Old style romance and a lovely house.

When the days get shorter and the evenings longer, the temperatures drop and the heating is on, it’s time for some cosy candlelight and a little bit of romance. Alas, there is no one to cuddle up to at the moment, so I tried some artificial romance…….I watched the movie “The Lake House” this weekend. It is a very cute and romantic movie which reminded me of those old b/w movies I used to watch with my Mum. Remember those movies, when a kiss was nothing more then the touching of lips :). Anyway, in “The Lake House” the lips touch too (just a few times), but in a more convincing way. I am not going to write a review here, there are other people out there who are much better at it. I just wanted you to know that I liked the movie a lot and that it warmed my soul and my heart :). By the way, I like this comment I found about this movie, because it actually says it all “Like all good romantic movies there's a man and a woman, a beautiful house on the lake and a cuddly dog. Good dialogue, great direction, sweet cinematography and good acting -- even by Keanu.”

What I absolutely loved about this movie was the lake house itself.

As you can see, it’s no ordinary house; it’s an unusual beautiful house! A beautiful refuge of light and glass suspended over the water and totally in touch with the lake and its surroundings. The center bit of the roof can slide open and directly under that is a lovely living tree. Although it's not really big, I could actually see myself living in such a place. Can you imaging yourself sitting there, having breakfast while the sun comes up or eating diner, while the sun goes down. You would have your own private swimming pool/skating rink right outside your door. In my opinion it’s an amazing place and it has an extraordinary design, but not the kind of design everyone would fall for I guess. Some people might think it’s a bit too industrial and too cold, but I think the building still has enough charm to give it a warm feel (must be the colour they used on the outside and the old ornaments that are used on the inside which reminded me of old English greenhouse).

Well, after watching the movie I was curious: Does this house actually exist and if so, who designed it. Luckily the internet provided me with some, although somewhat disappointing, answers. The house did exist …. for the duration of filming. When filming wrapped, nothing was left behind. Such a shame!!

The house stood along the serene, 55-acre man-made Maple Lake in Cook County, Illinois and was designed by production designer Nathan Crowley. He was the 2005 BAFTA and Art Directors Guild Award nominee and the third generation of men in his family to hold a degree in architecture. The roots of the design lie in the 1960s glass box style, but they also drew inspiration from the Regency Period, a style popular in England in the early to mid-1800s, to add romance and elegance to the overall look.

They built the house in just seven weeks and it measured more than 2,000 square feet and sat atop steel beams ten feet above the waterline. The massive project used 35 tons of steel and employed a near 100 member crew of carpenters, welders and painters. For the build they collaborated with veteran Chicago construction coordinator Troy Osman.

Oh and in case you are wondering….. they didn’t drove piles into the lake bed to support the structure, no they did not, they opted for concrete pads. They created a temporary dam and they actually built the house next to the lake. When all building work was done, they broke the dam and flooded the underside of the house. And like I said earlier it was all removed as soon filming wrapped…..nothing was left behind. It’s a crying shame!