BROOKLYN BROWNSTONE INTERIOR FROM NANCY MEYERS' "THE INTERN"
- Sep 1, 2024
- 7 min read
Updated: Aug 6
Today, I'm taking a look at the Brooklyn townhouse interior from Nancy Meyers’ movie The Intern, starring Anne Hathaway and Robert De Niro. Nancy Meyers’ spaces are often so carefully designed and full of personality that they become characters of their own.
The townhouse from The Intern is a perfect example of that approach.
The actual house is located in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn: a classic brownstone with hardwood floors, architectural moldings, fireplaces, and those beautiful tall windows that make New York townhouses so recognizable.
The interior itself is modern, but far from minimalistic. In fact, the eclectic mix is what makes it feel so authentic. New York interiors naturally encourage this kind of layering: historic architecture meets contemporary design, different eras meet different cultures.
Here we see farmhouse pendant lights in the kitchen, industrial-style bar stools, a mid-century modern sofa in the living room, a vintage dresser in the entryway, European cottage-inspired decor, millefleur floral linens, and countless small decorative objects that give the home that signature Nancy Meyers feeling.
It feels collected rather than decorated, as if the room has slowly evolved with the people living there.
A Colorful Interior That Embraces Real Life
A beautiful lighting piece can be spotted on the living room buffet: the Morton Large Table Lamp by Visual Comfort & Co., designed by AERIN. Its rounded base, gilded finish, and classic linen shade add warmth and a subtle sense of luxury to the room. It is a great example of how these interiors are built: not around one dramatic object, but through many carefully chosen details that make the space feel collected, comfortable, and lived-in.
The color palette in The Intern is also a beautiful reminder that sophisticated interiors don’t have to
be neutral.
The home features a mustard yellow sofa, French blue interior doors, a Marsala-colored patterned rug, children’s artwork covering the walls, colorful toys, fresh fruit, flowers, and plants in terracotta pots. The colors don’t feel carefully arranged just for a photo. They feel natural, a little imperfect, and lived-in.
If you have ever tried to keep your home within a calm, carefully planned color palette but then found yourself adding one more colorful object, one more pattern, one more piece you couldn’t resist, save this movie as inspiration. I come back to this interior every time I start wondering whether I have gone too far with color in my own home.
One of the colors worth noticing is the beautiful dusty blue paint used throughout the townhouse. The door frames, interior doors, and some of the window trims appear to be painted in a shade very similar to Soft Jazz by Benjamin Moore.
This particular shade has been identified in several iconic TV and film interiors including Carrie Bradshaw’s closet in Sex and the City and an accent wall in Gossip Girl. It has become one of those instantly recognizable cinematic colors: a soft, muted blue that feels close to the classic French Blue.
The walls of Jules’ home are filled with beautiful artwork, and one of the most striking pieces can be spotted in the living room: Martin Munkácsi’s photograph On Holiday with Greta Garbo (1932).
Munkácsi was one of the most influential photographers of the early 20th century, capturing celebrities in more spontaneous, everyday moments. A vintage Hollywood photograph is a perfect choice for a Nancy Meyers interior: it adds history, personality, and a subtle cinematic connection without making the room feel themed.
If you love this piece, art reproductions of On Holiday with Greta Garbo are available from BuyPopArt as museum-style giclée prints in different formats and sizes.
One of the things I find especially interesting about this interior is the way black-and-white graphic elements are used in such a colorful space. Instead of competing with all the blues, yellows, greens, and pinks, these high-contrast details actually help to balance the room and give the eye a place to rest.
Besides the black-and-white striped umbrella in the wall artwork, we can spot the bold zigzag-patterned throw pillows on the sofa, the coffee table books (including a clearly recognizable collection of photographs by Garry Winogrand), and even the kitchen runner. All in black and white.
Speaking of that runner I found what appears to be an identical one: the Montauk Collection Runner by Safavieh which is available on Amazon.
Designer Pieces in the Living Room
Let’s start with some of the most recognizable designer pieces in the house.
The statement chandelier in the living room is the Branching Bubbles chandelier by Lindsay Adelman.
Like many iconic designer pieces, it has inspired countless interpretations and more affordable versions. If you love this style, search for “bubble chandelier” — you’ll find everything from minimalist versions with just a few glass spheres to dramatic designs covered with dozens of branches and lights.
Beyond being beautiful, these chandeliers work especially well in interiors that need a strong focal point because they create both sculpture and atmosphere.
George Nelson Bubble Lamp: A Mid-Century Classic
On the console table in the living room, we can spot another famous design piece: the Bubble Table Lamp by George Nelson for Herman Miller.
George Nelson is one of the most influential names in mid-century modern design. He created several pieces that became true icons of the era, including the Marshmallow Sofa, Ball Clock, and
Coconut Chair.
