The Home Alone house is the BEST

It really is a silver tuna

Since it’s one of my top three Christmas movies, I’ve done many a close-watch of Home Alone over the years (see also: my exhaustive tutorial on How to Throw a Home Alone Party).

And the fine details of this film’s production design remain delightful every single time.

For me, even when a movie’s plot is a little tissue paper-thin, I can still appreciate its aesthetics when they’re so strongly chosen. This is why I’ll always sign on to watch a Sofia Coppola, Wes Anderson, or Baz Luhrmann production — because I know I’ll be immersed in something visually appealing.

In Chrismas / holiday films, however, most of the razzmatazz in production design is reserved for fantastical, imagination-based settings like The North Pole instead of “real-life” settings like a family home.

But. Then there’s Home Alone.

I have always been astounded by the absolute commitment to a red-and-green palette throughout the McCallister home — something that didn’t hit me consciously as a tween when the movie first came out, but which grew more obvious with each viewing until I realized how the home¹ is as much a main character as Kevin and the Wet Bandits.

I mean. it’s called HOME Alone! Not Kevin Saves the Day!

In an oral history of the movie compiled by John Hughes’ son James, Home Alone editor Raja Gosnell said,

The house kinda looks like a Christmas present: the wallpaper and the wainscoting and the reds and the greens. All the practical lights and chandeliers are little jewels.

The oral history also links to a production memo from director of photography Julio Macat that goes into further detail, emphasizing that the home and Kevin’s world should be “warm in the direction of Norman Rockwell” and “we should remember to have our audience discover interesting details of the house just as Kevin does.”

Once you take note of the holiday-forward design, you can’t not notice how everything adds up.

Apart from the obvious elements like the many patterned wallpapers and textiles throughout the house, the touches of poinsettias and other florals, the Christmas decorations filling the glassware in the dining room breakfront … oh, wait? You didn’t notice those? Look again.

There’s the rich green countertop and towels in the primary suite bathroom and the deep red comforter on Peter and Kate’s bed, next to that awesome green ‘80s phone. (A quick look in Kevin and Jeff’s room reveals red-and-green quilts on the bunk bed.)

In the kitchen, the enameled red cookware hangs above a green marble rolling pin and mortar and pestle on the counter. When the family eats (non-cheese) pizza, they do it with disposable red plates, napkins, and cups. Even the junk drawer where Kevin retrieves the firecrackers is stuffed with color-appropriate items.

And all of this is offset by cream and gold touches to brighten and warm up the rooms and make it feel like the most magical home imaginable.

Does it matter that this was all accomplished through the magic of soundstage sets?² Not to me!

Looking at these small but crucial details throughout the home is half the fun of my annual Home Alone viewing, and I encourage you to start taking note too.

In between quoting the best lines along with the characters (”Jimmy! Stop that boy!” and “Rose — hyper on two” being some of my favorites), it’s fun to see how thoughtfully this world was built.

You’ll notice things like the pinball machine next to the furnace, how Kevin leaves his bath towel on the parents’ bed instead of hanging it up (because he’s a kid, duh), the ubiquitous IKEA dish draining rack that pretty much everyone has owned at some point, and so much more.

All of these bits add up to a home that is as real and lived-in as much as it is a holiday fantasy.³

If you want to go in-depth, here are two 20-minute videos detailing the layout and rooms of the house with commentary from production designer John Muto. More photos of the sets are available on the Mockingbird Lane Design site.

It’s rewarding viewing even for someone who considered herself an expert!

1. We finally splurged on the Lego version of the McCallister house and I am thrilled to report that it is a project tailor-made for fellow Home Alone obsessives. It has so many little touches, from the Michael Jordan on a train that rotates with a mannequin on a turntable to the mac and cheese boxes you can keep in the freezer. My personal favorite detail: a working laundry chute!

2. In reading so much about the production of the movie, I’ve noticed some back-and-forth as to how much was actually filmed in the real Winnetka house. In the interviews linked above, John Muto maintains that everything interior was filmed in the soundstages. However, the family who lived in the house has gone on record with their memories of some interior work (such as the sledding scene).

3. Compare and contrast the McCallister home to the Griswold home from Christmas Vacation. Filmed at the Warner Bros. backlot, the Griswold house is not as over-the-top dreamy as the McCallister’s. But that’s kind of the point for a film that punctures the fantasy of a fun old-fashioned family Christmas.

Can you identify the Griswold home in these photos of the Blondie Street houses?