The Home Alone house -- a great place to call home

My day started with a visit to one of the most iconic homes in America -- the Home Alone house.
The home recently came on the market at a price of $2.4 million. It's in one of the North Shore's most attractive locations, a block from a lively strip of shops and restaurants, two blocks from the Metra station and Lake Michigan.
Coldwell Banker's Marissa Hopkins was my tour guide as we focused on the house as a great place to call home.

[@nathanmusic5657]

Imagine watching home alone in the home alone house

[@kevinrichards3288]

Lol I know right

[@tommotts4219]

🤯

[@ElectroIsMyReligion]

- While being home alone

[@kevinrichards3288]

@@ElectroIsMyReligion lmao

[@anllc615]

epic

[@edgarallanpoestheblackcat6613]

I like the way it looked in the Home Alone movie.

[@jdk0517]

Only the exterior of the house was used in the movie. The interiors were built as a set in the gym of a local high school. The sets were based on the actual home, tho not actually filmed in there.

[@taylorcarnes1603]

@@jdk0517 Not true. Half true. The interior was used for many scenes.

[@bratzdollzx8096]

jdk0517 YES IT WAS DUMMY!!!!!!! They filmed in the house

[@BC33714]

Bratz dollzx No it wasn’t. Go watch the documentary on Home Alone from The Movies that Made Us on Netflix...the house was only used for the outside. The inside was actually a set they built based on the house. Besides, real people actually live in the house, they couldn’t just invade their privacy and drag cameras, equipment and crew inside their home and have them there for the months on end it took to film the movie. That’s why they stuck to only filming the outside scenes (and VERY FEW of the inside scenes, but NOT all of them) with the real house.

[@jdk0517]

@Darren Krock Well, tell that to Chris Columbus, the director, because that's not what he said.

[@TheSlinkyDogg]

if I ever get to live in that houses I would make it look like it did in the movie

[@dreams2memories]

Definitely. It's nice that it's updated, but would like to feel that nostalgia. I feel that the house was more warm and cozy in the movie.

[@shades9415]

You will never own it. I would seriously be next on the list.

[@H.avery355]

As long as you don’t add the wallpaper 🤦🏽‍♀️ that wallpaper was something 😂

[@thomashutson]

Same!!!

[@aaronkidd4257]

The house sucks inside

[@lburnstein196]

if I had the money I would buy this house and turn the inside back to the way it was in the movie

[@jdk0517]

L burnstein Only the exterior of the house was used in the movie. The interiors were built as a set in the gym of a local high school. The sets were based on the actual home, tho not actually filmed in there.

[@lburnstein196]

jdk0517 ur thinking of uncle buck homie..this the home alone house

[@jdk0517]

L burnstein No, I'm referring to this one. Director Chris Columbus even says so in the dvd commentary.

[@lburnstein196]

jdk0517 maybe your right. But I'm pretty sure that's how they did the uncle buck house and they set it up in a local high school where they shot it..i didn't know Christopher Columbus directed the movie..i thought he discovered america

[@taylorcarnes1603]

@@jdk0517 not true. half truth.

[@vinylated]

"Ever since I laid eyes on that house I wanted it!" - Marv (former cat burglar) ;)

[@nadirrabah6756]

It was Harry who said that (Harry was played by Joe Pesci)

[@jasonhylnd001]

The interiors look much better in the movie, the interiors suck now.

[@lepen4652]

I agree had more warmth in the movie, the colours etc

[@miriamnah6624]

i totally agree!! it looked amazing, now its just eh basic

[@menerva4]

What we saw in the movie may have just been widow dressing for that movie. It was beautiful, but if my memory serves me correctly, that whole house was decorated in a Christmas theme, Some of that was done on a sound stage, because I am sure with some of the booby traps that Kevin set, it would have done damage to those people's house. That kitchen bordered on being outdated in the movie, and all of that ceramic tile needed to go In the end, it's all about personal taste, and I liked house looked in the movie, but I like this too.

[@cancer.hunter1119]

It was Made like that for the movie

[@briansamuels4494]

@@lepen4652 Yes it did, i liked the colors better too

[@huskerfevernu2]

If i was rich i'd buy this house and restore it back to the way it looked in home alone

[@lewisjackson6395]

Lol

[@stridgicals]

It’s a beautiful house, granted, but it looked more homely in Home Alone. You know, more warm and welcoming. The kind of house you’d wanna live in if you had pots of money! 😍

[@axelfoo1]

But at the time, a 90-year-old woman lived there. Today's generation has worse taste.

