Raise your hand if you gobbled up the new “Gilmore Girls” episodes on Netflix after Thanksgiving! I couldn’t focus on anything else until I had watched all four seasons of “A Year in the Life,” and I loved spending some time in Stars Hollow again.
Let’s take a closer look at some of the houses and other sets designed for our favorite small town in Connecticut and see how they’ve changed over the years.
(Warning: possible spoilers ahead!)
Note: There are Amazon affiliate links in this post that may earn me commission.
Welcome to Stars Hollow, Connecticut:
Creator Amy Sherman-Palladino was inspired to create Stars Hollow after visiting Washington Depot:
“I went on vacation to Connecticut. I stayed at an inn, and it was very charming, in a tiny town, and everybody seemed to know each other, and there was a pumpkin patch across the street.
“You go in a coffee shop and everyone knows each other, and they’re going behind the counter and they’re pouring themselves coffee. It seemed like a fun environment to write characters in.”
Fans have pointed out that Washington Depot is nothing like Stars Hollow and wonder if she was actually visiting another town in the area, like Kent.
In the pilot, the town scenes were shot in Unionville, Ontario, where the actors didn’t have to pretend to be cold!
They turned a place called Williams Hardware into Luke’s Diner for the pilot (and worked its history into the story):
After the show got picked up by the WB, they began filming on a Warner Bros. back lot known as Midwest Street.
The fake town in Burbank, California, was transformed into Stars Hollow, Connecticut.
Midwest Street has been used for all kinds of TV shows and movies over the years, including The Music Man:
Some buildings, like Luke’s Diner, are “practical sets,” which means they film inside them.
But with others, like Lorelai’s house, the interiors were built on separate soundstages.
We’ve never seen the back of Lorelai’s house, and for good reason.
Oddly enough, the exterior of Sookie’s house is on the other side of hers.
That’s right, Lorelai’s house and Sookie’s are one in the same!
As Melissa McCarthy explained during a behind-the-scenes tour, you can step through Sookie’s front door…
…and then walk through her house into Lorelai’s foyer (which features a fake closet):
In “A Year in the Life,” Sookie is MIA, and Lane is living here with Zack and the twins (and her drums!):
You can see photos of how it looked when Sookie lived in the house here.
You may have also seen Lorelai’s house on “Pretty Little Liars” because Spencer lives here (via Iamnotastalker):
They put the railings back and surrounded the porch with overgrown bushes
to make it look like Lorelai’s place again for “A Year in the Life:”
When the original series ended in 2007, the living room walls of her house were off-white:
In the new episodes, they’re a soft green:
I like it! It makes the rooms look warmer and the woodwork stand out more.
When we last saw the Gilmore Girls, they were watching their movie marathons on this small TV:
They now have a wall of built-ins that hold a flat-screen:
Lorelai’s kitchen has been updated a bit, too:
She has a new fridge since the original series (a Christmas gift?):
They had a basic two-door almond-white fridge before:
The new one’s a vintage-style Heartland Classic Refrigerator:
The kitchen also sports a bigger range, presumably because Luke is cooking in it now:
In early seasons of the show, the kitchen cabinets were white and the floor was wood-patterned laminate:
Now the cabinets are green and the floors are yellow and white:
Ever notice how characters who leave through this kitchen door somehow
come out on the porch on the left side of the house? It’s TV magic!
Rory’s room hasn’t changed much since the original series:
There is supposedly a first-floor bathroom that Rory uses, but I don’t remember seeing it, do you?
It may look like a fairly large house, but it only has two bedrooms — Rory’s off the kitchen and Lorelai’s upstairs:
You may recall from the original series that Luke had “surprised” Lorelai with his family’s heirloom furniture:
They’ve gotten a new bed since then:
The only time we saw the real exterior of Richard and Emily Gilmore’s house was in the pilot:
They shot those first scenes at a real house in Toronto, Ontario. Here’s how it looks today:
Derrick Henry took this photo of the house and says, “The original Gilmore mansion is located in the Rosedale part of Toronto. Beautiful house. Lots of history. Once had a great fire where this massive garage stands. The house also has a pool in the back. But sorry. No separate pool house like what Rory lived in for a short time. I’ve always preferred this house exterior to the one they carried on through the series.”
