The interiors of Hill House are painted with an eclectic contemporary brush that is combined with a purposed formality. The main occupant and an influx of guests share her passion for the finer things in life.
The design focuses on minimizing earth excavation and maximizing water flow around the building, while maintaining great southern exposure.
1. A Place to Call Home
If you’re a fan of Netflix’s hit series The Haunting Of Hill House, then you’ll be familiar with the expansive home of the Crane family, says Hill House Design. From the exteriors, to the interior design of each room, the show’s sets were largely built on sound stages in Atlanta, Georgia. However, the Argentinian production designer Patricio Farrell’s attention to detail ensured that each set felt as one whole entity.
Farrell worked on the first two seasons of the supernatural drama, and was tasked with creating an authentic Victorian setting that evoked feelings of fear and anxiety for the audience. He drew inspiration for the sets from a variety of sources, including “the houses of robber barons during the Gilded Age,” he says. During this time, many families employed large domestic staffs to look after their children and serve at public events. Mary Taylor Hill was no exception, maintaining the Hill House with a team of 10-12 servants and overseeing the maintenance of the massive mansion. She also commissioned master carver John Kirchmayer to carve intricate decorations on the stairs and banisters.
The final result is a building that is both a sculptural object embracing an artistic response, and a home for the family who lived there. The internal spaces are extruded along the site’s long axis to embrace the views and to shield the house from harsh sunlight. At the same time, the layout is conceived to offer flexibility for the main occupant to host an influx of guests.
Throughout the building, attention to details is uncompromising. The interior decoration is a sophisticated blend of the latest international fashion for Art Nouveau and local Scottish traditions. The delicately crafted furnishings and pastel colour scheme are meant to represent the refined, cultured Blackie family. The design approach reflects changing attitudes towards the design of homes, and a recognition that architecture is a social and cultural enterprise that must respond to the needs and aspirations of the people who inhabit it.
For example, the drawing room fireplace is decorated with gesso panels – a technique of applying a white paint mixture to wood and canvas to prepare them for painting – featuring dramatic whiplash curves, swirling roses, and female forms. These feminine symbols are a reference to the Arts and Crafts movement of the period, which rejected the industrialization of art and design. The style also sought to celebrate the arts of decorative, hand-crafted and artisanal techniques in opposition to the prevailing styles that favored heavy ornamentation.
2. A Place to Gather
The design of Hill House is a beautiful and sophisticated blend of the latest international fashions for Art Nouveau with local Scottish traditions. The building is conceived as a sculptural object embracing and celebrating the arts of interior design, decoration and craft which were seen as feminine compared to the more masculine art of architecture. The building is extruded along the sites long axis to capture views and shelter against the suns harsh North West sun, with a central courtyard that acts as a focal point and hub for entertaining.
Despite being haunted by the ghosts of her childhood, Nell was also haunted by herself. Seeing herself as the Bent Neck Lady, she tortured herself with self-fulfilling prophecies that entangled her in a never-ending nightmare.
Like the rest of her siblings, Nell was a sensitive soul who was preyed upon by supernatural forces and psychologically damaged by her surroundings. However, her story serves as a powerful reminder that the human mind is a complex and fragile place that can be manipulated by evil spirits and corrupted by the world around us.
In the final episode of The Haunting Of Hill House, the Crain family is torn apart by their childhood trauma and a supernatural force that they believe to be a manifestation of their past. While the show is able to provide us with both subtle, built up scares and terrifying jump scenes, its strongest messages are revealed in how the characters interact with one another.
Hugh Crain (Henry Thomas) is the Crains’ Peak Dad. He’s a capable, can-do guy who has a logical mindset and sees himself as more of a fixer than a psychic. His approach to the home is admirable, but his stubborn attitude ultimately makes his family vulnerable to Hill House’s machinations.
During the night of the séance, he hears pounding on the walls and laughter in the hallway. He tells Theodora that the house is trying to communicate with them, but she is not convinced and says the sounds are probably just psychologically induced. Later, he hears Steven crying in his room and is convinced that the spirit of their mother has returned to haunt them.
3. A Place to Relax
As a home for a family of wealthy industrialists, the Hill House was filled with luxurious, bespoke pieces. Designed with subtlety, the decorative elements of each room were carefully considered to ensure they were still functional. The Red Room is an example of this — a nook was carefully created for sitting and relaxing by the fire, while still fitting into the overall design scheme.
Farrell draws inspiration from the Arts and Crafts movement, a design philosophy that rejected mass-produced goods in favor of hand-crafted items that celebrate traditional craftsmanship. This philosophy reflects in the intricate details of each set. “One of the things I’ve found more than ever before on this project is that sets are both emotional, as the backdrop for action, but they also have a practical side,” says Farrell.
Throughout the show, Farrell uses the Hill House set to create a range of different emotional and psychological effects. For instance, the eerie dining room is cocooned in dark wood panelling and features heavy-framed portraits of Walter Blackie and his wife. Installed above the fireplace is a painted gesso panel, a technique that used white paint mixture to prepare wood panels or canvas for painting, with dramatic whiplash curves and swirling roses.
4. A Place to Create
The Hill House was designed with the occupants in mind, each space delivering a different experience. A key example is the drawing room, a calm and intimate space for entertaining and relaxing. It was custom designed to accommodate the needs of the Blackie family, including a large sofa that could be pulled up close for conversation and a low-slung chair for reading or relaxing.
This space also showcases a beautiful painted gesso panel – a technique of applying white paint mixture to prepare wood panels or canvas for painting – with dramatic whiplash curves and swirling roses, created by Margaret Macdonald, who was a leading artist in the Arts and Crafts movement and Mackintosh’s wife. The design approach is both playful and sophisticated – the building’s form is intentionally distorted to give it a sense of personality and to offer a suggestion of protection.
Farrell also paid attention to the details of the interior spaces – often overlooked in modern architecture – and ensured that they were consistent with the overall architectural concept. “A big part of my job is to make everything feel like one piece, so you get a sense of fluidity and motion,” he says.
In the moody dining room, dark wood panelling and heavy framed portraits are a stark contrast to the bright family drawing room. This was a purposeful decision by Mackintosh, embracing the idea of creating rooms with different personalities and to elicit different emotions from guests.
The Hill House is a testament to the importance of considering the natural environment when designing a building. It is a sculptural response to its sloping site, with a raised courtyard that brings the home together. It reflects the ethos of the Arts and Crafts movement, rejecting mass-produced goods and celebrating traditional craftsmanship and ideals. Getting the right look for your home requires patience and care, but by taking time to find a site that speaks to you, and exploring ways to celebrate the beauty of nature, you can create a home that will be cherished for generations to come.
