When the sets in a movie are particularly beautiful or interesting, I often get distracted from the story line, start focusing on the backdrops and five minutes later I’ve lost the plot. While I liked her old apartment, Carrie Bradshaw's apartment makeover in the first Sex and the City movie was one of the most distracting movie sets I’ve seen – that glossy white furniture with those bright blue walls… ahhh.
Carrie's Sex and the City apartment is my first feature in House Nerd’s Silver Screen Style section, which will look at gorgeous movie homes and how you can recreate elements from the look at home. This post is dedicated to my sister Natasha – the biggest Carrie fan I know.
I think the major element in Carrie’s apartment redo is obvious – the walls. They took a chance with the paint colour in Carrie’s apartment and it worked – it’s Benjamin Moore Electric Blue (or for similar try Porter’s Paints Avalon).
The bright blue walls are set off by pieces of modern, minimalist white furniture, such as Carrie’s writing desk. “It’s all about the desk. If I find the desk the writing will come,” says Carrie in the movie (below) browsing in a furniture store with Charlotte, who expresses her enthusiasm that Carrie is redesigning her apartment. “Yeah, well, out with the old and… oh, in with the overpriced,” says Carrie, looking at the price tag of a desk in the store.
Swatches of pattern add interest in Carrie’s apartment. For an eclectic, colourful fabric just as pretty as the one that covers Carrie’s couches, try Hot House Flowers by Celerie Kemble for Schumacher.
A lot of people wowed over Carrie’s ‘Love Too’ wallhanging (pictured above) which was by Paul Smith for The Rug Company. I like it but I LOVE the punchy typography of this black and white Love wall art poster by Field Trip (above).
Don't forget scatter cushions. “And Samantha? That pillow cost $300,” says Carrie mildly as she looks at Samantha’s crazy dog dry humping away. I would never spend $300 on a pillow personally so here’s my pick for a fraction of the price - AURA’s Sienna cushion in Blackberry and this cute Marimekko design (below right).
Gallery walls – overdone? Well I like to think this trend still has a fair bit of life yet because I love this look, and the gallery wall beyond the bedhead in Carrie’s apartment is beautiful. I love the work of amazing UK graphite artist Ileana Hunter, whose drawings are as lifelike as photographs. Try her Audrey Hepburn print or this original drawing of Coco Chanel – one of Carrie’s idols.
Ex Libris Journals sell gorgeous, affordable prints on vintage book pages and I can see their Audrey Hepburn Charade print and their Eiffel Tower print (below) fitting perfectly into Carrie’s gallery wall, with Audrey a style icon and Carrie’s love affair with Paris. (And for under AUD $10, I couldn’t resist ordering the Eiffel Tower print for myself).
Vintage fashion drawings would also fit beautifully into a Carrie-style gallery wall, like this classic 1940s Vogue cover (top left) or reprints like this 1930s evening gown ad (top right) this 1944 Balenciaga ad (above left) for evening gowns, or this Pierre Balmain ad (above right - I think the woman looks a bit like SJP in her Lovely perfume ads!) Give your gallery wall a cohesive look by displaying individual photos and art pieces that are linked by a similar palette or tie a disparate collection or images together with thick cream or white matt boards.
If you have a shoe collection to rival Carrie's, IKEA’s STÄLL shoe cabinet has the same modern clean lines as the cabinetry in her new lounge.
A few more pieces - this replica Barcelona chair (top left), put your feet up on this sweet tufted KARLSTAD ottoman from IKEA (tufted version not available in Oz) and plink your Cosmo down on this glamorous round mirrored coffee table from Alexander’s of Ipsden (or just dream about it - it comes with a pretty impressive price tag!) Finally add a beautiful, delicious scented candle (the Ice Crystal candle from the Yankee Candle range is burning on my desk right now - it smells good enough to eat!) and get set to write the night away, Carrie-style.
House Nerds, I’ll be on the lookout for ideas for this section, so if there’s a movie home you particularly love, I’d love to hear about it! Feel free to comment or email [email protected] The next Silver Screen Style home will be Nina’s stunning warehouse apartment from Offspring.
