The only way to describe the interior of the Home Alone house is to compare it to a Norman Rockwell painting, which is precisely the aesthetic Cauley was going for. “I thought about what look would best represent Americana, and of course, Norman Rockwell came to mind,” Cauley says.
Like Rockwell, Cauley used saturated greens, reds, and golds to stand out against the white fluffy snow. “I thought of it like a flip-book, where use of color orchestrated throughout would give the film a warm feeling,” says Cauley. She also found inspiration from historic Christmas cards.
Cauley had about six weeks to bring the McCallister family home to life. “I love selecting and finding decor that builds a character, or when collaged together, supports a story visually,” she says.
When asked how she sourced such rich fabrics, wallpapers, and carpets, Cauley shared her best-kept secret. “I also do some residential interior design, so I have trade accounts at some stores,” she says. “John Hughes wanted a timeless traditional look, so I went to brands with that look, within my color palette.”
The Finishing Touches
With every rewatch of Home Alone, you may start to pick up on little details you never noticed before, and that was Cauley’s intention. “I put personal character details about the house as clutter that might not ever be noticed but felt right to me,” she says. “I had a little book about the care and feeding of spiders on the kitchen counter, as if perhaps Buzz was reading it, put it down when he went to the kitchen to get a snack, got distracted and ran off, leaving the book there.”
She also laid out holiday wrapping paper in the primary bedroom, as if Kevin’s parents, Kate and Peter McCallister, were wrapping Christmas gifts but didn’t have time to clean it up. It’s these little details that all come together to create the thoughtful, curated set fit for this celebrated holiday movie.
