Continuing in the Halloween spirit, Rosemary’s Baby is my favorite kind of scary movie- suspenseful, chilling and eerie without any gore. I’m a big wuss when it comes to horror movies and continually hold my hands over my eyes, so an adorable Mia Farrow makes the whole thing much more manageable.
[image above, clockwise from top left: Arredoluce floor lamp $3600,coat of arms mirror $198, silk dress with lace collar $240, flokati rug $159, wool beret $13, mango radio $198, Thonet bistro chair $361, Kensington pram $1995, pearl earrings $22]
In addition to the well-known fact that Rosemary’s Baby is a bit of cinema heaven, it also contains the most pitch perfect on screen house renovation of any movie I’ve seen. When Rosemary and her husband buy an apartment in the fictionalized upper west side Dakota building, it’s dark, stuffy and terrifyingly creepy. As Rosemary’s pregnancy progresses, she spends her days painting and wallpapering until the house is unrecognizably bright and cheerful. A charming mix of uptown traditional and feminine 1960s mod, she’s inspired me to kick into high gear with my own projects around the house. Spawn of satan not required. -amy m.
[image above, clockwise from top left: vintage wallpaper $57,flight base lamp $88, vintage nightgown, sputnik flower chandelier $2500, shearling throw , vase $40, coat rack $68, diamond necklace $542, tufted bench $1800, Repetto ballet flats $220]
55 Comments
Great punch line :)
I LOVE Rosemary’s Baby! Must see again soon..
That UO coat rack, I want!
loving the yellow mod look. and adding the movie to my must-see list.
I love their whole apartment—but especially the bedroom!
Such a creepy good movie. Love the yellow bench.
i love how you featured the interiors as well. i feel like they often get over looked in this movie!
I LOVE that you used Rosemary’s baby as inspiration. The movie had such fabulous kitsch in it, which is well replicated in the items you chose. Mia had an amazing style throughout the movie as well. Thumbs up!
Yes! Love this movie, love the time period.
This movie and Beetle Juice (for some reason) never cease to creep me out.
I’m not getting pregnant anytime around Halloween for fear of a devil baby!
I LOVE the yellow selections!
i’ve always said if i could live anywhere in nyc, it would be old, old school plaza hotel or the dakota. so dreamy and creepy!
Thank you! I’ve loved that apartment since I first saw that movie! The yellows and greys work great together, and recently I’ve been sort of channeling that look into my kitchen. Spot on Design Sponge.
“Spawn of satan not required” – that made me spit out my coffee while laughing. Love this post. :)
i love this film. love it. the book’s pretty good as well. what an apartment!
Aw man, how have I not seen this movie? As a fan of pixie haircuts, I should have seen it by now for that reason if for no other.
Oh, thank you! This is spot on! You’ve made my halloweeny heart sing. …..Now, I think I’ll go watch it AGAIN. :D
this, along with the original Omen & the Shining, are my fav scary halloween movies. I believe the outside of the building featured is also John Lennons apt in NY across from central park.
I love you for this. I can’t even stress enough how obsessed I am with the design in this movie (the clothes, the house).
As always, thanks for an amazing “Living In” post!!
The yellow and gray of the apartment in this movie is just so current now in terms of color trends. I love this pick for “living in” and I also want Mia’s pixie haircut!
don’t forget that vidal sassoon haircut!
I’m so happy you did this movie! I can’t even tell you how much I love this movie, the look, the feel, the storyline. It’s just a classic! I also use it countless times to describe how I must have conceived my son as I’m convinced sometimes he’s the devil’s child lol!
I loved this movie so much but didn’t really appreciate the look until now. Living In is just brilliant.
I was just watching this movie a couple nights ago and thinking how it would be great for “Living In” since the apartment and Mia Farrow’s outfits are so incredibly cute. I’m a little creeped that it just so happened to be the next “Living In” movie… But still quite pleased. :]
I must say, i’ve been reading d*s for quite sometime now and these ‘living in’ posts are my favorite. :) My husband and I just netflixed Two for the road b/c of one of your previous posts, and we loved it! I think you are right…that’s her best movie. Thanks for the recommendation. ;)
p.s. now i have to rent Rosemary’s Baby. :)
Amy is genius! First Annie Hall, now Rosemary’s Baby — two of my top five movies of all time. I’m so glad you highlighted the renovation aspect, and now I need to watch it again (I think my only copy is VHS, time for an update!)
The stroller, the bench! I watch Rosemary’s Baby every Halloween with my mom. We didn’t get to this year, so I’m sure when I email this to her, it’ll make her smile!
How fantastic! I was Rosemary for Halloween two years ago, and I’ve always loved the set styling. Thanks a bunch for this!
