Chicago Design Blog | Material Girls | Chicago Interior Design

{Carrie Bradshaw in her new apartment}

I personally did not get a chance to see “Sex and the City 2”  in theaters (not so many positive reviews, as I’m sure you know…).  I am waiting until it is available on HBO on Demand to watch this flick for free from the comfort of my own home.  Per usual though, everything design related, from the clothes to the sets, was thoroughly decorated.  I caught a glimpse of several images from a feature on the set design from Elle Decor.  Like the girls themselves, the interiors are diverse in style and personality.  Many were left underwhelmed by the highly anticipated sequel, and I must say I felt the same way about the interiors themselves.  Although her place does have some quirky, unexpected and chic pieces like the main gal herself, I honestly was expecting a bit more pizzaz from Carrie’s new apartment; I thought her redecorated old apartment was much more captivating.  And Samantha’s office in Times Square seems a little bland (at least from the Elle Decor shot).  Were you excited at all by Charlotte’s all white kitchen?  What do you think?  Love em, hate em?

{Carrie and Big’s living room}

{Carrie and Big’s dining room, with kitchen in the background}

{Hallway in Carrie and Big’s apartment…love the Lindsey Adelman light fixture}

{Carrie and Big’s master bedroom}

{Carrie and Big’s closet…how do you feel about the differing his and her’s sides?}

{Carrie’s iconic closet in her old apartment}

{Carrie’s apartment post renovation in the fist “Sex and the City” movie}

{Charlotte’s kitchen…how adorable are the coordinated outfits, cupcakes and drapes?}

{Samantha in her Times Square office}

{Kitchen in Miranda’s Brooklyn home…loved what I saw from the first movie}

{Author Candace Bushnell’s own apartment…definitely my favorite SATC related interior!  Painting look familiar? Reminds me so much of the “Love” piece (actually a needlepoint rug) from Carrie’s renovated former apartment}

{“Love Too” by Paul Smith}

Part II comes after popular demand for more movie and television interiors.  I must say that after “Living in the Movies” Part I, I found myself thinking about movie/television interiors that I had forgotten, and thank you MG readers for reminding me!  So let’s take another look at some of the most interesting and beautiful on- screen homes.

{Iris’s house, “The Holiday”}

{Iris’s house, “The Holiday”}

{Iris’s house, “The Holiday”}

{Iris’s house, “The Holiday”}

{Iris’s house, “The Holiday”}

{Iris’s house, “The Holiday”}

{Iris’s house, “The Holiday”}

{It’s Complicated”}

{It’s Complicated”}

{It’s Complicated”}

{“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”}

{“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”}

{“Mr. and Mrs. Smith”}

{Napa home in “Parent Trap”}

{Napa home in “Parent Trap”}

{Napa home in “Parent Trap”}

{Napa home in “Parent Trap”}

{Exterior of Carrie Bradshaw’s apartment in “Sex and the City”}

{Carrie’s apartment, after the renovation}

{Carrie’s apartment, after the renovation}

{Carrie’s apartment, after the renovation}

{Exterior of Hamptons home in “Something’s Gotta Give”

{Living Room, “Something’s Gotta Give”}

{Living Room, “Something’s Gotta Give”}

{Living Room, “Something’s Gotta Give”}

{Dining Room, “Something’s Gotta Give”}

{Kitchen, “Something’s Gotta Give”}

{Master Bedroom, “Something’s Gotta Give”}

{Pool, “Something’s Gotta Give”}

{“Australia”}

{“A Perfect Murder”}

{“The Lake House”}

{“The Lake House”}

UPDATE: If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out my post on some of my favorite chandeliers from TV and movie sets. They are simply stunning!

As my ancestry calls me….I am a Buckingham by birth, and seem to be drawn to all things English with an amazing regularity.  I have been told that to design a castle might be my dream job (who would not call that a dream job?!).  But without a doubt I can recall early images of my Irish mother announcing that all things “English” were dreamily elegant and ultimately oozed glamour and style.  This leads me to West Wycombe Park located in Buckinghamshire, UK….

