Thursday, November 04, 2021

My Dream House In The Movie, "Stepmom"

I clearly recall seeing the movie, Stepmom, when it was first released in 1998. I saw it with a close friend and bawled my eyes out during one of the final scenes because it touched me on such a personal level. I too lost my mother at a very young age and wish I had had the opportunity to say goodbye to her, like the kids in the film. Yes, "Stepmom" is a tearjerker. However, it also contains a great deal of cleverly written, snarky humor, which I found very funny. The whole film is so perfectly balanced as a drama/comedy/romance.

Another thing I recall about the film was how I fell in love with the house that the character Susan Sarandon portrayed, lived in.

Now, I'm not normally a house-person because I've lived in studio apartments most of my life. I actually prefer smaller spaces and have never wanted to own a home. And yet, every so often I will spot a house and think, "Oh my god, I could soooo live there!" For as large as the house was in "Stepmom," it had such a warm, cozy energy that looked as though it could spoon cuddle you. I instantly felt the desire to walk inside the house; grab myself a cup of herbal tea or a glass of red wine; and sit by the fireplace wrapped in a blanket. It's exactly the kind of house that I would love to fall asleep in on a cold autumn or winter night because I sense that I'd sleep deeply and peacefully.

The exterior of the house in the film was a real house, so all the scenes shot outside were on-location. However, all the interior scenes were shot on a soundstage and made to duplicate the interior of the actual house. Films will often do that because they have more control over the lighting and spacing.

The Victorian-style house (measuring 5,239 square feet) is named Glenholme, and is located in the quaint village of Nyack, New York.

And get this, the house went on the market in 2019 for $3.75 million and sold this year for $3.2 million.

Shit, I missed my chance. I was hoping to use my income tax refund from this year to buy the house. LOL!

If you've never seen the film, I highly recommend it. Especially at this time of year because much of the story takes place during the holidays. In addition, it has three of my favorite actresses/actors: Susan Sarandon, Julia Roberts, and Ed Harris. Last weekend I watched it again and realized how timeless it was.

Today I would like to share photographs of the house. Some of these photos are from the film, others are simply the house as it stands today. I also tried to give you a sense of what it looks like at different times of the day, and year.

Please enjoy, my dream house...