About half the time when I pick a movie for this column, I know y’all are going to like it. I mean, who can complain about Amadeus or Romeo and Juliet? This week’s movie I’m not so sure about, as “design-y” people can be funny about good old fashioned country living and country music. I should just get this out of the way and say I ADORE Coal Miner’s Daughter and all of the twangy goodness that goes along with it. And it’s heroine, Loretta Lynn, is my girl, through thick and thin.
peach floral fabric $9/yd, antique hoosier cabinet $1995, opening ceremony flannel dress $186, apple pie $35.25, bow barrette $14, shaker broom $35, hand dipped tapers $12, vintage roper boots $70, sunlight soap planter $199, cotton bandana $3.50.
Born in a Appalachian mining town and married at the age of 15 (with four babies by the age of 19), Loretta’s rise to stardom was anything but ordinary. Sissy Spacek’s slam dunk portrayal and singing have me itching for a little country in Brooklyn. Out come the overalls and apple pie, and this time for keeps. -amy m.
antique 1880′s quilt $675, Fender acoustic guitar $199, vintage miner’s lantern $24.95, knitted beanie $18, repro steepletone radio $60, carhartt overalls $52, Maid-Rite washboard $19, wire egg basket $34, chickens.
71 Comments
Love this one! I think I have evolved from my early country roots somewhat but the sight of an antique quilt or a Hoosier cabinet still makes my heart beat a little faster.
That flannel dress is beautiful too.
Nice choice!
Still waiting for you to discover ‘The Quiet Man’…don’t let John Wayne put you off, think Irish cottages and Maureen O’Hara in her beautiful youth.
I have to tell you how happy I was to see this. I am from NYC and I am a city girl. The funny thing is I moved to Atlanta and lived there for 11 years. Before moving there I have always loved this movie. While I lived in Atlanta I met one of my best friends who is from Alabama and to this day it’s a joke amongst us that this NYC girl with Latin roots loves this movie and knows every song! You put a smile on my face with this post today! Thank you!
I love this one also, being from TN and all. Would love to see you do some Sean Connery 007 movies. Some of the hotel rooms especially have some of THE coolest lamps, wallpaper, textiles, oooo, better stop, I’m drooling.
sorry, i seem to be having a terrible time with the links today. the roper boots? i click on the link and it just refreshes the d*s page….
Thank YOu!! I love Lorett-y and this movie and your sweet picks! We are proud to be Honkey-Tonk Girls! xo
Nailed it! This film captures such a sense of time and place.
The Quiet Man would be great, too! What a wonderful film!
to be honest i didn’t know the movie… maybe because it’s not so popular in europe? anyways, your selection of pictres and objects linked to the movie is just great and now i will certainly look for the movie and watch it!
this post is great! but you should have linked a farm sanctuary to those cute chickens!
oh i love this movie. i saw it for the first time recently. sissy, loretta, patsy and the music, amazing!
hi momo – it’s not you! ;) the link is correct now! it’s a vintage find from etsy! so hurry, if you wear an 8.5! – amy a.
it’s been forever since i’ve seen this one. but you doubt there are people out there who can see it in a design light? i sure can! that cabin looks like heaven to me.
Part of Coal Miner’s Daughter was actually filmed in my little coal mining hometown, so this was such an exciting one to see! I have to say, I never saw the beauty in it until I moved away, but now I treasure it.
Amy, you should read Lee Smith’s “Fair and Tender Ladies.” You would LOVE it.
For some reason – I am getting creeped out by this post. Dont get me wrong – I absolutely love Design Sponge and chck the site AT LEAST 2X per day. But something about Sissey Spacek just makes me go in a dark place. On a cool factor – she lives in Charlottesville and she often comes to Lynchburg, VA to shop at the J Crew Outlet store. She’s been spotted many times. But not in the diggs posted here. Ha ha. Still – thanks for keeping it real and adding spicy variety!
Wouldn’t she be shocked at what her clothes might cost today!!!!
I love this movie and Loretta! It’s fun to be country.
And can I say that I saw Loretta in concert last summer and she sounds EXACTLY the same.
Love her.
Love it! Loretta Lynn is the most wonderful woman. If you’re driving on I-40 you should definitely stop in at her restaurant/gift shop so that you can stock up on magnets and pins and souvenier bells and…buffet.