The original shades were made using a translucent polymer spray. The technique allowed designers to create lightweight, durable forms that looked almost like floating bubbles — hence the name. Nelson was also inspired by a group of Swedish silk-covered lamps that created a beautiful diffused glow in interiors. He transformed that idea into a whole collection of lighting pieces with different spherical silhouettes.
Today, you can still find vintage versions, as well as many lamps inspired by this design. Even some familiar paper-shade lamps from IKEA follow the same visual idea: simple forms, soft light, and an almost handmade feeling.
The Timeless Beauty of Thonet Chairs
Throughout the house, we can spot one of the most recognizable classics in furniture history: Thonet chairs.
These famous bentwood chairs, often associated with Viennese cafés, were a true revolution when they first appeared in the 19th century. The innovative steam-bending technique allowed Michael Thonet and his company to manipulate wood into elegant curves, creating furniture that was lightweight, strong, and surprisingly simple to produce.
The design was so successful that these chairs have remained almost unchanged for more than 150 years.
They can be seen everywhere: from small coffee shops and Parisian cafés to elegant historic interiors and even royal residences. They are also incredibly accessible compared to many design classics. You can find vintage versions at flea markets, collectible pieces at auctions, and countless modern interpretations at different price points. If you are interested in this style, search for “Thonet chair” — it’s a whole world of its own.
A Chair That Became a Design Icon
Speaking of chairs, let’s briefly visit the office of Jules, the main character played by Anne Hathaway.
Just like in The Other Woman, where the character’s personality was reflected through her home and workspace, Jules’ office tells us a lot about her.
One of the most recognizable pieces is the transparent acrylic Ghost Chair by Kartell, designed by Philippe Starck.
The idea behind the chair was almost paradoxical: creating a classic silhouette that visually disappears into the room. Made from a single piece of transparent polycarbonate, it feels elegant, modern, and almost weightless.
A smaller child-sized version can even be spotted in Jules’ daughter’s room, a tiny detail that feels very intentional and very Nancy Meyers.
The Nancy Meyers Kitchen Formula
The kitchen in The Intern has many of the signature elements that make Nancy Meyers interiors so recognizable.
There are open floating shelves, usually custom-made to fit the space, an abundance of ceramics, pitchers, bowls, wooden spoons, cutting boards, and plants that soften the more luxurious materials around them.
The marble countertops feel elegant, but the everyday objects around them make the space approachable and warm. This is one of the reasons her kitchens feel so inviting: expensive architectural details are always balanced with ordinary things that suggest real life.
If you love this Nancy Meyers kitchen aesthetic, Pottery Barn is a good place to look for similar details, from handmade-looking ceramics to vintage-inspired planters and kitchen accessories.
Speaking of Pottery Barn, there is also a beautiful piece from the brand in Jules’ bedroom: the Antique Mercury Glass Table Lamp. The lamp was recently available at Pottery Barn, and if it is no longer in stock, I have also seen it listed on AptDeco. Its aged silver finish and classic silhouette fit perfectly into the layered, slightly vintage feel of the interiors in this movie.
Textiles, Patterns, and the Art of Layering
The textiles in this movie deserve their own mention. There are stripes, patterns, and solid colors all layered together — a combination that creates depth without making the room feel chaotic.
Nancy Meyers interiors often use bedding and upholstery almost like another design element in the story. The mix of patterns, pillows, and textures makes bedrooms feel personal and inviting.
In fact, this layered approach to beds and bedrooms became a huge source of inspiration for many interiors seen in movies and television. Without all those pillows, blankets, and textiles, many emotional conversations happening in bedrooms would probably look much less memorable on screen.
The Bathroom Shelf Every Brooklyn Creative Dreams Of
The shelves in Jules' bathroom are packed with beautiful skincare and fragrance bottles. Having worked in beauty, I immediately started identifying the brands. I spotted Kiehl's, Jo Malone London, and, of course, plenty of Aesop. It is a Brooklyn hipster home, after all.
Architectural Details: Brownstone Moldings
The wall moldings throughout the house, including the bathroom, are another feature that comes directly from the architecture of a classic Brooklyn brownstone. Historic New York townhouses often come with beautiful original details — fireplaces, high ceilings, parquet floors, and decorative moldings. But if you love this look and your home doesn’t have them, it is actually easier to recreate than many people think. Look for pre-cut and pre-primed wall moldings.
Many modern versions can be installed quite simply with adhesive strips and then painted together with the wall.
In The Intern, the warm gray walls create the perfect backdrop for colorful furniture and artwork, proving once again that neutral doesn’t have to mean boring.
Despite its slightly bittersweet ending, The Intern remains one of those comforting movies that you can return to again and again.
And yes, you can absolutely watch it for the beautiful brownstone, the perfectly layered lighting, and those incredible moldings, but the story is pretty good too.
