Someone's Gotta Get Her!

Beth Rubino, the Set Decorator for Something's Gotta Give and It's Complicated.

And we got her!!! The Academy Award nominated, Set Decorator extraordinaire Beth Rubino sat down at the Skirted Roundtable to talk about - you got it - Something's Gotta Give, the popular Nancy Meyers film which starred the beautiful Southampton beach house as much as any of its Hollywood actors! But, the surprise was on us.

The Living Room From from Something's Gotta Give

It turned out that Beth Rubino is far too a fascinating and intelligent a woman to be pigeonholed by just one movie, despite the fact that we want her to be. Beth is full of stories about the movie industry and what her job as Set Decorator entails. We get Beth to discuss the famous beach house with its even more famous blue and white rug - which she tells us all about.

The Dining Room from Something's Gotta Give.

And we got Beth to tell us the secret of exactly where the inspiration for the house came from - especially the much beloved dining room with its wall of white ironstone.

We discuss fellow blogger - Annechovie aka the artist Anne Harwell. Harwell's famous chair painting was in the movie "It's Complicated," Nancy Meyer's latest blockbuster!

Anne's chair painting can be seen behind Meryl Streep in the infamous pot-smoking bathroom scene. Congrats Anne!!!!

The Concourse Level of the Twin Towers designed by Beth Rubino for the movie World Trade Center.

But life as a Set Decorator is not all beautiful Southampton beach houses. In Oliver Stone's "World Trade Center," Beth was challenged to recreate the concourse level of the Twin Towers. Beth describes for us what happened the day the invited first responders came to visit the set.

Please join Linda, Megan and me as we talk Hollywood and the most famous movie house ever with the woman who designed it, down to the last glass in the kitchen! You do NOT want to miss this one!!!

To listen go to The Skirted Roundtable blog HERE.

It’s Complicated in Traditional Home

Nancy Meyers new movie “It’s Complicated” stars Meryl Streep, Steve Martin, and Alec Baldwin

 

I almost had a heart attack late last night,  racing like madwoman to buy the December issue of Traditional Home magazine.  A reader had emailed me, casually asking if I knew that Nancy Meyer’s latest movie, due to arrive in theatres this Christmas Eve, was featured in the magazine? 

“No, I didn’t know.  Are you sure – have you seen it?”   Oh yes, the reader informed me, she had not only seen it, but the issue had been out for a week already.   That was news to me since I subscribe to Traditional Home – where is my copy??!!?     At the store, I had to pay more for this one issue than a two year subscription, but who cares?  There was no way I was going to wait patiently for my own magazine to arrive - I wanted to see those pictures NOW!

In case you are new to Cote de Texas,  I am slightly obsessed with Nancy Meyers, the film writer/director behind  classics such as Something’s Gotta Give, The Holiday, The Parent Trap, and Father of the Bride to name a few.   Meyers is something of a design aficionado and in her last two movies, Something’s Gotta Give and The Holiday,  the movies houses were almost more of  the star of the show than the actors.   The promise of a new Nancy Meyers movie has kept design lovers anxiously waiting with this question:  will her new movie’s house be as great as the one  in Something’s Gotta Give?  That one – the beach house in the Hamptons -  started a national trend of white kitchens with subway tile backsplashes, black countertops, and dark wood floors.   The Something’s Gotta Give house is probably the most favorite movie house ever – overtaking Tara for the top spot.  

 

 

Something’s Gotta Give’s famous living room with it’s slipcovered furniture, blue and white striped dhurri, Mora clock, white walls, dark hardwoods and Hamptons style architecture is probably the most loved movie house of all time.  Despite the movie now being over six years old, magazines still feature houses that are designed in what they describe as a “Something’s Gotta Give” style.

 

 

The dining room – with the linen floral slipcovered chairs, sisal rug, and white ironstone filled shelves was a particularly attractive room.

 

 

A rarely seen shot of the famous SGG kitchen.  The countertops were not really slate, but were just painted wood – in this picture you can see evidence of that movie trick for the first time. 

 

 

The new movie from Nancy Meyers:  It’s Complicated – stars Meryl Streep,  Steve Martin and Alec Baldwin.   For Meyers fans - the most important credit is the pairing of Production Designer Jon Hutman with Set Decorator Beth Rubino.  This is their first movie together since Something’s Gotta Give.  Rubino was absent during the The Holiday shoot. 