[@scherzva]

The interior of the house in the movie was a set at a local high school. This was only used for the exteriors.

[@Snapepet]

"Homely" does not mean what you think it does! LOL!

[@JimSendre]

I can't figure out if the interiors in the set had higher ceilings or not.

[@katirashawn2440]

This made me sad,someone must wasn’t a fan of home alone

[@wjpixelz2318]

@Killer360Hacks I mean just because it was in a movie does not give you the right to film the house. It's private property and the public should be respecting the homeowners regardless if the house was in a movie or not

[@loganwalter05]

I want to buy it when I’m older and turn it back to what it looked like in the movie

[@gtafan94]

they should have kept it exactly the same as from the movie, then it would be worth 10 million!

[@larisaswift8123]

I think owners should have turned this place into the museum. They would have earned more than 10 million dollars! But not all people are businessmen

[@kerryjackson2916]

Exactly

[@mthoma83]

I absolutely agree! I would of kept it the same and make a business out of it. $40 pp, $25 for ages 10 and up, free for 9 and under lol

[@majesteiitt8086]

Not only that, in the original it felt so good.. nice.. beautifull

[@sheyla6978]

in fact, the film was not shot in that house but in the studio. in the studio almost everything was done the same as in that house, because the house did not have enough space for all crew, etc. The house served as an exterior in the film. if you notice well, some details are different. the living room where Kevin ate ice cream is much bigger in the movie, and much smaller here, the kitchen is different a lot. And the 2nd floor and the layout of the rooms are totally different in the movie and in the house. even a scene from the Murphy's house where Kevin walks through a submerged basement was filmed in the empty pool of high school. 🙈

[@Ronnie06spartan]

The same way they renovated the interior of the Brady Bunch house to make it look like it did on the show, they should do the same thing with this house!

[@louisc.gasper7588]

Just cough up two and a half megabucks for it, and you can do it.

[@Ronnie06spartan]

@@louisc.gasper7588 nahhh, I’m good lol

[@lucaswinck5116]

I miss watching the movie. It was part of my childhood in the 90s.

[@jermar1979]

The house looks cold and boring. Bring back Kevin’s house.

[@woodrs01]

yeaaa

[@larisaswift8123]

Most of modern houses are boring.

[@woodrs01]

@@larisaswift8123 yes your right

[@showboyninner]

They only used the house for the exterior shots and a couple of the shots in the entrance. Most the interior scenes were filmed on sets. The sets were actually built in a large school gym. I think they did use the stairs though for the scene where Kevin sledges down them

[@JimSendre]

I think all interiors were shot on the set. I wonder though how accurate the dimensions of the rooms in the set were compared to the real house.

[@andywilliams7323]

Absolutely no filming was done inside the actual house. All the inside the house shots were done on the sets in the old high school gym. Including the scene where Kevin sledges down the staircase. The sets of the house apart from the kitchen and much of the upper floors were an exact reaction of the actual house in size and structure but used completely different Christmas colour-themed decor and different furniture items and layout.

[@JimSendre]

@@andywilliams7323 why did I get the sense that the rooms have higher ceilings in the sets? Am I wrong?

[@andywilliams7323]

@@JimSendre Because the sets did have higher up ceilings. It's nearly always the case that sets have somewhat higher ceiling positions than average, or no ceiling at all (kept outside of camera shot). It's so overhead lighting and microphones rigs can be accommodated, moved around and positioned more easily.

[@truecrimefan2986]

@@andywilliams7323 that’s not true. The daughter of the family who owns the film was on a morning show last year and said they did shoot inside the house.

[@anastasiabruneo3283]

It isn’t a house..it’s a palace! Just so beautiful ♥️♥️♥️

[@corona407]

I'm happy that it's actually a real house and wasn't just some fake film set in a studio 😊

[@mark20111000]

I liked it the way it was in the movie. it seems boring now. the way it was in the movie it felt like home

[@Ravinder2220]

Beautiful house. Lucky who ever lives there now.