Oh by the way–shameless–I live in West Virginia, sell on etsy, so if you like Appalachia Chic (not actually a thing, i realize) check it outtt!!! (maroneypepperoni.etsy.com) (not much there yet, more to come within hours/days)
I love these posts! Thank you!
Loretta Lynn is an inspiration to us all, not only in the beautiful design of this film, but also in her life story AND her songs, which embrace all kinds of values that country music musicians these days would shy away from. Oh and they’re great.
This is my favorite “Living In” so far! I was raised on this movie! Love it.
I saw the movie when it came out…awesome! I wish I had my overalls from the 80′s…wore them when I was pregnant. Ralph Lauren has them back too. I will go to thrift stores first!
Oh, and least we not forget Tommy Lee Jones!! Love him to death since “One Life to Live”; Bo, wasn’t it?!
Yesss. I adore Loretta Lynn & this movie! Rock.
This is the one movie I have to stop and watch whenever I stumble across it when flipping channels!
Sissy Spacek is also insanely amazing in Badlands.
love it and love those vintage boots! too bad they’re sold out already! thanks for the great post.
for some reason i am channeling “the dollmaker” with jane fonda and levon helm after reading this post! love it.
That vintage quilt!!!!
Oh, thank you for choosing this movie!! Coal Miner’s Daughter has to be one of my all time favorites. This post has definitely brightened my day! Keep up the great work Amy M.
I can’t tell you how happy I was to see this movie in your “living in:” section! I’m an Appalachian-raised graphic designer/web designer with a personal mission to make others aware of the value of Appalachian folk art and traditions. Appalachian folk art (and design) is beautiful because it marries the beauty around us (in nature) with the functional necessities of life. Design inspiration can come from any culture! (Even Appalachia!) A good designer should never be afraid to profess love for the unpopular. Thank you for this post! This is why we <3 you!
i looooooooove this movie!!!
hah! how funny! I just saw Sissy Spacek’s photo on some other blog and instantly thought I wanted to watch the Coal Miner’s Daughter again… and now… this! Coincidence?
I don’t mind that movie one bit! Seriously, who can’t just let it go with some overalls and a straw hat, I ask you?!
Lila Ferraro
Love that movie! I saw it for the first time when I was 12ish and Loretta is such a cool woman.
Love this movie! I used to watch it with my grandmother every year during the annual PBS telethon (it and the Anne of Green Gables mini-series were my two favorites). Sissy Spacek was one of the first actresses I really admired because of it, though I have to admit that until 7th grade or so I did think she was actually Loretta Lynn.
Saw it in the theater in 1980 and still love it. It’s time I added it to my movie collection. Thanks for featuring it.
Love, love, love this movie. The music, the drama…and Sissy looks so radiant. Even better “Design In” fodder sometime: Sweet Dreams, the Patsy Cline story. Great 50s/early 60s vibe in that one.
This just makes me want to dig up my old pair of overall and go work in the yard…
My favorite so far. Loretta is my hero.
LOVE that movie! Haven’t seen it in ages…although just heard NPR talking about Loretta Lynn a few days ago and thought about the movie. Trina
You chose such a great inspiration! Thanks for the trip back … that I can take today.
Great Movie – but would you want to live it? sorry find all a bit depressing!
The pink roses wallpaper in the 1st photo is called Waverly Quaker Lady. My bedroom in 1975 was wallpapered with it. It also came in fabric and my curtains and bedspread were made from it as well. I loved it as my fave color was pink. I recently found some on Etsy and had a pillow and bag made from it. That same wallpaper was also on Little House on the Prairie!
“well i was born a coal miners daughter…..” lol
honestly though, I have yet to see the movie, but I dont think this is the type of movie I would love. I understand mountain life and all that jazz, but I dont care who you are, being married at 15 and having 4 kids by 19, does not a fun movie make…. this movie is sounding a bit like a white moutain version of Precious. lol
Oh Hrhkat – do yourself a favor and see the movie (…before judging…) It’s great and so much more of a triumph than Precious. It’s a true story about remarkable people.
LOVE this choice for a “Living In”! Not what I would call a light-hearted movie, and yet one that’s stuck with me for years. Utterly worthy!
Thank you for highlighting a movie that is unexpected. The movie is wonderful, and Loretta brought beauty into her life and others with her music despite her (sometimes) bleak surroundings. As an artist, I believe you can find design inspiration anywhere if you are willing to look without preconceived ideas.
