Someone bought the iconic Home Alone house and the makeover inside has left fans stunned
It's that time of year again. The tub of Celebrations is out and you're turning on Disney+ for yet another re-watch of Home Alone.
The best Christmas film of all time (if you disagree, you're wrong, hate to break it to you), it personifies the importance of having your loved ones around you at the festive period. It's not about presents but the people that matter most.
Add a little bit of tomfoolery as eight-year-old Kevin (Macaulay Culkin) takes on Harry and Marv (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern), aka the Wet Bandits, and you've got a classic that does not feel like it was released 34 years ago.
Advert
And while Home Alone 2 adds to the charm (and includes a certain controversial president-elect), it lacks the appropriate basicness of the first film: stop a home invasion in the most imaginative way possible.
The focus of the film being the idyllic suburban McCallister home, imagery of the house is imprinted in the festive brains of everyone who first watched the flick as a child. It's also had people wondering as to how exactly dad Peter McCallister affords such a massive house.
With Kevin accidentally left behind when the McCallister family head to Paris to spend Christmas in the French capital, he's left to defend their grand home from Harry and Marv who have been terrorising Chicago suburbia through a number of festive burglaries.
What comes next is pure gold, with Kevin setting a number of traps to stop the criminal duo from getting in to his home, as well as some just to cause them horrendous pain should they gain access. Paint pot to the head, anyone? Hard pass here.
Well, the house that McCallisters call home is very much a real place. And it's just been sold.
Located down Lincoln Avenue in the affluent neighbourhood of Winnetka, Illinois, the property was listed for a cool $5,250,000 (£4,140,000) last year.
Well, it's now been sold, pending completion.
But in advertising the property via estate agents Redfin, Home Alone fans have been left conflicted and split as to what it looks like in the modern day.
A 9,126 square foot property with five bedrooms and six (yes, six) bathrooms, Redfin labels the Home Alone house a 'legendary holiday dream home reimagined for modern day luxury'.
"The stately brick Georgian residence of Home Alone fame brings forward a rare opportunity to own one of the most iconic movie residences in American pop culture," it says. "Nestled on a picturesque, tree-lined street in the heart of east Winnetka and elegantly poised behind a wrought-iron gate, the property epitomises classic Chicago suburban architecture."
The property was fully renovated back in 2018; something that has left film buffs conflicted.
Posting images of the rather stunning property on to Reddit, one user wrote: "Somebody bought the Home Alone house, gave it the full 'Millennial Grey' treatment and I don't understand how this isn't a war crime."
Gone are the homely browns and rich reds and greens that you will see in the 1990 Christmas classic. Instead, we're looking at an incredibly modern renovation job.
Alongside a whole lot of whitewash is greys, hard browns, and silver scattered throughout the decor. Rich colour is not what the interior designer was after, that's for sure.
As for 'millennial grey', it has become a way to have a subtly dig at the millennial generation as many from this age bracket move away from bold and bright interior design and towards subtle shades for a more minimalist take.
"I mean I wasn't a fan of the original wallpaper, but that much white makes me nervous," one person posted having seen the fresh take.
Another wrote: "That’s so bland. Like the original decor is too much colour and pattern for me nowadays, but this redo just looks bland and kind of depressing."
But others backed the modern take on the home, saying the decor seen in the film was of its time and would never be chosen 34 years later.
"The interior of the house was perfect for the movie, but honestly I wouldn't want to stare at it 24/7 either," one Reddit user posted.
"I also don't understand why millennials are being blamed for this trend when most of us could never even dream of owning this kind of house lol or in a lot of cases I know, a house at all."
Another said: "It's clean and modern and honestly might have been part of the staging as agents will tell you a generic inside makes it easier for buyers to imagine their stuff in the home.
"It's not uncommon to do a lot of painting and changing of fixtures when staging a home of this value."
Others were quick to point out one big problem with those criticising the renovation; that being that the interior shots from Home Alone were mostly filmed on a purpose built set, not inside the house at all.
So while you think you were watching Kevin cause havoc on the inside of a very real house, that is actually mostly from a made up from sets created in the New Trier Township High School; an abandoned school building with enough space for an entire makeshift sound stage.
Topics: Christmas, Film, Home, Home Alone, Macaulay Culkin, Property, US News, Nostalgia
Tom Earnshaw