[@reneeg4817]

I agree. Sometimes updating isn't a good thing.. I do love the wood cabinets..

[@SiFi_Music]

I’ve never seen so many home alone recommendations in my life

[@dennisshalashov7728]

It's very impressive to me how Kevin remodeled it all by himself after the mess caused by Joe Pesci and his friend.

[@kritip8568]

This is such an iconic house! Lady put me to sleep! I agree with the rest of you, the original was so much better.

[@larlar8580]

She put he to sleep too - I wouldn't want her representing my home!

[@geordiefaith24]

house flows like a river. stunning.

[@BiGsImY]

My God. They literally chose the most beautiful house in that neighborhood

[@lanasumner4683]

So beautiful. My 1st favorite house on a movie is a Nightmare on elm street. It just sad that I couldn’t ever buy one these homes.it would definitely be awesome though. Thanks for showing the video.

[@tammyvidalia]

Love this house but, I wish it looked the same as it did in the movie. In the movie it had a warmer family feeling. The updates seem a bit cold.

[@retroryan838]

Yeah like how the wall had originally an orange with some fancy artwork wall paper on the staircase but now it’s this gray color. That be the main thing I would turn back.

[@TheConsettonian1987]

Does the basement still has the Evil Furnace?

[@jross9800]

Paul NUFC Smith how's Newcastle doing in 2nd division?

[@TheConsettonian1987]

j ross they are doing quite good at the minute but we play Brentford on Saturday I think.

[@benjamincaron46]

The house today does not have a basement, however in the film the basement scene was filmed on a stage set.

[@TheDude321]

Both partially true. All kitchen, staircase and landing scenes were filmed inside the house. Everything else inside house, was on a soundstage. I was a key grip on movie set!

[@orange-crushoilers3643]

@@TheDude321 was the bedroom part when he looks out window with his brothers to see old man part of the house or stage?

[@--076]

This house is absolutely amazing

[@danielvillalobos9432]

i wish a fan would buy the house and have it remodeled to look exactly like it did in the film. cant believe these new owners are changing things and making it look bad.

[@GTA2SWcity]

What a place. Knew it was big, but I didn't think it was this HUGE. 4250 sq. ft. house. I know some group made modified floor plans of it called the McCallister which can easily be found on the internet. I was actually hoping to see glances at the upper floors to see what was changed and different in the plans as compared with the original--can't quite tell from the movies. Not exactly, and the modified plans are only two-story though it includes windows of the third. I have some rough idea. I'd like to make a 3D model of of this house, and its lot. Just because it's such a classic, and it is something which I fondly remember. Myself and millions of others I'm sure. As a little kid I loved the movie (and its sequel) and always wondered about this house in real life. I'm sure whomever bought it for $1.85M or so must be really pleased with themselves right now. An old french style colonial era looking house. Well built, and from a different time, surely.

[@Me-mb1ex]

I like how she’s still telling you about one room as you’re already walking into the next.😂

[@pinky5097]

Exactly 💯

[@cherokeegotti4903]

Funny and rude at the same time

[@dinh5532]

I know, so rude of him!

[@FanHawk2010]

That house is beautiful inside. I wish I could buy it.

[@spiritualconnection6289]

.always loved this house

[@tammyvidalia]

Love your video. My sister has been there and she loved it. I hope to visit the house one day.

[@bigjuice7020]

Marv and Harry sure did love that house!😂

[@briansivley2001]

I love the movie it's one of my favorite holiday movies. And I have seen it being I live in Chicago in the Rogers Park naighberhood just a few steps from Evanston. I also have friends who live in Winnetka so every year I go visit them I would always ask them can we go around to see the Christmas Lights people put on their homes and go by the Home Alone House and we always do but I it's always dark so I really have to go in the day to get pictures of it.

[@irish89055]

Guess we know who was living there.. hmmmnn

[@amancalledjim5382]

Can't believe they never showed the basement

[@MultiJames95]

The house does have a basement according to Wikipedia page for Home Alone. The kitchen in the film was shot on location, along with the main staircase, basement, attic and most of the first floor landing. The house's dining room, and all the downstairs rooms (excluding the kitchen) were duplicated on a sound stage to allow more room for equipment and crew.

