Ferris Bueller vs Twilight
This week I’m looking at a couple of my favourite movie houses. And now that I have looked at them together- I can see that I have a type! While my design aesthetic is usually light and bright, calm and rustic, for some reason I seem to favour dark mid century vibe, cantilever homes surrounded by tall trees. Hmmm. Something to discuss at therapy perhaps.
As a kid I was always creative. I took all arts at school and then went on to get a Bachelor of design majoring in spatial design which largely focused on interior design, furniture design, construction theory and art history.
But where did it all start?
The Ferris Bueller House (The Ben Rose House)
This was my favourite movie as a kid. I idolised Ferris’s charismatic naughty gumption, Sloan’s casual grace and beauty….and Cameron’s comedically depressive nature….and his incredible HOUSE!
This garage is iconic. In the film Ferris peer pressures Cameron to skip school and come out and play with him. After much coaxing they start up Cameron’s fathers Ferrari and depart for a whirlwind day of adventures in New York city. The house is probably in 15 minutes of the film- but for me it’s a highlight!
The Ben Rose house resides in Highland Park, Illinois and was originally built in 1953 as an ode to mid-century architecture and from what I can gather its new owners have maintained its 1950’s charms with vintage furniture and pieces to compliment the time period. The whole house cantilevers over a ravine. She’s just bloody beautiful.
The Twilight House (Hoke House)
Okay, so it pains me to say but my all-time favourite movie house carries an element of shame. The Twilight Saga didn’t exactly clean up at the Oscars, it didn’t offer a profound message or intrinsically transport you to another world. It was quite literally an old man who looked like a teenager who was infatuated and possessive of his under age girlfriend. However- his house!! Look I’d probably let him be infatuated and possessive of me for a little while if it allowed me some hang time in this incredible forest hide away.
I hate to think of the build budget on this bad boy. The cantilever is extensive, the location awkward and steep and its got more timber that an NZ Redwood forest! But she is a thing of beauty.
Not to ruin the illusion set up in the film, but in real life the home is owned by the director of Footwear at Nike.
The infamous floor to ceiling openings that are utilised by a flying Robert Pattinson in the flim, are debateable by NZ OHS standards, but provide a feeling of openness to a space that would be incredibly sheltered.
The timber, the forms, and the glazing create a home that is modern, highly architectural while also being natural within the scene of the Portland forest.
So if you had to choose between these to increible forest hideaways which one do you think YOU would choose?
“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.”
If you have absolutely no idea what I’m talking about with Ferris Bueller, because it was before your time- treat yourself to the trailer at least!
