13 of the Best Movie Set Kitchens of All Time
It's officially awards season—the period of winter that falls after New Years, during which everyone's favorite activities include snuggling up, watching movies, kindling fires, and using TV programs as an excuse to throw a dinner/appetizer party on a weekday. We're game!
During this season of creature comforts, it's important to catch up on movies, since the Academy Award winners will be announced in February. Which had us musing about some of favorite movie sets of all time, and more specifically our favorite movie set kitchens. (Fair warning: There's more than one Nancy Meyers and Nora Ephron films in the mix.)
And the winners are...
Practical Magic (1998)
Built on a set in Los Angeles (but set in a Victorian manse in New England), the kitchen in Practical Magic was bewitching. With black plank floors, glossy oversized tiling, and a hearth-like stove where the cauldron would bubble away, it was perfect for a family of witches.
Babette's Feast (1987)
Oscar-winning and G-rated, Babette's Feast is the story of a meal that transcends—and the cook Babette whips it up in a dark, humble Danish kitchen that's as memorable as the food.
The Holiday (2006)
In The Holiday, there are a few good kitchens—but the one in Kate Winslet's compact Surrey cottage stole our hearts with white stone walls, a tiny stove, powder-blue cabinets, and a fireplace. Yes, a fireplace!
It's Complicated (2009)
Bright, uncluttered, and spacious, Meryl Streep's kitchen in It's Complicated is a California dream—from the way it opens into the dining room to the marble-topped table that's used as a workspace,
You've Got Mail (1998)
Maybe it was Meg Ryan, or maybe the glass French doors, or more likely the way she used an old desk with a lamp as extra counter space (who hasn't done that?). Either way, her New York City kitchen in You've Got Mail was the I-can-have-that kind of beautiful.
Amelie (2001)
Accented in scarlet, sage, and marigold, the kitchen in Amelie gets us by way of nostalgia. It's retro in all the right ways, itty bitty, and with a big window to spy on passerbys.
Sabrina (1954)
The kitchen in Sabrina, where the servants prepare food for the Holden family and take their humbler meals, is bright, bustling, and expansive—and cheerful enough to remind Audrey Hepburn that the grass might not actually be greener upstairs.
Julie & Julia (2009)
There are two great kitchens in this movie—Julia Child's house in Cambridge and Julie Powell's Queens apartment—but we're going to have to award Julia's as the winner, as it was meticulously recreated from pictures of her original space.
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
In Roman Polanski's psychological thriller Rosemary's Baby, the interiors of Mia Farrow's New York City apartment are vividly portrayed; the kitchen, with its mustardy appliances, moody glow, and subway tile walls, was disturbingly likable.
A Single Man (2009)
Set in the 60s and shot largely in a home designed by John Lautner in California, Tom Ford's award winning A Single Man is remembered for the striking mid-century interiors—not least of which was the ultra-evocative kitchen space.
Ratatouille (2007)
With its glossy black and brass accents, tiled floor, and copper pots, the restaurant kitchen in Ratatouille is as fine-tuned as its chefs.
Chocolat (2000)
The workspace in Vianne's controversial chocolaterie is exactly how we'd like our pied-a-terre to feel once we find one to escape to in France: an oversized farm table for working on, warm lighting, and open shelves with everything we need.
Gosford Park (2001)
The film that inspired the TV series Downtown Abbey, Gosford Park is set in an English country house in the 1930s. The kitchen, all glistening subway tile and tall order, is a glamorous glimpse into servants' domains of that time and place.
What are your favorite movie kitchens? How many of them are from Nancy Meyers movies? Let us know in the comments!
