I sometimes am very curious about how location scouts think. But there may be trade secrets involved in their art, and maybe that's why we don't see featurettes about location scouting.
Of course, if you're referring to the interior, that's probably a studio and not a location.
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The story is king.
I've always loved the house, too. And their car! Mary's Audi is really gorgeous. I always felt that the exterior of the house almost looked slightly intimidating, like it's looking down at you while you're standing at the bottom of the driveway. But it's really a nice home. I love that Spanish adobe styling of it and while the interior is slightly dated by today's standards (especially the kitchen), I'd love to live in that house. But the interiors are definitely a set, anyways. They did a great job of set design and decoration, too. It looked like someone's home and it had some clutter like a real house would. It wasn't perfectly clean and immaculate like some sets are.
shareForgot to mention, I did a little research and it turns out this house was brand new when they shot the movie. It was built in 1980 and the movie was shot in 1981.
shareThe area it's in is what makes it. The scenery with the hills/mountains surrounding the house is great, reminds me of my childhood home.
Death by stereo
I always thought that walk-in closet that connects Elliot and Gertie's bedrooms was really neat, too. Who wouldn't want a closet like that with that gorgeous window shining the colored light through? I think that the set designers did amazing with making the interior such a comfortable, dream-like place where the children lived. Very nice set-up for when the house is invaded and quarantined later in the film. Remember that this closet is the one part of the house that we see after the invasion that isn't "desecrated" like the downstairs. It was the safe place for the children.
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