I took this photo of it on my trip in 1995. Not sure why it was decorated this way back then. I believe it was open for tours, though we didn't go in.



The movie is truly filled with eccentric characters. One scene involving a character named Luther takes place in Clary's Cafe, seen here in this photo I took in 1995. In the movie, Luther has a small bottle of poison that he carries around with him wherever he goes. Apparently, Savannhians are worried he will dump the poison into the river and poison them all one day. ;)



As you can see in the photo I took last week, it still looks pretty much the same as it did at the time of the movie, except there's a huge building behind it now. Clary's Cafe is a popular tourist destination as you might imagine, but we didn't have to wait long to be seated when we ate there in 1995 or last week. The food is quite good, too.



Back downstairs in Mercer House, Jim Williams (Kevin Spacey) and John Kelso (John Cusack) are talking after the Christmas party. We get a few more views of the interior of Mercer House.



Jim is flattering John (buttering him up for the article he will write. John is trying to stay objective in his role as "reporter."

After the party, Jim (Kevin Spacey) and Billy Hanson (played by Jude Law) who is living with Jim, get into an argument. Billy threatens Jim when he refuses to give him money that he's demanding.



The argument escalates and a shooting (some would say murder) takes place that night after the party. Here investigators are questioning Jim Williams after being called to the home. Suddenly the party John Kelso is supposed to be writing about seems rather boring.



Jim Williams sits with his cat as the investigation is taking place. He has shot and killed Billy Hanson, and states it was in self-defense. He will be tried 4 times before ultimately being acquitted.  Have you noticed how the furniture is positioned away from the walls in almost all the rooms.  These beautiful old homes have windows on two, sometimes three sides and it forces you to NOT line up the furniture around the walls.  I love that!  Of course, the rooms are also nice and large so you have room to place furniture toward the center and still walk around behind it.  I just love the way the furniture is positioned in the room...feels so free and open and so conducive to conversation, flow and movement.



Another view of the exterior as the body is being carried away in the movie.



This is the office where the shooting occurs. When we entered the office on the tour last week, the guide told us, "This is the room where Mr. Williams defended his life." What a polite, southern way to say this is where Mr. Williams shot Billy Hanson. (In real life, Jim Williams shot Danny Hansford. The name is changed in the movie.)

They never mentioned on our tour that Mr. Williams dropped dead in this exact room a few months after being released from prison after his last trial. Some say it was Billy (Danny) getting revenge. Ummm...I'll let you decide that.



Mercer William House Museum all lit up at night time. The chandeliers in Mercer House are stunning! If you tour this home, you'll love the view looking up the curving stairway to the gorgeous ceiling several stories up. Apparently, Mr. Williams did the restoration work on the ceiling himself. The home truly is beautiful inside and a must see if you visit Savannah.

The Bird Girl statue (called this because she is actually a bird feeder) was originally pictured on the cover of the book. She stood for many years in Bonaventure Cemetery. Bonaventure is such a lovely, peaceful place. It sits along side the Wilmington River and is filled with Live Oak Trees dripping in Spanish moss. It is also just a few miles away from Wormsloe and beautiful Isle of Hope.  If you have time, check out these two previous post.  Wormsloe and Isle of Hope are absolutely beautiful places.

The Bird Girl eventually had to be moved to the Telfair Museum after the book and movie came out. Folks were vandalizing the sculpture. You can still see her if you visit the museum.



Of course, these days you can buy copies or near copies for your own garden. I've had one for many years tucked in among the daylilies along my front walkway. They are for sale all over Savannah, too.




Hope you enjoyed this tour of Mercer House.

You'll find additional Movie House Tours OR click on any picture link below.