[@coopacd5710]

The basement isn’t there it was made specially for the movie only

[@jasonhylnd001]

Um yeah this big ass house has a basement, not the one in the movie but prolly a bit smaller. The one in the movie looked a little over-the-top big even for a house that size.

[@withjay3394]

Or attic

[@anllc615]

that's what I was saying smh

[@kevinrichards3288]

KEVIN, WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY ROOM?

[@IntertubeNinja]

Beautiful home!

[@StevieMooreOfficial]

The house that we see at the start, just before the home alone house! Wow! 😳 😯 😳

[@YRDX]

That's actually for sale on zillow!

[@marcellamcduffie8218]

I Love that house I Love really nice things .😘😊😊.

[@alinesilveira7245]

Beautiful Home

[@rapideye97]

Ever since I laid my eyes on that house I wanted it!

[@rafak9896]

People who bought this house a few years ago, should convert that into a museum and made the interior how it was during The Home Alone. They will earn a fortune on it.

[@truthteller4442]

So true. That’s what I would do if I owned it. You’d make at least a $1,000 per day.

[@lisagrigsby1663]

I wish I would've had the money to buy it. I would have redecorated it to be more reminiscent of the way it looked in the movie-minus the wall paper. I hate the gray walls. makes it look so sterile. I would repaint it with all of the red and green tones.

[@JohnnyUtah15]

Same here, although I do like the wallpaper. I was thinking of creating some large, thin panels with the wallpaper design and have a way to snap them into place over the walls in the foyer and along the wall of the staircase. That way I could put up and remove during and after the Christmas season. I really liked the green tone upstairs.

[@sylviatina4228]

Let's go 1\2 on it! You up stairs! I'll live down

[@axelfoo1]

But at the time, a 90-year-old woman lived there. Today's generation has worse taste.

[@zuzanazuscinova5209]

Totally! Who likes gray walls?

[@smoke10108]

Wow if I live in a place like that my life would be settled

[@leasing.life.]

Great video and amazing home

[@hidebarnes8188]

In the film it was all Christmasy 😍 now it looks ok I think pple r used and prefer the way it looked in the movie as they relate to being a Christmas house/movie x

[@1978rharris]

I went past there last week and the house has got a railing fence around it now. I guess the owners got sick of people trespassing. Beautiful neighbourhood though.

[@ForestVW]

Beautiful hause...

[@billy1673]

That rear patio is now gone as the current owners added a HUGE addition to the rear of the house.

[@under88Me]

not only famous but very unique and beautiful house... i go and search for it on Streetview, I hope I'll find the church as well :D

[@xfinity319]

I would love to live in this home. If I owned this house, I would renovate it back to what if was in the movie! Just a little bit more modern touch

[@justinandfriends8326]

The family living Room is my favorite part of the house

[@alanhudson2999]

This house is gorgeous..I'm not a fan of soo many open windows but during the day it's jus spectacular..I agree with gtafan94 I wish they were able to keep the same replica of the movie..the depiction of the home in the movie was beautiful as well..beautiful home

[@djsickclown]

Expensive house in a super rich neighborhood. If I ever win lotto I'll buy that house from the owner and move in.

[@amancalledjim5382]

+AirplaneFreak oh you've heard of the wet bandits have you ?

[@PorkTips]

there's also a mass murderer who kills people with a shovel right next door. other than that, the wet bandits and talking furnace, yeah nice place

[@kaitinrichardson8228]

@@PorkTips um..that was in the movie 🙄 so dumb..😒👋🏾

[@PorkTips]

@@kaitinrichardson8228 😧huh?

[@kaitinrichardson8228]

@@PorkTips realize wachu said u said a murder lives next door and wet bandits that was in the movie 🙄

[@JokeriPokeri17]

Yes, 3 years ago, i was on holiday and the flight happened to land in Chicago from Helsinki. Then i remember that the movie was filmed in the rich district on the city and i managed to get a private tour inside with couple other fans.

[@MattWilsonVegasFan]

The house looks like every 80s movie house!

[@davidshepherd265]

Such a beautiful home. I'm glad that in the US things like this are treasured - as an Aussie I can assure you that if this house was in Sydney or Melbourne, some developer would've bought it up and bulldozed it so they can build some monstrosity in its place.

[@zuzanazuscinova5209]

Totally. Love that the US maintains the colonial heritage when it comes to residential housing, with all the moldings, french windows, hard wood floors, etc.

