These Bollywood and Hollywood homes could be a part of your real-life too. Here’s how
Living in a home you have read about or have watched a virtual version of is nothing short of living your dream, something ‘straight out of a book or movie’. Take a dekko.
“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again,” says Rebecca’s narrator and the second Mrs de Winter as the book, written by Daphne du Maurier begins unfolding. She often dreamt of the majestic home located in Cornwall and had long aspired to visit it before she married its owner. Her feeling of longing to be back in the house led by Jasper, their dog, can best be described as nostalgic melancholy.
How would it be to live in a home you have read about or have watched a virtual version of? It would be nothing short of living your dream, something ‘straight out of a book or movie’. You want to come home to it, spend (most of your) me-time in it and do everything you feel you haven’t had the chance to in pursuing other dreams and keeping your financial health rosy. Sadly, it might come with the additional cost of depleted physical and mental health, hence what one needs is their go-to place at the end of a long day, week, month or year to unwind, rejuvenate and return with full gusto.
It’s like returning home to your favourite person, except that in this case, it’s your space, your zone.
Airbnb has opened a world of finding a home away for home for travellers worldwide. It’s the treat you need to feed your most memorable travel imaginations. From ocean-side villas and towering penthouses to regal castles and expansive farmhouses, a few Airbnb homes are closer to real-life now. Here’s our list of literary and movie homes we would love to live in or go home to whenever we need a break from the realness of real life.
Carrie Bradshaw’s home, Sex and the City
Imagine getting to live in Carrie’s apartment straight off the sets of Sex and the City. It was quaint yet had a charm every single girl would want or hope for. And her writing table next to the large window - nothing short of amazing.
Meg Ryan’s Bookshop Around The Corner, You’ve Got Mail
Speaking of New York homes, one is easily reminded of Nora Ephron’s style of storytelling where the homes are as lovely as the story. Meg Ryan in You’ve Got Mail, owned a bookstore that could inspire a home with a library or a literary cafe of sorts because if there’s a book, it needs an accompaniment in a warm beverage.
Monica’s apartment, F.R.I.E.N.D.S
Apart from the orange couch in The Central Perk, Rachel, Ross, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe hung out often in Monica’s apartment, their safe haven and also their go-to place for tasty food that Monica cooked in her kitchen. Surely the people and their happy energies made the apartment so lively, but it was all the items that filled up Monica’s space in an organised manner that would make one want to go and live there.
A haveli room with mirror work, Khoobsurat
Mood lighting would work the best for a space like this. It’s completely DIY if you acquire whatever you need and decorate the room with a pretty kandeel, patchwork wall hangings, embroidered cushion covers, dim lighting, mirror worksheets that can be put up on the walls too. Refer to the haveli room where Sonam Kapoor tells Fawad Khan’s character how she feels about him when they happen to spend the night in the same room.
Aisha’s 1 RK, Wake Up Sid
Anyone who has lived and worked in the city of Mumbai or has aspired to go there in recent times has been looking for the type of apartment that Aisha (Konkona Sen Sharma) found to live in. It was a movie home because it is nearly impossible to find a single room + kitchen set that is spacious as that one in a city like Mumbai (or any other metro city as of today) for a probably easy-on-the-pocket rent.
Highclere Castle, Downton Abbey
For one night only, Highclere Castle will open its doors to two guests, giving super fans an opportunity to immerse themselves in the iconic location of Downton Abbey and learn what life might have been like for the Crawleys. The castle is easy to take one back to a vintage thought of an English countryside mansion, probably separated by a causeway, meaning that for a few hours every day, it’s a fight against nature to try and access this place. Remember the haunted castle that was the main part of a film like Woman in Black, or every building from Harry Potter including Bill and Fleur’s cottage by the sea as mentioned in Book 7.
A few months ago, Prince Charles’s charity, the Prince’s Foundation, opened Granary Lodge on the grounds of the Castle of Mey, one of the Prince of Wales’s favourite getaways. The luxury bed-and-breakfast is located in Caithness, on the rugged northern coast of Scotland.
Even Musee de Louvre, or the Louvre Museum in Paris on April 30 this year, gave a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to the winner chosen via a contest on Airbnb’s website to experience the world’s most magical museum as an insider when the lights went out post-sunset.
The Barn, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jaayenge
When SRK’s character Raj and Kajol’s character, Simran are stranded for a night, Simran chooses to spend it in a barn instead of a beautiful room. The setting of the scene however, turned out to be a memory for the characters as well as the audience who has enjoyed the film over the past 25 years. It would be a complete adventure to spend a night or a few in a barn-like setting just like it’s been described in various literary sources as well as films.
Cameron Diaz’s home, The Holiday
The oceanfront beach house in Malibu, Los Angeles is a perfect piece of heaven. Amanda Woods (portrayed by Cameron Diaz) filled her mansion with every single luxurious, modern convenience one can ask for. The mansion is a listing on Airbnb from where one can watch the expansive Pacific sparkle toward the horizon from nearly every room located on Billionaire’s Beach.
Speaking of beautiful homes in the movie, Kate Winslet’s quaint cottage might be a good idea for a short escape too.
Casa Siena in Spain, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara
The epitome of Spanish luxury, this colonial-style architectural beauty is up for grabs on Airbnb! Glamorous interiors adorn a white and black theme, with an exterior straight out of the movies. This extravagant modern abode, complete with a heated pool, hot tub and home cinema will have you entertained all day. With a home as beautiful as Casa Siena, don’t forget to venture out and discover the vibrant culture just as Kabir, Imran and Arjun on their Spanish adventure in one of the best coming-of-age films in recent times.
Interestingly, this isn’t the first time that Excel Productions’ shoot location has been turned into an Airbnb, the last time it was in Dil Chahta Hai where villa situated between Anjuna and Vagator beaches has been listed on Airbnb and can be made into your home for the number of days you would like.