 

  The movie is a love triangle between the stars, but this scene seems oddly familiar!

 

 

The famous bedroom scene from Something’s Gotta Give with Diane Keaton and Jack Nicholson.   Director Nancy Meyers is shown working her magic.   

 

 

The star of It’s Complicated:  a 1920’s Mediterreanean house in Santa Barbara that Meryl Streep remodels with the help of her architect turned lover Steve Martin. 

 

  It’s Complicated – the main living room

Film writer Nancy Meyers says that since so much of the movie is filmed inside the house, she wanted Streep to look good in it.  Thus, the interiors were done in creams with punches of orange – to play up Streep’s peaches and cream complexion.  Meyers was heavily influenced by the trendy Belgian style and that was the starting point for the interiors.  Certainly, the oversized, comfortable slipcovered furniture shown in the living room above reflects the Belgian look, as does the large x-motif coffee table with its slate top.   I love the pillows on the sofa, but the blue ones don’t do much for me, I’m afraid.  The rug looks interesting – a textured style with a stripe running through it.  I love the window seat and the steel windows and I particularly like the furniture arrangement with the four chairs – two pairs, two odd ones, circling the coffee table. 

 

In this picture of the living room, taken from the movie’s trailer – you can see the large slipcovered sofa with the assortment of orange pillows – solid and patterned.   Behind the sofa just out view is a bleached wood console with lamps – further reflecting the Belgian vibe.  This scene is when Streep announces to her shocked friends that she is having an affair!

 

And across from the sofa is this large limed wood French armoire.  In this scene Streep wears an outfit done in browns and oranges that perfectly coordinates with the interiors.  The colors of the walls and pillows look much more muted in the trailer than in the Traditional Home pictures.

 

 

Here you can see thst behind the sofa is a long, Belgian styled console table topped with two lamps.

 

 

Off the entry hall is another bleached wood console – surrounded by white plates hanging on the wall.   Those lanterns look like the ones from Vintage Vagabond.  In this scene  - who knows what is going on????

 

 

 

The kitchen and dining room.

 

This kitchen plays an important role in the movie as it is remodeled by Streep and her architect.  I love the island – it looks like it is made of a vintage steel piece with a thick slab of Carrara marble on top of it.   There is a double range to the right of the sink, and to the left are exposed shelves.  Underneath, is a linen skirt instead of cabinet doors.  I love the zinc pendant lights and the large dining room table.  The dining room is separated from the kitchen by a thick arched wall – and the flooring is different in both rooms.  Again, these rooms are bathed in creamy tones with orange accents.  It all looks so charming and authentic – no word yet if the house was constructed for the movie – or if the interiors were built on a sound stage.  All those details will probably come out after the movie.     This picture comes from Traditional Home’s December issue. 

 

 

 

Meryl Streep’s Bedroom.

 

The bedroom is a cozy and warm space – filled with an assortment of antique furniture from different styles.  An English chest is paired with a French Louis Philippe gilt mirror, while a large wood desk serves as a night stand.  The headboard is upholstered and the bed is made up with khaki and white linens and an orange shawl is used as a coverlet.  At the end of the bed is an antique bench.   Linen curtains are hung along with textured blinds.   One of the movies funniest scenes takes place in this bedroom.  

 

  

The Master Bathroom.

 

The bathroom also looks charming with its cast iron tub and limestone floors mixed with the house’s original steel windows.  It appears that a Ghost chair is holding an assortment of towels.  The shower curtain seems to made out of the same linen as the bedroom curtains.   This is a publicity still issued by the studio.   

 

 

In this scene –  there is a party, maybe to celebrate the remodeling.  Inside the building, it looks like it was once a garage that has been turned into a family room – with  high ceilings and rafters.   This scene looks so funny in the trailer.   I can’t WAIT to see the movie, it looks so good, plus I want to check out all the interiors up close.  But, I have to say – judging from what I have seen so far, the Something’s Gotta Give house’s crown appears to be safe – it looks like it will remain the favorite movie house of all time.

 

To read how to get the Something’s Gotta Give look for your own home – what design elements of that house are important to incorporate if you want the same look – go HERE.   To read all about the house in It’s Complicated – pick up the December issue of Traditional Home.

