The Houses From “The Help”
See the Houses from The Help Movie
The Help – “You is kind…. You is smart…. You is important,” this is the most memorable line from the movie The Help and one of the most memorable lines in a movie ever, I love these words from The Help. Did you ever dream of being something else? This is an important question in the movie The Help. Have you ever dreamed of being something else? Most of us have.
This is a look at the houses from “The Help” depicting the 1960s.
- The Hilly Hillbrook House
- Elizabeth Leefolt’s House
- Skeeter Phelan’s House
- Celia Foote’s House
and we’re going through the movie.
The Help was nominated for Best Picture and was set in Jackson, Mississippi where some filming did take place, but mostly was filmed in Greenwood and Clarksdale, Mississippi. The Help is based on the novel by Kathryn Stockett and written for the screen and directed by Tate Taylor
That’s Aibileen Clark above, played by Viola Davis (best actress nominee), in her kitchen and she is the one who was asked the question “Did you ever dream of being something else?”
Eugenia (Skeeter) Phelan (played by Emma Stone) fresh out of college and full of spunk gets her first job as Ms. Myrna answering a cleaning advice column. Her mother just wants her to get married and can’t understand why she wants to have a career as a writer.
The Help – Hilly Holbrook House. You might remember The Help movie scene where there are multiple toilets strewn across the lawn. It is The Johnson residence at 413 Grand Blvd. in Greenfield, Mississippi.
Hilly’s house interior is prim and proper appearing like her. I say appearing because there is not much proper about Hilly.
The baby blue bathroom with flowered wallpaper in Hilly Holbrook’s house and Hilly fits right in with her flowered dress. Hilly is played by Bryce Dallas Howard who is the daughter of beloved actor, Oscar-winning director, Ron Howard- I did not know that, did you? We all love to hate Hilly throughout the movie for her backstabbing, snottiness, manipulation, and blatant lying to name a few reasons why.
The foyer in the Hilly house and Minny Jackson, played by Octavia Spencer who won for Best Supporting Actress.
Missus Walters, played by Sissy Spacek, comes on the scene dressed in a coat in the summer. Lovin her netted hat and sunnies here.
Not so many people sit at the table and read the newspaper at breakfast anymore, so love this scene for that. Hilly Holbrook in pin curls (ouch to sleep on) which women are happy to be free of today. Looking at the curvy cut of the wood cabinets with turquoise paint. There is a lot of 60s turquoise and pink in the Hilly Holbrook house.
This is eye candy with the turquoise-colored cabinet, the glasses, and silver together.
Turquoise painted peg board hanging on the wall reminds me of peg board used in garages with hooks for handy hanging of tools.
Pink bathroom. The mesmerizing southern influence wallpaper appears to match the rug on the floor and the mirror is priceless.
The scene in the pink bathroom with Minny fake flushing the toilet irritates Hilly to no end. It’s the beginning of the end for Minny working for the Holbrooks.
Poo-pie referred to as “revenge pie” in the movie, is served up at the Hilly Holbrook home. I can’t think about that too much or I will never eat pie again.
The Help – Elizabeth Leefolt’s middle-class ranch house is in Greenwood, Mississippi. Great property with tall trees that we see more clearly at the end of the movie. This is the Perkins residence at 1101 Poplar Street.
Mae Mobley’s pink bedroom in the Leefolt house. We learn that Aibileen has looked after white babies for 17 years. She works from 8-6, 6 days a week for 95 cents an hour at $182.00 a month. So that’s $7.60 a day and $45.60 a week. She does the cooking, cleaning, washing, ironing, and grocery shopping, but mostly she looks after Mae because her mother, Elizabeth Leefolt, reportedly has postpartum or is more interested in socializing, in my opinion.
Elizabeth has the most generic house interior because of her personality as the follower in the movie, per the set decorators.
Elizabeth Leefolt’s (played by Ahna O’Reilly) living room. This is my movie shot and below is a great panoramic view of the room.
Dark turquoise bathroom in the Leefolt house with Aibileen Clark potty training Mae. Mae’s mother has no patience for her daughter.
The ladies all in dresses and 60s hairdos.
It’s nice to get a look at the country-style den in the Leefolt house with no actors in the way.
Movie scene kitchen in the Elizabeth Leefolt house with Minny helping Aibileen.
