Welcome to Mockingbird Lane!

I'm Marina Coates and I have an obsessive interest in the great homes seen in movies and on tv. The houses and apartments on screen were always the real scene-stealers for me. I have often found myself missing the plot, because I was poring over every detail of the set design going on in the background. Can you relate? Does this sound familiar to you?

Then, have I got a blog for you!

Luckily, I also happen to be a 3-D computer designer, so...

• I am going to examine the homes from top to bottom in 3D. You will get to see views you've never seen before. What exactly does Samantha Stephens see as she dashes through the back hallway to her kitchen?

• You'll get to see black and white homes come to life as they are digitally remastered, so they can be seen in their original colors and finishes.

RESTORED

The Dick Van Dyke home in black and white

The Dick Van Dyke home in its actual colors - does anything surprise you?

• You will get to experience the mysterious 4th wall. What might Lucy be looking at as she sits on her couch sipping her coffee?

• I'll show you close-ups of details - things the cameras often quickly pan past. Feel like you didn't get to spend enough time in the ranch kitchen of the Parent Trap? Now is your chance to thoroughly examine every square inch. Go ahead, pull up a chair and have a nice, long look.

• Perhaps the most fun of all - I will take you on a video walk-through tour of these incredible homes. You will get to experience what it would be like to live in them, as you walk through, glancing right and left, at all of the marvelous, unique spaces that make up these beloved homes. 

REMODELED

• But, I don't want to just stop there. After I've restored them to their original splendor, I am going to have some fun updating them. What might Laura Petrie's home look like today, if she got to remodel it? What if June Cleaver was given the go-ahead from Ward to do a complete overhaul of their main floor?

The Dick Van Dyke home remodeled, as it might appear today

RE-ENVISIONED

• Then, I want to take it one step further and use the original home as an inspiration to create a whole new space. For example, what if the Petrie home wasn't just remodeled, but instead re-envisioned as a vacation home in the Rockies? What might that look like? Maybe you'll find some inspiration of your own. 

The Petrie residence re-envisioned as a mountain vacation home

• Along the way, I'll answer age-old questions we've all had as we've watched our favorite shows, such as - What would the outside of the home look like if it matched the inside? - because you know, they rarely do. I'll answer these and other "reel life vs. real life" questions. Would the Brady home resemble the exterior shots used on the show? Could the San Francisco row house used to depict the home on Full House really accommodate all that was going on inside? Would it even be close? What exactly would it look like if it did? We'll find out. 

For many of us, the homes were the true silent stars of the screen. So, if you too, have a passion for your favorite television and movie homes, come join me for a leisurely walk through the cinematic hallways of the past and present. 

This is going to be fun!

P.S. We'll be starting with the Dick Van Dyke home. After that - The Bewitched house. And then many, many more.

Stay tuned,