[@discojelly]

We value heritage here. Its also been lived in and currently owned and is a VERY expensive house and no even more so after the Home Alone movie (2.4 Million $$$) Developers can't touch money like that. We only bulldoze buildings if they are no longer livable or a danger from its structure. But ya, no amount of money in the world can touch a famous house from a movie that has that much financial equity in it.

[@KRAFTWERK2K6]

0:30 Cars are still there. They're not at the airport. :o LOVE this area. High trees, quiet place, beautiful houses and probably AWESOME and friendly Neighbors :)

[@steveothehulk]

wow imagin actually living in that house you would always be making references to the move lol it would be so cool i wonder if the treehouse is still out back

[@Matthewsmollen4]

I wish I could go visit that house

[@manaralhamoud1941]

Oh god how much i want to live in that house

[@truthteller4442]

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but absolutely none of Home Alone was filmed inside the home. It’s was strictly the exterior. That’s it. The crew couldn’t fit all of their equipment inside the home. So they built a complete home (although nowhere near as big as this home) inside the gymnasium of New Trier High School, which is near this home in Winnetka, IL. Also, the house they built is only very loosely based on this. It’s really not all that similar.

[@chrisparker4940]

Was waiting on the realtor lady to yell KEVIN!!!

[@rosierose1917]

Beautiful house but I agree, the nostalgia was lost. Restore it back to how it was

[@lillianp8900]

The kitchen looks better in the movie. Wish they would have shown the upstairs

[@aqueseth]

This is the Big House for a lot of a Family. I Wish i can live there

[@chrisbailey7384]

I would probably get lost in there by the time I set foot in that house. That house will probably need a map stand like the ones in shopping malls to help you navigate.

[@joshpark7745]

Inside Home Alone house, everything looks so different from the 1990s.

[@Kermashan1337]

I like how he seams to glide away from here as she is talking and doesn't give a care.

[@oisincrahan]

I heard somewhere that the sun room at the back was there at the time of filming but they cut it out and for the basement they had to dig out that staircase and after filming they filled it in.

[@JimSendre]

I think they didn't cut it out they built a fake wall with a door around it for the movie scenes. thats where the kitchen back door is.

[@soulovelee_2433]

Wow, I watched a idea, where they said not once scene was filmed inside of the house, but I didn’t know that the Filmset interior was modeled after the real interior

[@XMguy]

Chris Columbus said the interior was done on a set. The wallpaper was all Christmas colors, plus they can’t exactly send the Wet Bandits into a 2.4 Million dollar house to break their necks in. Most houses in movies are Establishing shots. Some outside. Inside very different. Home Alone was unique that they took a lot of real interior inspiration. I wish the city had bought it or someone who really would make it a museum. But money talks.

[@PatrickWagz]

The kitchen looks like a GREAT place to make some delicious MAC and CHEESE!!!

[@drewhendley]

It needs to be restored to the original because it’s America’s Christmas Home ❄️🎄🎅🏻

[@t3true-games]

Watching in 2021 because Nostalgia

[@adamtheboyfromdenmar]

Great house!!! The only bad thing is that, people will come and look at the house EVERYDAY, and thats pretty anoying...! But IF I had to money and it wasn't used in a movie, I would probably buy it...! :) LOL

[@aaronweiser5421]

This house was used ONLY for EXTERIOR shots. The inside shots were all done in a studio!!

[@Starkardur]

No, they were not. They did shoot interior in the house as well as outside. There were interior shots filmed at a studio but not all of it.

[@truthteller4442]

Incorrect, Gunnar. The director said they couldn’t even fit the equipment inside the home at all. Every interior shot was done inside a “home” that they built inside the gymnasium of New Trier High School.

[@ethanreedy9785]

If I had it my way I would keep the interior.

