Let’s begin at the very beginning …a very good place to start.

When you think back to the first time you watched The Sound of Music – I’m assuming you’ve seen it more than once – what is it you remember about it?  The music?  The love story?  The dancing?  I remember the von Trapps’ house and how I wished I could make a dramatic exit each night as a child ascending the grand staircase as I bid my parents good night.  I remember that Maria goes to an armoire to get Liesl a clean and dry night gown after she has gotten caught in the rain – and I had never had an armoire.

I was looking around the dining room while the children were playing tricks on Maria and trying to absorb every detail of it.  And, I remember wishing I could somehow fit a marionette stage in my house.

All my life I’ve been watching the backgrounds in movies.  OK, I’ve been watching the stories too, but maybe my brain was doing double time or something because I would always look over at my mom after a movie and ask something along the lines of, “Did you see the dress that girl was wearing?” or, “I would love to have a room like those girls, with an en suite bathroom!”  (I didn’t actually know words like ‘en suite’ when I was 8), but I knew what I liked in movies and it was the interior decoration, the furniture, the clothes and the design.  So, I’ve since gotten two degrees in historical architecture and design and thought I’d share what I noticed in movies with others.