6 Style Lessons We've Learnt From ‘The Grand Budapest Hotel'
A great film and a visual design feast, let this Golden Globe winner inspire your own adventurous interior
Becky Harris
12 January 2015
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
The Golden Globe for Best Film (Musical or Comedy) has now been placed firmly in the hands of Wes Anderson’s latest film, The Grand Budapest Hotel, and rumour has it that this won’t be the only award. The world he and production designer Adam Stockhausen created for the movie may be his most enchanting yet – it also received nominations in the Musical or Comedy category for Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Motion Picture and Best Performance by an Actor. The film stuck in my brain long after I watched it. I found my eye going to photos of interior designs on Houzz that reminded me of the movie’s enchanting style.
Lobby boy Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori) and his fiancée, Agatha of Mendl’s bakery (Saoirse Ronan), pictured above in a still from the movie, cook up a plan to rescue hotel concierge Gustave H. (Ralph Fiennes) via tools concealed inside towering pink pastries.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (left) is a marvellous pink confection of a building, its layers of pastel colours looking a bit like a giant version of Agatha’s cakes.
The Grand Budapest Hotel (left) is a marvellous pink confection of a building, its layers of pastel colours looking a bit like a giant version of Agatha’s cakes.
6 STYLE LESSONS FROM THE FILM
1. Pink and blue aren’t just for baby showers
The colours of the movie’s pastry boxes (with Revolori and Ronan, above) can delight in today’s interiors as well.
This only thing this pastel-blocked kitchen (left) is missing is a Mendl’s bakery box on the island.
See more of this New York home
1. Pink and blue aren’t just for baby showers
The colours of the movie’s pastry boxes (with Revolori and Ronan, above) can delight in today’s interiors as well.
This only thing this pastel-blocked kitchen (left) is missing is a Mendl’s bakery box on the island.
See more of this New York home
2. Birch makes a fine rustic backdrop
In the movie a rather intimidating hunting room in the Dowager Countess’s mansion (seen above, with Adrien Brody as Dmitri, and Revolori) is softened by strips of a woodsy wall covering.
And in this Alabama lake house (left), birch bark paneling and a twig chandelier accentuate the room’s rustic style in a very Anderson-esque way.
Paneling: Bark House; chandelier: Shades of Light
In the movie a rather intimidating hunting room in the Dowager Countess’s mansion (seen above, with Adrien Brody as Dmitri, and Revolori) is softened by strips of a woodsy wall covering.
And in this Alabama lake house (left), birch bark paneling and a twig chandelier accentuate the room’s rustic style in a very Anderson-esque way.
Paneling: Bark House; chandelier: Shades of Light
3. Pairing red and purple will always dazzle
Grand Budapest employees – Igor (Paul Schlase), Zero and Gustave, with Madame D. (Tilda Swinton) – ear snazzy bold purple uniforms with key pins on the lapels.
Grand Budapest employees – Igor (Paul Schlase), Zero and Gustave, with Madame D. (Tilda Swinton) – ear snazzy bold purple uniforms with key pins on the lapels.
In this New York apartment (left), the bold combination delineates the dining room within an open plan.
A popular duo during the era when Jane Fonda’s workout videos launched, purple and red make a brilliant combination, best accented with metallics.
Wallpaper: Flavor Paper
A popular duo during the era when Jane Fonda’s workout videos launched, purple and red make a brilliant combination, best accented with metallics.
Wallpaper: Flavor Paper
4. Keys are a great accessory
Keys – hung at the author’s grave in the first scene, in Agatha’s special pendant, in the safe Gustave is hiding (above) and with the Society of the Crossed Keys – are a recurring motif throughout the film.
Today, whether hanging on a nail, framed in a shadow box or part of a tablescape (left), vintage keys are charming additions around the house.
Keys – hung at the author’s grave in the first scene, in Agatha’s special pendant, in the safe Gustave is hiding (above) and with the Society of the Crossed Keys – are a recurring motif throughout the film.
Today, whether hanging on a nail, framed in a shadow box or part of a tablescape (left), vintage keys are charming additions around the house.
5. Spartan practicality can go bohemian
A wrought iron bed, practical blankets and burlap curtains hung with rope compose Agatha’s living quarters (above); the style makes her an unwitting bohemian. It’s apt, as the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, where the Grand Budapest is located, could very well have been located in Bohemia, or at the very least, could have been Bohemia-adjacent.
