Next up on my favourite Christmas movie houses is the beautiful 1920s Colonial red brick mansion that served as the enviable home of the Mc Callister family in the beloved family movie Home Alone. It just so happens that the actual house used in the movie has just been sold for $1.58 million – half the original price after ten months on the market!  This house was as much a star of the film as its lead actor Macaulay Culkin.

I can’t tell you how obsessed I was (and still am) with this amazing house. I adore its Colonial architectural style, sash windows and window shutters and without a doubt this house inspired me greatly when I began designing my own home. I just love its timeless classic feel.

Here it is all lit up for Christmas – even though they have lights around every single window and all over the bushes in front of the house, somehow I don’t think this looks overdone or tacky. It just looks completely magical to me… here’s a close up of the front door.

Ok, let’s take a look inside…

This is the instantly recognizable front hall with the red-carpeted staircase. Apparently most of the interior scenes were actually sets and filmed on a sound stage in a nearby school gym – hard to believe isn’t it?  They used the same layout as the actual house but made the ceilings a little higher and the rooms a little larger to accommodate filming equipment.

This is the view from the dining room to the left of the front door looking through to the living room which opens onto the TV room. The director Chris Columbus says he was striving to make a movie that felt timeless that people could enjoy for many Christmases to come.

“I intended the film to immediately feel like Christmas, so we filled the house with greens and reds. I wanted the house to feel like a warm place.”

The piano was actually from the real house and producers decided to keep it in the movie.

Here’s Kevin sitting in the living room. Such a busy room but there’s no denying how cosy it looks! I did always think the tree was a bit of a let down though. You would think given the size of the house and all the decorations and lights everywhere that they would have had a massive tree here but instead they chose a fairly modest tree that looks somewhat lost in this room with its high ceilings and tall windows. Would you agree?

Here’s Kevin watching a film in the TV room which is at the end of the house off the living room.

This is the view from the living room looking across the entrance lobby into the dining room. And here’s a closer up image of the dining room.

Towards the back of the house is the kitchen with its blue tiled counter top (ugh!) and hanging red pots and pans.

I remember being obsessed with the idea of having a back staircase like they had in this movie. I just thought it was sooo cool. Totally unnecessary but soo cool!

Here’s Kevin on the half landing preparing to sled down the stairs and out the front door…which of course would have been impossible. He would have crashed straight into the wall at the bottom of the stairs!

Here’s a shot of the beautiful window at the half landing…

Here’s the upstairs landing and corridor..

At the end of this corridor we see into the Master bedroom. I remember loving this bedroom with its four poster bed and fireplace.. it just looks so cosy and warm.

We can see the wall of windows to the front of the house here.

Here’s Kevin in his parents’ bathroom. It’s funny how in every shot we see greens and reds. Totally works for the movie but I’d get very tired of this look day in day out!

And here’s the house covered in (fake) snow. Picture perfect Christmas home. And here’s how the real house looks today…It’s located in Winnetka in Northern Chicago, Illinois.

If you’d like to see how the interiors differ from the movie house check out this post.

So, did you love this house as much as I did?

If you liked this post, you may want to check out my post on the charming cottage from The Holiday

images via Hooked on Houses