They've Gotta Have It

"It's got to be the most popular interior ever," said Linda Merrill, a designer based in Duxbury, Mass. An entry she posted on her blog earlier this year about the movie's interior garners as many as 30 hits a day. People from Australia, Canada and Africa check her blog in search of rugs, artwork, lamps, furniture, fabric.

When Merrill found that Aspen Carpet Designs carries a blue-and-white-striped rug inspired by the movie, she mentioned the Chicago-area retailer on her site. Jerry Krull, the company owner, said one of his customers had "actually tracked down the set designer of the movie to find out where the original rug had been made." When the price of the original proved too steep, she asked Krull to design something similar. He has sold 65 of the cotton dhurrie look-alikes in the past two years without advertising or a storefront. Customers find his Web site ( http://www.aspencarpetdesigns.com/) by searching for information about the movie. "Almost every single sale is based on the movie in some way," Krull said. "I told my wife, 'Selling these rugs has the possibility of paying for our kids' college.' "

Some designers are somewhat mystified by all the fuss.

"When you really study 'Something's Gotta Give,' you realize that the interiors verge on almost being impersonal," D.C. designer Skip Sroka wrote in an e-mail. D.C. designer Lisa Adams is a fan of the kitchen but agrees: "In and of itself, [the design] doesn't make a statement. It's a background."

That might be exactly what makes the interior so attractive. "It isn't so personal that you couldn't imagine yourself in it," said Brandsen of Renovation Style. "People look at it and say: 'I can see myself in there. I want to be there.' "

It might surprise (and disappoint) fans to learn that the exterior of the Southampton home was the only part of the set that was real. The interior and back yard were built on a Hollywood soundstage, and set designers created much of the furniture. The islands were built on casters so they could be wheeled out of the way as needed. The countertops were plywood painted to look like soapstone. And when the filming wrapped, the entire set was dismantled. Props were auctioned on eBay for charity.

So the ideal is gone, but the kitchens it inspired have taken on a real life of their own.

Livingston's new kitchen in McLean bears many similarities to the one in the movie: white cabinets, farmhouse sink, center island, stainless-steel appliances and oil-rubbed bronze pulls. But she decided on a cooktop in the island rather than a sink, polished granite countertops instead of soapstone, and a black butler's pantry with marble countertops.

The Myerses in Rockville also veered from the original: The cabinets are off-white, the island is made of dark wood, the counters are honed dark-green marble. It's not a reproduction, but a look they consider all their own. "I'm happy with what I have," Susan Myers said. "The kitchen in the movie fits that house. My kitchen fits my house."