One of my most favorite movies EVER. And who doesn’t love when she hangs out with Patsy Cline?
awesome awesome awesome! i think ed and i are gonna watch this on netflix after the daily show and colbert report tonight. it looks sooooo good!
One of my favorite movies with some of my favorite lines of all time … I LOVE that you did a post inspired by Cole Miner’s Daughter. Classic!
Embarrassed to admit I haven’t seen this classic. Thanks for reminding me to check it out-adding it to my netflix queue now!
I am waiting for one on “Giant”. One of my FAVORITE old movies, and freaking beautiful on screen to boot.
Hey that’s rooster “Henry” !
I can’t wait to see the film.
Ta!
Great Post, love the chickens! real eggs rock!
love the movie and the lantern is a perfect collectible
One of my faborite films as a little girl, growing up on the farm! So glad you picked this. I used to want to be a country singer (shh…DON’T tell my city friends!) Now I’m content to put some Loretta or Patsy on the ipod & belt it out in my car as I’m fixin’ to travel the backroads to some good sales. Thanks for some nostalgia this morning!
“Doo, quit your growln’-you sound like an ole’ baaare”
Grace, you hit the nail on the head with this one. Perfect!
Coal Miner’s Daughter is and will forever be my all time favorite movie.
katie
so glad you liked the post- just to clarify (and this will be much clearer when we launch the redesign in the few months)- amy merrick wrote this lovely column (and all “living in” posts)- not me ;)
grace
don’t know how you made such a bleak place look so cool . . .
Oh love that movie, and love love Loretta Lynn who is so talented. For those who aren’t into hardcore country do listen to her CD “Van Lear Rose” which was produced by Jack White – it is so amazing – you will literally get hooked right from the first song.
I absolutely love Coal Miner’s Daughter, and am so excited it was included for Living In. Excellent pick!
$35.25 for an apple pie?
jodi
i did a quick google search and that seems to be the going rate for handmade pies sold online. store-bought pies are usually cheaper because they’re made in a factory or because they’re being sold from a large company that can charge lower rates because they buy ingredients in bulk for lower costs. companies like this one are doing each pie by hand, so if you factor in a moderate cost of $5 for the food supplies and very conservative 2 hours for labor (prep, cook, wrap) and a reasonably hourly rate of $12 an hour that’s $29. not factoring in the cost of their employees benefits, insurance, etc. so $35 for a handmade pie delivered to your door isn’t that crazy.
g
I love the mystery of which movie will be featured next. Today totally caught me off guard and I love it! Coal Miner’s Daughter is a yummy and soulful slice of Americana. Loretta was a pioneer in her own right and paved the way for many female artists to follow. Great movie!
I am a latina born and raised in San Francisco, but this has been one of my favorite movies since I was young…introduced me to Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn, and I think I’ve seen this movie over 30 times….This was great, thanks!!
Great post! I’m a huge fan of Loretta Lynn. Can’t get over the price of that Hoosier, even if it is a rare “apartment sized” model. I recently bought one with all the original parts in great condition for one-tenth that price. Guess that’s one benefit to living and shopping in an old fashioned, country town!
I have always been a huge fan of Loretta Lynn. I was in the Butcher Hollow area last week and it is a very special place.
just wanted to point out that she was married at 13 instead of 15. A real child bride.
Oh wow! I can’t tell you how much I love this post. As a musician myself, Loretta Lynn is one of my biggest idols and this movie gets viewed several times a year at our house. And as a cabin dweller myself, I love the rustic simplicity of all the pieces you’ve assembled here. Very Butcher Holler chic. :)
If I typed the word LOVE as much as I want to right now, you’d write me off as a psycho.
Coal Miner’s Daughter is in my all time top five movie favorites and has been for years. No idea what drew me in initially, but I adore it.
I know every song by heart (“in the pines, in the pines, where the sun never shines …) and I often quote it. Sad, right?
Anyway, what a cool post. Made me smile. ;)
This is one of my favorite movies of all time!
It has a permanent home on my “watch instantly” queue on Netflix.
what kind of pie did loretta lynn put salt in? was it an apple pie, or a chocolate pie?
this is my favorite! and i’m so glad you put in a shot of her in those overalls! it was a chocolate pie, of course, mary! i wish patsy was in this, beverly d’angelo did such a good job. i could go on about this movie all day! :)
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