How to Be Hollywood-Hip
Old-school organic: Ryan Murphy, creator of the hit show “nip/tuck,” uses a vintage Edward Fields rug and Baker Furniture night tables, both circa 1960, to stay true to his mid-century home. Image courtesy Peter Christiansen Valli]
You, too, can live like a Hollywood mogul. All it takes is your own home, says Sue Hostetler, an author and editor whose work as photojournalist took her to Rwanda, Chechnya, Azerbaijan, Guatemala, and Cuba. “Hip Hollywood Homes (Clarkson Potter, 2006) takes a look inside the homes of 21 Hollywood trendsetters and how they live.
It turns out that there’s no big secret to Hollywood hipness:
“The reason their homes are so beautiful is because they reflect what they’re passionate about,” says Hostetler of the designers, stylists, filmmakers and entrepreneurs she met.
Elizabeth Stewart, style director for New York Times Magazine, converted Indian and Moroccan fabrics collected during her travels into wall hangings in one of her rooms. Ryan Murphy, creator of the TV show “nip/tuck,” uses pieces by mid-century designers to give his 1948-built home a more organic feel.
“The one thing that all of these people did that anybody can take unto themselves is they were very loyal and authentic to whatever the authentic design of their home,” Hostetler says.
Her advice to a redecorating, would-be mogul: Stay true to the era, architecture and design of your home, whether it’s in Beverly Hills or Butte. Research your area and region of the country to figure out what was popular at that period of time. The true Hollywood hipsters, it turns out, are respectful and felicitous when it comes to matters of design. “Nobody filled an utterly contemporary glass-and-steel house with French 1800s furniture,” she says.
The current hot trend in Hollywood, says Hostetler, is art, especially painting and photography. Murphy’s prized portrait is a late-1970s painting of actress Candice Bergen that he found at an auction. A cash-strapped mini-mogul might consider investing in greetings cards with great photos on them, framed in a cool way.
“What you’re passionate about, what you love to see, this can translate to anything in your home,” she says.
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