The Holiday Houses

 

Since it's been all about "Something's Gotta Give"  I thought that Nancy Meyers' follow up movie "The Holiday" needed a closer look.  Just as the star of  Something's Gotta Give was the Hamptons house itself, the star of the "The Holiday" wasn't really Cameron Diaz or Kate Winslet, but their two homes, one in Los Angeles and one in the English Countryside, respectively.  And in another connection between the two movies,  the production team was led  Jon Hutman - but Beth Rubino, so wonderful on the set of SGG, was absent for The Holiday.  And just as with Something's Gotta Give, Nancy Meyers' personal interior designer has photos of "The Holiday" houses on his web site, but he is not mentioned in the film credits.     The Holiday, coming so soon after Something's Gotta Give received a lot of prepublicity hype concerning its premise:  two women swap houses for the Christmas vacation and both find love.    For lovers of the SGG house, a new Nancy Meyers movie about TWO houses was almost too good to be true !   

 

"The Holiday" Los Angeles House:

 

 

The exterior of the Los Angeles house is actually a well-known classic.  Designed in 1928 by famed architect Wallace Neff for his own residence, the home is located in San Marino, Pasadena.   The front gates close off the motor court from the street.  White, with a red tiled Spanish roof, this house was used only for the exterior footage.  The interiors were built on a sound stage.

 

  

 The beautiful back yard.  Notice the hanging balcony on the left - so charming!  The outside stairs go up to the second floor.  I love the window that is gated.  This Neff home is so representative of Mediterranean styled Californian architecture and is the perfect star for the movie.

 

 

The entry way with its large, contemporary styled stairway.  I love the seagrass runner, of course!  Note the basic elements of this house:  white, stucco appearing walls, dark - almost black hardwood floors mixed with slate floors.  I don't know if the walls were actually stuccoed for the movie set.  But in real life, stuccoed walls would be found in an older house like the Neff home.  Since, this house is supposed to have been built in 1928, the interiors are made to look as though they were completely remodeled.    Note:  instead of copious overhead lighting, iron sconces are used throughout.

 

The main living room right off the two story entry hall.  Note the table in the entry hall appears to be the same Rose Tarlow table used in  SGG's master bedroom.  In keeping true to the home's exterior and "age" note the thickness of the stucco walls leading from the entry into the living area.   Another authentic element is the metal French doors, painted black. 

 

The main living area:  a textured checkerboard rug was used in this room, dressier and more contemporary than seagrass.  The upholstery is a mix between traditional and contemporary designs.  Note the sofa has square arms and clean lines making it more contemporary than the chairs which are rolled arm wing chairs in white, tight fitting slipcovers.  The darker armchairs appear to mohair - another contemporary touch.  The tables are a mix of classic and contemporary - and they are mostly dark.  Flanking the limestone mantel are two painted wood pieces.  A criticism:  I think there are too many little accessories strewn about - larger,  more dramatic pieces would be more pleasing.  There is also an attempt to introduce organic forms into the room:  note the wood free form table between the two white chairs.   The most important element here is contrast, just as in the SGG house:   there is high contrast between the white walls and white furniture and black floors and dark upholstery fabrics, furniture, and curtain fabrics. 

 

The formal dining room brings a pine colored table with matching sisal rug.  Gray slipcovered chairs in a contemporary shape.  Dark wood console, white curtains, white walls.

 

Down this corridor or inner loggia which is differentiated by the slanted wood rafter ceiling is the family area and kitchen.   It appears that this loggia was once part of the outside and has been incorporated into the interior,  judging by the rafter ceiling and the load bearing columns.   Of course this is either Hollywood fantasy or the set decorators copied the interiors of the Neff house.  The design elements that started in the front part of the house continue through here and throughout the rest of the house:   black slate floors, white stucco walls, white slipcovered upholstery fabrics, dark wood furniture.  Again, there is a mix of traditional and contemporary elements.  On the left, there is an antique oriental console.    Traditional lanterns play a big part in this room.  I love the sofa:  mine is an exact duplicate!   Notice the ultra contemporary fireplace on the right.

In the same room as above, the area next to the fireplace in the family room - kitchen area.  Dark, wood, round table is circled by white, slipcovered armchairs.  Through the iron french doors, you can see the covered patio area, furnished the same as the interiors.