[@noversibirsk]

would love to live here, if i were rich i would call this place home too, plus i grew up in Milwaukee, so close

[@bobbillings]

Fun fact: This real estate woman is fibbing. Just like the "A Christmas Story" house in Cleveland Ohio, The "Home Alone" house in Winnetka Illinois was only used for Exterior scenes in the movie. No Interior scenes were shot at all in the house which is why the family living there at the time was still allowed to live in the house during shooting having to "crawl" under windows at times. The inside of the house was meticulously recreated by carpenters and set decorators in the abandoned at the time New Trier Township West high school campus gymnasium nearby also in Winnetka, where the actors did all the inside scenes. For front door and window scenes in the house looking from inside to the outside, huge photographs were take from inside of this real house looking out and then cleverly blown up to scale and used as a backdrop and properly lighted in the gymnasium for the recreated house. Even the snow at this real house exterior was all white mats of fake snow and potato flake machines to make it seem like a blizzard. The fantastic genius John Hughes, who wrote and produced Home Alone and hired Chris Columbus to direct, had an aversion to everything hollywood and did not like Studio execs interfering during filming, had the power and clout to not only stay living in his beloved adopted home state of Illinois, where he grew up in Northbrook, and bought a house in Lake Forest, suburbs of Chicago, he also chose to shoot most of his movies there, far from the grasps of studio heads, where he could shoot his movies his way.

[@ThinkFinanceOfficial]

I will buy this home one day I guarantee it

[@PeterTheGr3at]

If im not mistaken, i do believe that the actually shot the stair-scene in the real house, but the rest was studio..

[@TheDude321]

I think I saw the box where Buzz kept his Playboy’s!

[@georgina7744]

@SouthernSOM Euros Dollars Pounds Whatever!!! I love that house and I thought mine was big but now I have seen that Wow!!

[@kevinrichards3288]

Did anybody order me a plain cheese?

[@yngguy4u]

People often "stage" their home when they're selling. The people living here obviously had a bit of money to invest in doing the same. They should have decorated certain rooms in a similar yet updated way. The kitchen they could keep cause that new one is gorgeous but the front hall should be dramatic damask paper like the movie. They would have made so much more money doing just that one thing.

[@JBeezify]

I was just speaking my mind! It's a beautiful house, I just disagree with the decor haha

[@Jabador93]

Belle maison 🏠💘

[@FelixFelisis]

Man, they screwed up the kitchen! I really miss the red tile too.

[@anastasiabruneo3283]

Xena: Destroyer of Nations I think the kitchen looks beautiful and updated the red was way too 80s early 90s ..outdated! But we’re all entitled to our own opinion.

[@FunBreak0Tv]

if i had money , i would buy it , and make it look like the way it was in the movie

[@alfonsoManzanares777]

I won the lotto im buying it yay im so exited

[@hydraelectricblue]

wow they really changed it a lot they should just decorate it like the movie lol and bump up the price another million.

[@jdk0517]

hydraelectricblue Only the exterior of the house was used in the movie. The interiors were built as a set in the gym of a local high school. The sets were based on the actual home, tho not actually filmed in there.

[@taylorcarnes1603]

@@jdk0517 more disinformation from the Home Alone expert. Many scenes were filmed in the home and many were filmed on a set.

[@vandalayrecords1554]

All of the interiors were shot on a set.

[@lilmouse1903]

Not all of them the church is a two tone location one in Evanston one in Chicago

[@TT_1221]

Is there steps down to the basement backdoor at the rear? Like in the movie where he slipped on the ice?

[@alloneword7427]

No. That wasn't there to begin with. The crew dug into the ground and put the stairs and door to the basement in. It didn't go anywhere as it was a fake door. They then filled it in putting it back to normal after filming.

[@here2watch08]

Wish I could see the upstairs!

[@Devilish__]

so different!

[@alexahagan3747]

Do you people not understand that the interior scenes of the McAllister house were shot on a set they built. Only the exteriors of the house were used for filming.

[@JFM1170]

Yes you may be right look at this link side by side of this video and you can see the differences. She should have been told about the inside not being used in the movie. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rISaiKmOpb-Hpck

[@alexahagan3747]

@@JFM1170 I am right as I watch a home alone how it was made thing on Netflix

[@dreams2memories]

From what I've read, it was all filmed in the house and not a sound stage. As for your stairs, hard to tell where they were at cause of the extensive remodel of the kitchen.

[@jdk0517]

dreams2memories Not true. Director Chris Columbus even says that it was all filmed on recreated sets in the local high school's gym on the dvd commentary.

[@taylorcarnes1603]

@@jdk0517 Many scenes were filmed in the home (kitchen, foyer and stairs) and many were filmed on a set.