The front drive and door were recreated on a soundstage:
Early scenes were filmed inside the real house, and the living room looked like this:
The interiors were then recreated in the Warner Bros. studios for the series:
After Richard’s death, Emily commissioned this (very large) portrait of her husband:
They often kept the cameras still during scenes in this house to reflect its formality:
In contrast, the cameras follow the characters and move around a lot in Stars Hollow.
Did anyone else wish we’d gotten a glimpse inside the cool pool house where Rory once lived?
The Dragonfly Inn was originally built for several “Waltons” reunion movies filmed in the 1990s.
For “Gilmore Girls,” they transformed it into a colorful and cozy inn:
In “A Year in the Life,” we only see the sign hanging on the porch (no full exterior shots, darn it):
It’s been over 10 years since Lorelai realized her dream of opening the inn, and now she’s growing restless.
It’s amazing how little has changed in the inn’s decor since 2007.
It must have been a challenge to recreate these rooms with so many details involved in each one!
Some of my random thoughts and questions after watching the new episodes:
- Richard Gilmore (Edward Herrmann) was definitely missed. Pass the tissues!
- Since when does Stars Hollow have a community pool? Or a secret bar? (Of course it would only be hidden from Taylor, ha.)
- I was shocked when I realized Emily’s new maid Berta was played by “Gypsy” (Rose Abdoo). Didn’t recognize her!
- Made me laugh when they did the whole bit about the first-floor bathroom in Lorelai’s house since we’ve never seen it.
- So there really is a Mr. Kim! Where’s he been hiding all these years?
- If Lorelai didn’t send that nasty letter to Emily, then who did?
- Loved that Emily bought that beach house and created a new life for herself there. I wanted to see more of it.
- Why was Emily in Nantucket the night before Lorelai’s wedding, though? She was planning to attend, right?
- If there’s going to be a Stars Hollow musical, I want to see some Stars Hollow residents in it. And not have it go on for quite so long!
- How does a freelance writer afford so many plane tickets back and forth to London? And who flies home to the States for one day and then flies back again?
- For most of the Life and Death Brigade sequence I thought it was just a bizarre dream Rory was having.
- Why didn’t we see Rory reading books or talking about literature like she used to? Who ARE you, Rory Gilmore? I’m not sure anymore.
- It was good to see most of the old gang in the new episodes, but I really needed more of Sookie.
- Where are Sookie’s children, BTW? Why would she leave them — let alone Lorelai and the inn — for two whole years? I don’t understand!
- I wish there had been more scenes with Jess, too. (Milo is so good in his new show “This Is Us.” I’m obsessed with it.)
- What’s next for Rory after that bombshell she dropped on her mother? How will Emily react? The father is Logan, right? Will he ditch his French fiancee when he finds out or will Rory go it alone? Will we get more episodes to find out??? So many questions!
Overall, I enjoyed the revival a lot. I laughed and I cried. And wrote this very long post about it. 😉
*Be sure to pick up a “Gilmore Girls” souvenir or two before you leave!*
(Amazon affiliate links below)
1. Can’t wait to read Lauren Graham’s new book, Talking as Fast as I Can.
2. A Luke’s Diner Mug. (Check out what it says on the back of the mug.)
3. There’s even an Eat Like a Gilmore Cookbook (but will I look like them if I do??)
4. This Lorelai action figure made me smile. (There’s a cute Rory one, too!)
5. I refer to my Gilmore Girls Companion all the time — it’s got the scoop on every ep!
6. I own every season on DVD, and they have tons of special features.
What did you think of “A Year in the Life”? Did you enjoy revisiting Stars Hollow as much as I did? Were you shocked by those final four words or did you see them coming?
For more show trivia and photos from the original series,
check out my posts about Lorelai’s House, the Gilmore Mansion, the Pool House where Rory lived,
the Independence Inn, the Dragonfly Inn, and more from Stars Hollow!
Visit my Houses Onscreen page to see the others I’ve featured, listed A-Z.
I had many of the same thoughts! Also, I would’ve liked to see Rory develop more of an arc over the last 10 years. She’s an adult now, and yet she’s still sleeping with an engaged man and doesn’t seem to feel much — or any — guilt about it at all. (Remember she lost her virginity to her ex-boyfriend who was married!) It was good to see that they treated her writing career realistically, though… with ups and downs, but I would’ve liked to have seen that she had matured a bit in other ways. And what was with the boyfriend she kept forgetting about?! It really just made her seem like a crappy person.