 

 

A view towards the kitchen area  from the dining area:    Large, french styled outdoor lanterns highlight the area.  The entire room has an extra high ceiling with white rafters. 

Looking back towards behind the kitchen to a contemporary butler's pantry.  Wicker baskets take the place of drawers in the built in.  The contemporary fireplace and raised hearth is on the left.  Instead of dark fabric curtains, the designers opted for dark colored natural fiber shades over the large french windows.

 

 

Close up of the kitchen area of the large family room.  The kitchen is only one long countertop.   The  table serves as the island.  The refrigerator must be behind the two large black doors.  No overhead cabinets add to the streamlined look.   This is a kitchen built for a single woman, like Cameron Diaz who owns the home in the movie.  The countertops appear to be trendy concrete.

 

 

The loggia, looking down the opposite way, with the oriental console on the right.  Ahead is the media room.

 

The media room, dark and cocoon like to watch Hollywood movies in:  the ceiling retains the rafters, a reminder of the home's actual age and style.    The walls are a deep chocolate brown, but the curtains are a white to provide that high contrast, as the white built in does.  The floor is brown wall to wall carpet.  Instead of a sofa, there is a line of four slipcovered, white chaises with brown pillows - what a great idea for a media room instead of those phony theatre seats you so often see!!!   I love the black lamps behind each chaise and the brown cashmere throws.    Oriental styled console is to the left.   Also on the left, there appears to be that other over used theatre room prop:  a popcorn machine!

 

 

    

Upstairs, the white and brown theme is toned down with gray and white.  The sheets are white as is the shaggy flokati area rug.  The shape of the headboard mimics the shape of the upholstery pieces downstairs.  The light colored nightstands mimic the organic colors from the dining and living rooms.  Notice the curtain treatment:  the roman shades are made out of  a slightly darker fabric as the curtains.  This is repeated on the bed:  the bed is upholstered in the light gray and the pillows and spread are a deeper charcoal gray.  The slight variations in the gray colors keeps the room from being boring.  The shelves in the nightstand are piled high with nighttime reading, just what you would expect from a high powered film executive that Cameron Diaz plays.

 

     

The sitting area of the bedroom has a contemporary daybed piled high with cushy down pillows.  The two Oriental round decorative objects are used as coffee tables.  To keep the room from being too slick, a rustic, black console is added to the mix.

 

Across from the daybed are two white slipcovered armchairs and dark wood table, just as is found downstairs.  The color is off in this picture for some reason - the gray appears blue!   What is wonderful about the design of this house is that all the furniture is interchangeable from room to room.   There is a continuity to the design throughout the house.  If Cameron/Amanda ever decides to move, furniture from one room would work in another room just as perfectly - it all blends, it all meshes, which is a wonderful way to design a house.   Notice the rafters in the ceiling and the iron windows which maintain the authenticity of the Mediterranean house.

 

I suppose this bathroom is supposed  to be one of the back rooms with a balcony.  Maybe this is the room that the outdoor stairs leads to!  Here the egg bathtub  takes center stage. Rafters, chevron shaped hardwoods painted black, trendy medicine cabinets are used for storage instead of built in cabinets.   The same shades used in the kitchen are used here.  The curtains are cream and are trimmed on the lead edge in brown, along with a brown skirt on the bottom.  This house fulfilled it's requirements perfectly as Cameron/Amanda's home -  a successful single woman who is controlling and unfeeling.   The home is not particularly warm and cozy, yet it is beautiful and impeccably dressed, just as Cameron/Amanda is.  Though it is Christmas time, the house is hardly decorated at all, further describing to the viewer how cold and detached Cameron/Amanda really is.     Many people favored this home over the Something's Gotta Give Hamptons house and though the two houses share some design elements, the feel is very different in each.

 

The English Countryside Cottage:

The Los Angeles house could not be more different than the cozy cottage of Kate Winslet/Iris!   The facade of this house was built for the movie, though it is almost impossible to tell, it is so authentic.   Isn't this just the most charming house and everything you would think you would find in the English countryside?   A low stone wall encircles the house and a small gate with bells lets you into the property. 

 

A small front porch and the front gate played parts in the movie and added to the country charm. 

 

Inside the front door, an antique bamboo coat rack is piled with umbrellas and jackets.  The set is so authentic down to the last detail  - n0tice  Kate/Iris's doggie dishes.  Wellies stand next to the coat rack.