The whimsical flowers, soft colors, wood details and classic bedding in this Spanish bedroom (left) create a ‘splurge’ version of Agatha’s living quarters.
Wallpaper: Catalina Estrada
More: Gypsy in Your Soul: 10 Steps to a Bohemian Bedroom
A wrought iron bed, practical blankets and burlap curtains hung with rope compose Agatha’s living quarters (above); the style makes her an unwitting bohemian. It’s apt, as the fictional Republic of Zubrowka, where the Grand Budapest is located, could very well have been located in Bohemia, or at the very least, could have been Bohemia-adjacent.
The whimsical flowers, soft colors, wood details and classic bedding in this Spanish bedroom (left) create a ‘splurge’ version of Agatha’s living quarters.
Wallpaper: Catalina Estrada
More: Gypsy in Your Soul: 10 Steps to a Bohemian Bedroom
6. A good notice board will always help you stay organised and solve challenges
Whether you’re solving a murder, keeping a family organised, staying on point with a diet or compiling inspiration for a colour palette, a notice board corrals it all in one place where you can study it. Did you know that details are so important to Anderson that he even writes full articles to go in all of the fake newspapers seen in the movie? There is probably a story behind every piece hung on the wall of Inspector Henckels (Edward Norton, seen above).
More movie inspiration: Let Paddington Inspire Your Welcome-Home Mural
TELL US
What are some of your favourite Wes Anderson movie moments? Which films and stars will you be rooting for at the Golden Globes? (See the full list of nominees here.) Please let us know in the Comments!
Whether you’re solving a murder, keeping a family organised, staying on point with a diet or compiling inspiration for a colour palette, a notice board corrals it all in one place where you can study it. Did you know that details are so important to Anderson that he even writes full articles to go in all of the fake newspapers seen in the movie? There is probably a story behind every piece hung on the wall of Inspector Henckels (Edward Norton, seen above).
More movie inspiration: Let Paddington Inspire Your Welcome-Home Mural
TELL US
What are some of your favourite Wes Anderson movie moments? Which films and stars will you be rooting for at the Golden Globes? (See the full list of nominees here.) Please let us know in the Comments!
Related Stories
Trends
Virtual Houzz: A Home Made of the Most-Saved Photos This Year
Using the most-saved photos, room by room, we've pieced together the dream home as imagined by Australian readers
Full Story
Entertaining
Cooking With a Side of Cussing: 3 Recipes From Nat's New Cookbook
Get a taste of the YouTube comedian's new cooking book with these delicious recipes (great to try over Christmas)
Full Story
Lifestyle
Nat's What I Reckon: How a Metalhead YouTube Star Does Christmas
Comedian, mental health advocate and home cook Nat shares his plans for Christmas and thoughts on this crazy year
Full Story
Architecture
This is What Happens When Architects Build a Gingerbread City
Read how designers built load-bearing cookie-and-sugar walls for London’s 2019 Museum of Architecture's Gingerbread City
Full Story
Fun Houzz
Houzz Voters Pick a Moody Bathroom to Update Cluedo Board Game
The votes are in. The Cluedo board game’s mansion will feature a new space inspired by designer Ann Lowengart’s work
Full Story
Fun Houzz
Vote on a New Room to Update the Iconic Cluedo Board
Choose a stylish new potential crime scene for Cluedo, the classic whodunit game, inspired by a Houzz designer photo
Full Story
Decorating
Straighten, Plump, Stack: How Details Focused Are You at Home?
Some people call you obsessive, but we know you're just focused on getting things right. Which of these sounds like you?
Full Story
Fun Houzz
Houzz Call: Ask Us Any Burning Questions You Have About Ikea
Ikea is opening up its knowledge vaults, and has agreed to answer 10 'random' questions. What do you want to know?
Full Story
Seasonal
Scared Stiff: Your Guide to Last-Minute Halloween Prep
Here are some new uses for the stuff in your Halloween stash, and a few things you can pick up at the shops
Full Story
Lifestyle
Lighten Up and Take a Load Off These School Holidays
By Joanna Tovia
A less-is-more approach to upcoming school holidays allows the family to enjoy a well-earned – and beneficial – break
Full Story
!!!!!! This is awesome!! Grand Budapest is my favourite movie, so beautifully done! These tips are great