P.S. The father *could* be a wookie. 😉
Can you imagine if they bring the show back and reveal that it’s the Wookie’s kid? LOL. I guess it’s possible! 🙂
After watching it again I think that the the reason Rory went to see Christopher was because she was pregnant and was contemplating having to raise her child alone just like her mother did. If Logan was the father she would definitely tell him and because of his obvious loyalty and fondness for Rory he would most likely be there for her and their baby. But my theory is that she knows it’s the Wookiee. The whole scene didn’t make since to me when she’s in New York with her Mom but she goes off and gets drunk and sleeps with someone she doesn’t know, etc. But how else would they introduce a situation where Rory is in the position by the end of the series needing to raise a baby by herself. It’s because she doesn’t know the father.
First things first: thank you, Katie! I read quite a few posts after my own Gilmore Marathon and every writer seems to have forgotten that fact that it’s very likely it was Rory’s ONS that could have fathered her child 😉
Found many of my own thoughts in this post. I really hope that all those unanswered question are deliberate and they are working on ‘Another Year in the Life’ already 😉 Thanks for this! Reminded my to get my own post about GGs out now 😉
Thank you for posting this feature. I actually checked your site last night, after watching “Fall”, to see Emily’s Nantucket cabin for living room screenshots. It was so cute and I wished to see more of it, as well. So many perfect details that are obtainable for that look.
It was such a contrast to her home in Hartford, too. Loved it.
I don’t have Netflix, so I haven’t seen the show, but I want that vintage range in Luke and Lorelai’s kitchen. I wonder what company made it. So many ovens!
I’d like to know, too. If anyone recognizes it, fill us in!
The stove is an O’Keefe & Merritt Aristocrat (aka Town & Country) stove from the 1950’s. Such a cool stove. I have a vintage Wedgewood stove in my kitchen but this one is by far cooler. If I had the space and the money it would be my first choice!
Thanks, Amy!!!
I just need one questioned answered and I can’t seem to find it or haven’t tried hard enough yet….Where is the theme song?!?!?!?!?!
I forgot to mention that in my list of questions I had. Seemed strange that it was missing from the opening credits. I think they just played the song during the final credits, right?
OMG! I had so many of the same thoughts you mentioned in this blog. And I never figured out that Emily’s made was Rose Abdoo! And yes, since when does Stars Hollow have a community pool?
*SPOILER ALERTS* Don’t keep reading if you have not yet watched Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life. My thoughts/observations. Must discuss with those that have already viewed.
1) Why does Petal the pig never grow throughout the seasons and always stay a baby pig? And why is she always running loose through the town?
2) How old is Paul Anka* (the dog)? Would he still even be alive?
(*I did read elsewhere that it actually is the same dog from the original series and he’s now 14 years old)
3) There was always a lack of relationship story lines for Michel in the original series. He now has a husband, finally.
4) Fun various degrees of separation:
-Jason Ritter as Park Ranger #1 who played Lauren Graham’s love interest in the TV show Parenthood
-Peter Krause as Park Ranger #2 who played Lauren Graham’s brother in Parenthood and who is her real life love interest.
-Lorelai’s DVR’d lifetime movies consist of one titled ‘Restless Virgins’ which stars Vanessa Marano who plays Luke’s daughter April
-Doyle (Danny Strong) Paris’ (Liza Weil) husband leaves her to be a screen writer in Hollywood, who in fact is a very successful screen writer with credits such as Empire and Lee Daniels’ The Butler
5) Liza Weil’s reprisal of Paris is one of the best things about the revival show (IMHO)
6) Not sure how I feel about the surrogate story line for Luke and Lorelai. Where were they going with that? Was it just a way to tie in Paris?
7) The ending ?!?! Left me conflicted. Logan, Paul, the one night Wookie?
Personally I’ve always been team Logan. Jess was always too much of a brooding, whiny teen for me, however I do LOVE Milo Ventimiglia in ‘This Is Us’. The role suits him well.
Love all your points, Gina! I have to say I enjoyed Michel more in these episodes than I used to and was sad when he decided to leave the inn. I just wish we’d gotten to meet his husband! The park ranger cameos were a lot of fun. I wasn’t really buying the surrogate storyline, either. All I could figure was they wanted to show Paris in her element? I wondered if Paul Anka was the same dog — thanks! 🙂
One more cameo – Mae Whitman, who played Lauren’s daughter on “Parenthood”, was one of Rory’s interviewees in the donut line in NYC!
