You already know how much I’m annoyed by endless decorating inspiration posts claiming we can get the look in just three EASY steps. There’s good reason folks in the know hire interior designers to creatively craft a custom plan that serves their needs and wishes. It aint easy! So I won’t suggest we can transform our spaces into Nancy Meyers interiors. Rather, we’ll look closer at her choices to refine ours.
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Capture the Chic of Nancy Meyers Interiors
Nancy Meyers’ Los Angeles Home
I’ll demystify a bit of the magic we notice in movie sets and even within her own, very real LA home. There’s a classic, timeless, understated, livable luxurious thread running through them all.
When the kitchen from Something’s Gotta Give sort of sparked a revolution and director Nancy Meyers was repeatedly asked about it, she said that kitchen was based on her own. She has updated it a bit over the years, but let’s explore how it looked in AD in 2022.
Nancy Meyers Real Kitchen
While the color story is restrained, there is plenty of texture, character, and natural materials that keep a classic pretty white kitchen fresh and welcoming.
I can clearly see the similarities to the Something’s Gotta Give Hamptons kitchen. White cabinets, a breezy coastal feel and two islands. Notice too the farm sink which adds age and personality along with decorative details such as the brackets on the marble topped island.
Have the guts to use two different countertop materials as Nancy did with the wood on the second island where she serves food? It’s a chic, less fussy, more evolved look that brings warmth and a furniture-feel to a space so many folks treat strictly as utilitarian.
Exterior of Provencal Style Home
Also featured in AD, are these shots of Nancy Meyers’ exterior which was refreshed.
Isn’t this Provencal home breathtaking to behold?
I love the old world style of the warm stone-hued stucco and bright blue shutters before she made any changes.
But I also love the AFTER where the new shutters have more presence and are grey.
Plenty of subtle changes to the outside of the house make it feel new, and it’s interesting that the movie director planned to move from the home and went to the trouble of buying a smaller home before changing her mind.
As an emptynester, I can relate to the impulse to make a big change and downsize when a new life chapter begins.
However, sometimes it makes sense to stay where your roots are already planted. Who could easily walk away from a home with a loggia like this:
And no, madame. I have no tips on how you can add a chic vine climbing effect to your loggia since I find myself one green thumb and one loggia short at the moment.
More Interiors from Nancy Meyers AD Feature
But let’s notice Nancy Meyers’ own living room and how we might capture a bit of the gentle livable luxe for which she is known.
A fireplace mantel is simply adorned with a vase with branches and a pale earthenware bowl. No flurry of knicknacks or the expected showoffy treasures. The dark arm chairs are a bit unexpected and more masculine in the sea of pretty. Need a paint color suggestion for this look? I’m thinking a greyed-white such as BM Gray Mist would be pretty when washed by sunlight.
For spaces with limited natural light, a similar effect may be achieved with this classic:
The white walls in this Los Angeles home look brighter in this image of the entry:
And isn’t this a grand yet gentle foyer with its linen French settee and framed antique prints a relaxing, atmospheric welcome?
A Rose Tarlow antique table provides all sorts of function and understated style. A place to drop mail and daily life essentials, a surface for books and decor, and I love how more folks are using their entries as multipurpose spaces. In a small apartment, a table in the foyer can be pulled into service when entertaining.
Within Nancy Meyers’ pool house, we see an airy, casual, neutral design that feels modern and lofty.
The combination of light wood tones, pale stone, and creamy whites is easy to live with no matter what trends strut down the runway.
Something’s Gotta Give Hamptons Kitchen
This classic traditional Hamptons movie set kitchen was the setting for Something’s Gotta Give where playwright Erica Barry’s life is turned upside down.
Even though it has been 21 years since this Nancy Meyers classic film with Diane Keaton rocked the kitchen design world, it is still creating a stir.
The house from the movie plays a starring role. And that’s the beauty of timeless, coastal, classic Hamptons chic. It isn’t going to feel irrelevant in a few years.
Of course, there are always seasons that arrive where timeless style also happens to trend.
Resources for Hamptons Style
But no matter what you call it: coastal grandma, coastal grandfather, coastal chic, or New England style, it has a nostalgia, grace and romance we want our own homes to reflect.
The soapstone countertop is something very classically New England, and the high contrast look of black and white resonates with a lot of folks who love neutrals.
Here’s a closeup of kitchen cabinetry and details during that pivotal scene where Harry Sanborn is retrieving something from the frig:
Psst. Someone went to a LOT of work putting together a Hamptons beach house inspired by Something’s Gotta Give in this Sims video! Wow!
Dining Room & Dozens More Design Elements from Something’s Gotta Give
Restrained black and white kitchen palette, Shaker-style traditional cabinetry, clasic white subway tiles, coastal style pendants, farmhouse sink, traditional bridge faucets (find options HERE), walls of windows, built-ins, book shelves in kitchen island…
two islands rather than one, transom windows, coastal-themed vintage and beachy wall decor, dark countertops (for the movie set, they were faux painted to resemble greenish-black soapstone), ebonized wood floors, rustic wood bowls and cutting boards, sisal rugs and woven blinds, white trim, blue accents.
Who can forget the dining room in this Hamptons beach house!?!
The slipcovered dining chairs, round antique table, and white built-ins with beaded board charmed us all. (And it’s hard for me to not rush out this very moment to hunt down more ironstone!)
Pancake Pajama Party Scene!
ITS COMPLICATED Kitchen (Nancy Meyers)
If you fell in love with Jane’s house in IT’S COMPLICATED, starring Meryl Streep, then maybe you also loved the charming modern Belgian style mixed with California freshness throughout the movie sets.
Was I the only one wondering why Jane wanted to remodel this impossibly gorgeous kitchen?
So cozy with its unfitted and unfussy design, slipcovered counter stools, industrial pendants over the island, shelves of European style serveware, and steel windows.
Here’s a shot from the film where you can see more of her ironstone and vintage hotel silver pieces on the shelf near the ceiling:
This kitchen made so much sense for a pastry chef with a thriving business.
For example, most chefs only want to whip up quick meals and treats at home since they have access to commercial grade everything as well as prep space at work.
To capture this look for yourself, think of an unfitted look where it isn’t about long runs of cabinetry with matching doors. Notice the skirted area below the shelves. There’s a small cart holding the microwave. The name of the game here is TOTALLY OPEN STORAGE so that everything is visible and within reach.
Interview With Director Nancy Meyers
Get a feel for the screenwriter from this interview:
Rosehill Cottage Kitchen from THE HOLIDAY
For Nancy Meyers fans who love cozy Old World English style, this Cotswold Cottage in The Holiday qualifies as the ultimate cozy dream house.
What a backdrop for those scenes with Cameron Diaz and Jude Law! And the exterior of the ancient stone cottage?
Only a Hollywood facade, but these movie sets felt so authentic and natural.
To capture a bit of the English charm you see reflected here, think about utilizing vertical space and celebrating low ceilings.
Does it get cozier than a stone fireplace and books everywhere? Well, it does. Velvet tufted upholstered ottomans, sconces, and patterned pillows amp up the hygge.
Nothing precious, matchy, or edgy here.
My favorite aspect of these sets is how they appear undecorated and evolved. It is difficult enough to create such a look in rooms that are real and built with solid natural materials. But to do it with artistry magic and faux finishes? Wow.
But what about the incredible sets from HOME AGAIN and THE INTERN? Don’t they deserve love too? The goodness is continued in PART TWO here!
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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