At Independent Cottages we list an extremely diverse array of holiday homes – from grand manors, to quaint cottages, tree houses, houseboats, converted buses and everything in between.
We know how much a special house can stick with you, and that’s true not only of your own home or places you’ve stayed on holiday but also those houses you feel like you’ve lived in from watching them in your favourite TV shows and movies.
Some homes from our favourite TV shows and movies have been almost as big a character as the actors themselves – think Home Alone and Friends, and can even be places we take inspiration from for our own interior designs.
With this in mind we decided to find out what some of the most popular homes (be that houses, apartments, cottages or condos) from iconic TV shows and movies are. We turned to Google to find out.
Using Google search volume data we analysed which TV show and movie homes people are searching for the most.
And coming out in the top spot is the truly special, balloon-fuelled house from Disney’s charming movie Up.
The dreamy house from the beloved movie was a star of the show for sure, when its owner Earl tied a thousand balloons to the house and used it to fly him on his explorations of South America in honour of his late wife Elly, a true tearjerker of a movie.
Read on below for the full results of the most popular TV and movie homes.
Results
1. Up
The house in Up is a central character of the heartwarming movie. After Earl’s wife Elly dies he decides to live out her dreams by tying a thousand balloons to his house and setting off on a South America adventure. The colourful house is a place many of the movie’s fans would love to live, and the popularity of the house has even led to an exact replica of the house being built in Utah which is available to visit.
2. Home Alone
Another movie with a house at the core of the storyline is of course the classic Christmas caper Home Alone. The beautiful and gigantic house was the scene for a series of hijinks as two hapless burglars tried to break into the house while Kevin was home alone and laid a variety of slapstick traps for them in every room. Kevin’s house of tricks is every kid’s perfect playhouse and while the picture perfect grand Chicago house is every adult’s Christmas dream home.
3. Amityville Horror
Top of the many horror movie homes making the list is the house from Amityville Horror. A creepy house is of course a crucial element to the spooky setting of a horror movie, and it doesn’t get much creepier than this. Amityville Horror is in fact based on a true story – a reportedly haunted house which was the scene of a gruesome murder and reported paranormal sightings since. The very house still stands today.
4. Harry Potter
While Harry Potter’s house with his aunt and uncle is not the most prominent location throughout the magical movies (and books) it is an iconic one. The boy who lived in the cupboard under the stairs is how we are introduced to Harry and is an important factor in Harry’s life and character throughout the series. The rather simple three-bedroom house just an hour outside of London is a real family home which was recently put on the market at £475,000.
5. A Christmas Story
Another picture perfect Christmas movie home proving popular is the fabulous house from A Christmas Story. The charming real home used to film the 1980s Christmas movie is available to visit year-round and visitors can even stay overnight in the iconic yellow home based in Cleveland.
6. Friends
The top ranking TV home is the iconic apartment from Friends. Lived in by almost all of the characters at some point through the show’s run, the purple-walled apartment is primarily the home of Monica and is the setting for many of the most beloved scenes through the series – from Monica and Chandler’s engagement, to the gang watching Monica and Rachel’s old prom video, to the tearjerking final scene when Monica and Chandler move out. The New York apartment has been on tour in recent years, with Friends Fest allowing fans of the show to visit the set of the beloved apartment.
7. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre
Next up, it’s another house of horrors. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. In real life there are multiple locations from which you can see The Texas Chainsaw Massacre house, whether you head to Kingsland, Texas to see the 1900s period property from the original 1974 movie or head to Austin, Texas to marvel at the equally spooky mansion used for the more recent remakes.
8. The Brady Bunch
The quintessential family home is of course that of The Brady Bunch. The classic sitcom which aired in the late 60s and early 70s followed the happy-go-lucky lives of the Brady family. The Brady family home is a large-storey property in a suburb of LA – big enough to host the family of two parents and six children.The home is also loved for its retro 60s decor. The real life Brady home was purchased by HGTV in 2018 and their renovation of the home was aired on TV. It’s not currently available for public tours but has been used for celebrity stays and special contests.
9. Mrs Doubtfire
The San Francisco home from Robin Williams’ Mrs Doubtfire is one of the most loved houses on screen, and a popular San Francisco tourist attraction. The iconic house is perfect for a large family home and its aesthetic style is in-line with many of the beautiful properties in the Californian city. These Victorian style houses in San Francisco are often referred to as ‘The Painted Ladies’.
10. The Simpsons
Rounding out the top 10 is another favourite fictional family home – The Simpsons. The family-friendly 4-bedroom detached house has been the scene of the family’s many ups and downs since the show began in 1989 and is a house so many of us around the world feel we have lived in with them too. As well as four bedrooms, the house features the attic home to many of Homer and Marge’s old secrets and treasures, the living room with the iconic sofa, and of course Bart’s treehouse in the garden. In 1997 a real life replica of the house was built and given away for free.
Methodology
To determine the most popular movie and TV homes we compiled a set of over 100 movies and TV shows with prominent home settings. We then analysed the average monthly Google search volume for these homes.