Yes! That was another fun one! 🙂
Oh yeah! I forgot to mention that one too. Thanks Michele 🙂 I’m sure I’l be re-watching several times and catch things the second, third time around.
I have a theory. I am almost 100% positive that the B&B which Rory, Logan, and the Life and Death Brigade stayed at in ‘Fall’ was The Dragonfly set re-dressed. Rory and Logan’s room there also looks like Lorelai’s therapist Claudia’s office re-dressed.
Now I want to watch those scenes again, but I think you could be onto something, Robert. The B&B had a similar layout, didn’t it? Thanks!
Thank you, Julia, for this awesome post! Yes, the newly updated kitchen is swoon worthy! I am now coveting that stove and refrigerator! Loved the changes they made to the house, and thought all the interior paint colors were so pretty! And yes to all of your points about the re-boot. Regarding the downstairs bathroom, it did appear in one episode. Rory, Paris and Lane got drunk on Founder’s Day punch, and Rory was hunched over the toilet sobbing over something stupid Logan did…again. Ugh. Never liked that guy! Team Jess all the way. 🙂 I think Lorelai ended up giving her a pillow and blanket and she slept on the tiled bathroom floor. It makes sense of Kirk’s statements about the tiled floor hurting his knees. 🙂 I never could quite figure out where the bathroom was located in regards to the floor plan…somewhere off Rory’s bedroom or the kitchen would be my guess. Thanks for the screen shots. Pinning!
Hi Maryrose! Someone told me that the closet off the entry doubled as the bathroom door in one episode, but I couldn’t find it. A reader named Susan mentioned on Facebook that the bathroom was shown in the 5th season, so I looked it up, but it doesn’t show much more than a toilet. I was disappointed because I wanted a clue as to where the bathroom was actually located. I’m impressed that you remembered seeing it in that episode because I had forgotten about it, even though I’ve watched the entire series at least four times, ha. Thanks! 🙂
I saw it. Liked it. But missed Wookie. What?
Rory had a one-night stand with a guy dressed as a Wookie who she met while interviewing people who were standing in line. Ugh. Not her finest moment! 😉
I wrote about the wookie but thought of something else. Did you notice all the floral blouses and dresses Lorelei and Rory wore.? I saw an article on it and they were from Nordstroms. All pricey and all sold out. Just like me. I loved her soft floral lampshade next to the couch years ago and looked and looked for one. Never did.
No, I didn’t see that! Someone asked me about their clothes, so I’ll have to tell her that’s where they were from — thanks. 🙂
I thought I was the only person wishing I had Lorelai’s pretty blouses! Too funny! I have a similar lampshade…from Threshold line at Target. Love it!
Have you ever noticed that the SECRET BAR from Gilmore Girls: A Year In The Life is in Pretty Little Liars?
Yep. Season 1, episode 13.
It’s the brick alley where Toby hides and cries. Awww.
No! Great catch!!
Oh my God, I have the same questions!!!
What was that musical about? Or the weird Life and Death Brigade part? Most of all, is Rory gone mad? And why is Emily so chill about Lorelei’s wedding? Is Nantucket that close to Stars Hollow? Ugghhh!
I can’t decide whether I hate this revival or love it. It totally destroyed the good girl/successful girl/ destined for great things girl image of Rory that Lorelei, and the entire 7 seasons worked so hard to build.
P.S: I posted about the sets too just yesterday, since I totally share your love for Gilmore Girls.
Mary Rose, that is a great pastime of mine. See something I like on a show and then try to duplicate it. I’ve even looked for similar lipsticks before.
I agree with everyone. I did not like the life and death brigade or the musical at all. Redo it and bring it on.