This should be in everyone’s Top 5 – brilliant movie !
Best bit ? That’s tricky.
I love when she spits in ‘Guy’s’ face though.
To be honest, I find the timing of this post a little distasteful, what with Polanski’s recent arrest. Celebrating his excellent taste in interior design doesn’t really chime with me at the moment.
Another classic movie with a terrific NYC apartment: “The 7-Year Itch”!
Zoe-
If we judged all artists by the illegal and shameful things they’ve done in their personal lives and not the quality and originality of their work, we’d be hard pressed to find anyone to admire.
I think Rosemary’s Baby is as good a source of inspiration as ever, regardless of the director’s legal troubles (which have been public knowledge for the past 32 years).
His recent arrest doesn’t interfere with the intent of this column, which is to highlight great design in movies.
-amy m,
i need that yellow bench… bad
Polanski did a very bad thing and should face his punishment, but that can never erase the fact that Rosemary’s Baby is a great movie.
All of them witches!
omg i can’t get over that yellow bench. i NEED it. why oh why does it have to be so expensive?? :’(
My mother went through a rosemary baby faze….she loved to movie and she cut her hair just like mia farrow and painted half the walls in our house yellow and wallpapered the other half..
It was adorable for the late 60s, but it all ended when the 70s hit like a hurricane of avocado green appliances and brown copper carpet…wow..why did she ever cover up those wood floors.
I love rosemarys baby, such a good movie especialy for halloween.
Maybe it’s the autumn coming in, but I feel wildly inspired by yellow these days. My front door was not a tremendous success, it must be admitted. It is yellow, but not very neat. I must drag some more yellow into my house now.
this movie, has made me like the color yellow!
I always look forward to these “living in” posts but after every single one i feel a sudden twinge of anger. you guys extract all of these amazing elements of the movie — furniture, clothing, jewelry — but almost ALL of the items are exorbitantly expensive. It would be lovely to see, for instance, ballet flats like those above that cost under a $100. We all know those exist! (http://www.zappos.com/jessica-simpson-leve-black-western-leather).
Amy,
While I agree that we shouldn’t judge art by the moral character of the artist, can we not lump other artists in with Polanski, please? We are certainly not “hard pressed” to find artists who don’t drug and rape underage girls.
That said, this is actually one of my favorite movies and I love your picks! I just find it more than a little ridiculous to excuse Polanski’s crimes as “just another crazy thing artists do”.
-Laura
laura
in the wide world of talented, successful artists, there are a lot of people (many of whom we’ve covered) who’ve done things people wouldn’t approve of. i think amy’s point is that we’re talking about design here, not polanski’s personal behavior. in no way is this post a “we approve of polanksi’s” behavior statement.
grace
I have an antique stroller very similar to that one in very good condition. Cool to see it in reference to Rosemary’s Baby. I wouldn’t mind parting with it if anyone is interested..
One of my FAVORITE movies!! Great job with your picks!Perfect :)
I love all of these “living in” posts.
I know this isn’t a big deal to most but one of the chairs listed, spelled Thornet on your website is actually Thonet. As an Interior Designer, it’s just one of those things I notice. :)
I watched the movie a few months ago and thought, “Wow I love love love that apartment set!” Glad to see that great minds think alike :)
I loved Rosemary’s Baby. And the apt. while yes, somewhat creepy was also beautiful, spacious and had so much detail. However,I could have lived without her neighbours Roman and Minnie!
I’m surprised you didn’t focus more in the decoration of the kitchen in Rosemary’s Baby. It had to have been in the kitchen where I realized what a beautiful movie I was watching (along with creepy!). Thank you for spotlighting this, I thought I was alone until now.
BEST YET!!!!!!
If you ever consider moving onto TV shows…. there are so many gems …like the golden Girls’ house or the Fisher’s house on Six Feet under?
I love this series so much! Great taste in movies! I’d like to suggest The Ballad of Jack and Rose for a future Living In spotlight.
my desire for an all-white kitchen came from this movie and the original “stepford wives”.
Wow…this is wonderful! Awesome job in the pics. This is one of my favorite series of posts.
i’m loving the “living in” series. you should totally do one for Mona Lisa’s Smile
Speaking of Mia, check out 1995′s “Restless” A strange Christmas comedy. Great sets with interesting wall treatments.
Sorry, not “Restless”….”Reckless”
One of my favorite movies ever and my style muse for both interiors and apparel.
Just found this post about one of my fav movies of all time. I love the juxtapostion of the cheerful all yellow and white bedroom and the dark creepiness surrounding it.
Yes, Rosemary spitting in Guy’s face is one of the many “high” points.
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