Twelve years after the romantic comedy The Holiday hit theaters, and nearly a decade since I first wrote about it, the houses from that movie continue to be one of the most popular searches on my blog.
Cameron Diaz played Amanda, a woman who lived in this fabulous Mediterranean mansion in L.A.
The interiors for this house in The Holiday were built on a separate soundstage. The real rooms are much more traditional, with most of the original details intact.
It’s on the market for $11.8 million, so I thought it would be fun to take a look back at the house and how it looked in the movie.
Note: This post contains affiliate links that may earn me commission.
The Mediterranean Mansion from “The Holiday” For Sale
The house was designed by noted architect Wallace Neff as his own residence in the late 1920s.
It has that distinctive, Mediterranean-influenced “California Style” that he became known for.
This is how the front of the house looks today (below):
The front gates looked different in the movie.
The entry hall in the listing has tile floors and wood paneled ceilings that you can see here.
The interiors were much more contemporary onscreen:
The sets for this house cost a cool million to construct — without exterior walls, plumbing, or electricity!
The movie came out in 2006 and showcased some design trends that would were about to take off.
For example, Amanda’s house had white slipcovered furniture, seagrass rugs, and lantern-style light fixtures.
Amanda had a fairly modern — and masculine — living room:
Nancy Meyers, the queen of “house movies,” wrote and directed The Holiday.
She says they always tried to provide a glimpse of the outdoors in these scenes to give you a sense of place.
Amanda had a media room filled with DVDs, which makes me think…
A few things that have changed since The Holiday was made in 2006:
1) A contemporary house would probably not be decorated with as much brown as Amanda’s. If they did it today, I’m guessing it would be a lot more gray.
2) A wall of DVDs looks kind of outdated now that we stream everything.
3) The scene that took place in a Blockbuster Video store wouldn’t even be possible!
The real kitchen has patterned tile countertops and a large hood over the island that you can see here.
The kitchen was never really used much before Iris (Kate Winslet) moved in.
She brought food, music, and people into the house. She made it feel like a home.
Even the lighting is warmer in the scenes when she’s living here.
The house they used for Arthur’s belonged to Phyllis Diller in real life.
Rufus Sewell played Jasper, the man who kept breaking Iris’s heart.
The staircase in the movie was designed with a rounded shape at the base like the real one has.
The sets also mimicked the tiered half-walls going up one side, and the wrought-iron rail on the other:
The artwork above the staircase is from Robert Longo’s “Men in the Cities” series.
The real house has 7 bedrooms and 6.5 baths.
The Production Designer was Jon Hutman, who famously
designed the Something’s Gotta Give house we all love, too.
The house sits on nearly an acre in San Marino, California.
The listing says:
This residence exemplifies the finest in architectural design, craftsmanship and materials. Private & fully gated, the large motor court with center fountain and gardens provides a tranquil and impressive first impression. This area was featured in the motion picture ”The Holiday” in 2006. Rear yard consists of side courtyard with fountain, pool and spa, paddle tennis court, rose garden & guest area with separate staircase.
In the mood to see it again? You can stream it on Amazon (affiliate link).
For photos and information about the house, check the Compass listing held by Brent Chang.
To see how they built Rosehill Cottage for the movie, read my post about it.
Production photos via Columbia Pictures.