Julia- THANK YOU for writing about this. I miss seeing your posts. I love the way you catch details that I miss. You have a great website, and I still check to see what you posted. Thank you, everyone, for bringing up these points! At the end of the final season, I felt so hopeful for Rory. I agree with Eva; the entire seven seasons built her, and formed her character, showing her mind grow and evolve. This? It seemed like Rory had become stupid as an adult. That bothered me. Even knowing that she would make mistakes, Rory seemed like a footnote compared to her former character. I felt like the writers must have been depressed when they composed this, and then threw together this salad of story elements. I just found myself wishing for more Rory and Loralei togetherness in the first couple of episodes. So many things that (I guess?) were meant to be funny were just random, but not in a pleasant way. One episode I counted only two out-loud laughs – and then I noticed that I laughed. Ugh. I think that I was expecting that they could do so much more with the plot development. The Luke and Loralei trip to the fertility center seemed contrived for Paris only. Not to move along the relationship of Luke and Loralei. The Wookiee? That seemed like the writers had to fit that in somewhere. Let’s have Rory have a ONS in New York, while her mom crashes at the hotel. It just did not seem to fit. I guess that was made for us to wonder later whether she will give birth to the child of a Comic-Con Wookiee? Except that with Rory falling asleep everywhere, I bet that she was pregnant before Wookiee time. In which case, how did she feel up enough for a night on the town? I loved seeing the other characters and the town. The new kitchen updates made me want a new fridge, and a retro stove. I love the old diner table and chairs, too. That really added to the home. Thank you, Julia, for thebehind-the-scenes house and street details! I just watched the Music Man. You can see pre-Stars Hollow. Edward Herrmann is gone, but I loved how his presence loomed large. That was great. Emily was terrific. In the end I felt like the show was absent of some of the sweetness of the original. It felt like it was all a transitional season, leading to where we are to imagine they will all go. Oh well. That’s a reboot! Thank you for letting me say these things to people other than my husband who had to patiently listen to me ponder plot points. And bless him, he has only seen ten minutes of anything GG.
Hi Ginni! Loved hearing your thoughts — you brought up some good points I hadn’t considered, like Rory falling asleep during those interviews in NYC. Thanks! 🙂
Does anyone have any idea where they got the new couch? Or the comforter on Loralei’s bed? I just want to move into the entire house.
I remember a bathroom in the “hallway” between the living room (staircase side) and the kitchen but then they turned into a closet where Rory found the box of stuff that Dean had given to her (after they had broken up) which Lorelai was supposed to get rid of. You’d think there would be at least one more bedroom on the 2nd floor.
I was very disappointed in the revival. Oh, well.
My mom had an O’Keefe and Merritt with the grill on top. I watched every one of the old Gilmore Girls, missed this one because I don’t have Netflix.
I was wondering why they didn’t play Carole King’s song You’ve Got a Friend. I assumed they named the episodes winter, spring, summer, and fall because of the Carole King connection. Also, since the last four words would have originally been said when Rory was only 22, how do you think that storyline would’ve played out?
I don’t wanna be a naggy nay sayer here, but I kinda wish they had never done the revival. It was just unnecessary. The format of 4 movies didn’t fit well with the Gilmore Girls structure from the original run. I was bored throughout Spring and Summer, the SH musical was awful (I know it was supposed to be), and way too long. Paris should have been in every single episode, since she made it all bearable for me. ASP did her season 7, and she couldn’t just pretend no time has passed. I think the s7 finale is way more satisfying. Did Rory and Lorelai even watch movies all by themselves in the revival? I don’t recall.
I live about 45 minutes from Washington Depot and once I found out that GG was based on ASP’s visit there, I freaked out as I love GG! I have to say that it does resemble Kent, CT more and wonder if that is really what ASP was trying to recreate.
Anyway, I have not seen the reboot yet, and tried to scroll by the comments quickly in order to not see any spoilers!
Edward Herrman lived in my town and I used to see him in the bank/market all of the time. It was wonderful! I did not know that he lived here when I moved her (9 years ago) and was in the bank one day and swore I heard Rory Gilmore’s grandfather asking for a roll of quarters. I looked up and sure enough, there he was!!!
Glad to have you back, Julia.
Wow! That is so cool that you live so close to the “original” Stars Hollow AND used to see him around town. Love that. Thanks, Jean! 🙂
Hi! Thanks for the post. Love your info about houses and sets and furnishings!
Did not like the Revival..it was all over the place. Yes the baby pig never gets bigger, the musical thing was just weird (although I LOVED how it starred the actress from “Younger”..a new show I love!!) I did like that Rory’s storyline was real and freelance writing is difficult…but a one night stand? And why is she sleeping with rich guy anyway? (sorry forget his name).
I liked how Carole King was Violet who wrote songs but never had them performed..LOL!!!
And I am assuming that there will be more, because of the cliffhanger??
Thanks for reading, and keep your awesome posts coming, they are my faves!!
Sutton Foster did a great job with that song about how it was “never or now.” Made me tear up (I like her on “Younger,” too). Thanks, Carolyn! 🙂