 

The ceiling is authentically low with wooden beams.  The furniture is covered in the typical cluttered country home style of mix and match fabrics.  A large tufted, blue velvet ottoman serves as a coffee table.  The drapes are a linen flowered print, perhaps Colefax and Fowler.  The pillows, or cushions as the English call them,  are a jumble of mixed prints.  The armchair is slipcovered and a drum serves are a side table.   Charming as it can be!

 

The side wall of the cottage with the stone fireplace and bookshelf piled high.  An old, threadbare oriental rug covers the brick floor.

 

Looking towards the back of the cottage, a glimpse of the small, tiny stairs with its striped runner. 

 

A close up view of the antique suzani on the back of the white chair.   And on the sofa behind it, a Robert Kime fabric covers the lumbar pillow.  In front of that sofa, an antique tole tray on an oriental stand doubles as a coffee table.

 

A close up of the slipcovered chair fabric - I'm just not sure whose it is.  Does anyone know?  And notice the top book on the basket tray is called "The Iris Book" after the Kate/Iris character.  The stair runner is probably a Roger Oates piece.

 

Cameron/Amanda in front of the living room fireplace in Kate/Iris' house.  Notice that Iris didn't forget to decorate for Christmas!  Of course she wouldn't, she is more caring and emotional than Amanda.

 

Across from the living room is the kitchen with the eat in area.  Blue painted cabinets with painted wood knobs are again an authentic English cottage touch.  The fireplace is topped with blue and white transferware and white ironstone.  A modern Ikea style rack is on the left.   Notice the teeny tiny range.  And also be sure to notice on the right, the authentic skirted, metal sink.   Seagrass covers the brick floor.  The home is messy and cluttered exactly what one would expect the Kate/Iris character to own.

 

 

A close up of the charming red wicker dining table and its antique wood chairs.

 

Another view of the charming eat in kitchen.

 

 

The upstairs bedroom with its ceiling open to the rafters.  A large, white painted iron bed is piled high with warm blankets and cushy pillows.  An antique bamboo table  holds warm, cashmere throws.  Wicker baskets throughout the house hold firewood.  Included in the mix is a red painted chest and a blue painted desk. 

          

"What am I doing here?  I want to go home!"   Amanda says, freezing in Iris' bed, before she meets Iris' brother Jude Law - at which point she begins to have fun and chooses to stay for her vacation.  Hey, if Jude Law was after me, I'd stay too!

 

The oh-so-charming bathroom with the authentic metal tub.  It's hard to believe this is a movie set!  The floors are gray with painted black diamonds perfectly worn down.  A white chest fills in for a built-in.  On the left, notice the door's hardware. 

 

The library - I"m not sure exactly where this room is.  It appears to be on the bottom floor, in a lean-to addition.  Or, it could be next to the bedroom on the second floor.   A lovely antique Edwardian chair sits next to a faux bois table on the left. 

 

If you like this style of home, it would be relatively easy to duplicate.  First you would need a small, charming cottage made of stone!  No, seriously - it would take a mix of upholstered and slipcovered comfortable and squishy furniture covered with English linens and cotton tickings by Colefax and Fowler and Bennison, all in muted shades of red and green and blue.  Creamy colored walls painted with Farrow and Ball in Dorset Cream.  You would need accent antique bamboo and tole pieces, a large upholstered ottoman, gateleg tables, a mixed of landscapes and animal prints in antique frames.  Lots of collections of smalls and transferware, ironstone, silver, candlesticks, walking sticks, tartanware, and porcelains.   Threadbare oriental rugs in blue and red shades and seagrass matting, wall to wall.  You don't need a designer for this look, you just need to collect and add to the clutter year after year.

 

Which house  do you prefer, the English cottage or the L.A. Mediterranean with the contemporary interior?

 

The good news:  Nancy Meyers is working on a new screenplay about a long term marriage, divorce, and relationship which she says will be completed this August.  The starring roles call for one woman and two leading men.  Sounds interesting!  James Radin, her personal interior designer reports he is gearing up for a new movie set - is it Meyers new movie?  I hope so!!!

 

Be sure to visit Linda Merrill at Silver Screen Surroundings who is also profiling Nancy Meyers this week.