The house- a sumptuous Palladian Villa- is a part of the National Trust, although it remains firmly in the hands- and is the family home of Sir Edward Dashwood and his family…all 5,000 acres of it.  This Blue Drawing Room embraces all things English with examples of statuary, furniture and fine paintings.

The Music Temple- on an island in the lake and reachable only by boat- is another family favourite: “We use it for drinks parties and picnics.”  Oh so English sounding…I just had to use their spelling of the word favorite.  It DOES sound more elegant, doesn’t it?

Film-makers also find West Wycombe irrestible.  ”Little Dorrit”, “Daniel Deronda”, “Cranford” and “The Duchess”- have all been made here.  ”Colin Firth and Rupert Everett must have been here many times”  says Edward Dashford. With its yellow-stone exteriors and pale blue doors, this is a house without an obvious front or back; although the west portico- the Dashwoods (pictured above in almost their entirety) front door- built by Nicholas Revett in 1771 is stunning, the earlier south-facing double colonnade, by architect John Donowell, is grander.  In the summer, the family eats outside under the pillars, overlooked by a row of busts and the prostrate sculpture of a naked woman.  I knew that I loved all things English.  I am still in the market for designing the spaces within a castle…..

All images courtesy of House & Garden Magazine October issue.

Are you a “Real Housewives of New York” watcher like me?  One of my favorite parts was the redecoration (according to the listing, costing upwards of 300K) of housewife Jill’s Manhattan apartment, which was actually featured in the May 2009 issues of Traditional Home.  You can now own this piece of “Housewives” memorabilia for a cool $3.2 million!

Check it out and tell me what you think.  (I am not including the before pics…take my word for it if you didn’t see it for yourself on the show, the apartment looks FAR better post decorating overhaul)

I am a big fan of the blues and whites incorporated throughout.  The apartment is approximately 1,956 square feet, so these light colors help to brighten and open up a smaller space.  What are your thoughts?  Ready to fork over the big bucks for this place?  In case any of you are interested, here is the listing.

I must say I am somewhat of a pack-rat when it comes to design magazines.  I have stacks and stacks of Elle Decor, Chicago Home and Garden, Traditional Home…you name it.  This collection, however, is not amassed in vain.  I frequently hark back to past articles for inspiration or reference.  I stumbled upon this article from the January 2007 issue of House and Garden magazine.  One of the cover stories, “25 Fabulous Movie Interiors, And How to Make Them Yours” caught my eye.  Even though this issue was published over two years ago, the movie interiors featured are classics.  I thought I’d show you some of my favorites!

The room below is a modern day room inspired by the interiors in the 1971 film, “A Clockwork Orange.”  (The original set is the image in the upper left corner)  Of course I had to include this one, because orange is one of my favorite colors!  This mod-70′s look becomes uber-chic with the checkerboard vinyl flooring, Beethoven shade, and orange console.  Notice the groovy wall covering in the second image!

Here are some of my other favorite movie interiors from the article.

How great is the wall covering, the lamp, THAT COAT from “Conversation Piece?” Really though the Rothko on the wall makes it for me.

What do you think?  Do you have any favorite movie interiors that jump out at you?

I must admit, I am a “Bachelorette” watcher.  Something about seeing grown men weep in front of a multi-million person audience every week really gets me.  Let’s face it, it’s great guilty-pleasure television!  It’s also just fun to see the clothes, the sets, the floral arrangements, the houses…

It wasn’t last week’s teary elimination that captured my attention, it was the incredible ice furniture scene!  Was anyone else as blown away by this as I was!? I mean this took ice sculpture to a whole other level.  I had to do some serious research on the web to dig up some of these fabulous pieces.  My question is… why aren’t more people buzzing about these?! Here is their website http://www.icebulb.com They are fabulous! I am only sorry that I could not find an image of the sculptural beauty of the entire tablescape that was featured on the show.  Guess that I will have to tune in to a rerun or two to keep the memory fresh!