Great view of the kitchen with the wood cabinetry and door and drawer pulls that seem “western” style, plus the linoleum pattern on the floor.
View of kitchen from a different angle in the movie.
The Help – Skeeter Phelan large southern house. A classic white-columned Antebellum Southern mansion. Love the old cars they show throughout the movie. The house is located at 7300 County Road 518 (MoneyRoad), but the interior was filmed at The Franklin residence at 613 River Road, Greenwood, Mississippi.
The entrance to Skeeter house shows an old-style hat, coat, and umbrella stand. The house has a traditional look.
Up the first flight of stairs to….
To a large, large landing where there is room for a couch, table, lamp, and armoire.
Skeeter’s mom sitting at her dressing table that has lovely curved mirrors and triple drawers on each side. Skeeter’s mom has cancer and is trying on different wigs. When I saw this in the movie I was thinking that they did not have wigs available back then, but maybe they did, so I looked it up. Wigs have been around since the Egyptian days, have always been in fashion, but just used in different ways such as when the 18th-century men wore them powdered to have a distinctive look. Let’s never go back to that fashion look!
There is that large landing again with beautiful wood railing work, the armoire, and yet room for another couch. I am not liking the fish on the wall because I keep thinking of that talking fish they advertise on TV!
In Skeeter’s kitchen, they show a box of “Breeze” (a laundry soap used back then) which in the early 60s gave a free face cloth or hand towel inside. You can go on eBay and buy a box of Breeze (made by Lever Brothers) with the free towel in it. I wish the laundry companies would go back to this because the price of laundry soap is sky-high and we need a little incentive to buy the pricier brands..namely, Tide.
Shinolator is going to make Skeeter’s hair straight…
and Skeeter can feel it in her mom’s fingers that this is gonna look great. Jello mold and colander hanging on the wall were popular then I am guessing.
Skeeter’s kitchen is white and I remember my mom having a similar mixer like the one above and the dishes are delish relics from the 60s for sure.
The results of the Shinolator is stunning. Mom is happy.
The Help – Celia Foote house gives us a first frontal look as Minny Jackson comes for her interview and last hope of getting hired by someone, since her ” revenge pie” incident. This is a pre-Civil War luxurious inn converted to a private residence, per Mark Ricker, The Help film production designer. It’s located on Old Grenada Road, north of Carrollton in Carroll county.
Celia Foote (played by Jessica Chastain) is the nicest Southern Lady on the block. She is married to rich Johnny Foote who she wants to learn to cook for. Celia is not accepted into the social circle (Johnny is Hilly’s ex-boyfriend) and is not sure of herself because she is from a poor family.
The most extensive work was done for this house on The Help to bring out the history period of the home.
“This here’s the kitchen,” says Celia.
The kitchen details were painstakingly constructed by The Help movie production.
The old fan, cutting board, and scale, sitting on the table and the antique chair.
Amazing authenticity. Today, retro kitchen refrigerators and ovens, and appliances are making a come back. Like Rachel Ray’s blue Big Chill refrigerator. The set designers found pieces for this room and many other The Help rooms at flea markets, antique malls, and attics in the south, per vignettedesign.
A kitchen today with a fireplace would be pricey.
Here’s Minnie sitting down to eat in the Celia Foote house and unbeknownst to her Celia is going to join her.
Filled with grander and ornateness. Celia states she wants to redecorate with “wall-to-wall white carpet with gold trim, but Johnny’s’ mama won’t let her change anything.”
Ballerina painting on the wall, ornate heavy gold curtains, and old fashioned chair.
A full-sized stuffed bear to contend with in the Foote house. No wonder Celia needs to redecorate. The bear was found in a taxidermy shop in Wisconsin, per vignettedesign.blogspot. I am thinking of… how to dust the bear?
A great view of the room in all its ornate grandeur.
The Celia Foote house pool with Celia and Johnnie.
At the end of the movie, Celia does indeed learn to cook, and cooks a whole meal by herself with Minny as the guest of honor.
The part I hate is where Aibileen Clark has to tell Mae that she is leaving.
When Mae is crying at the window it makes me so angry at Elizabeth and Hilly. It tugs at the heart to see her cry. Don’t go….
Just a wonderful street at the ending of The Help movie with mature trees up and down it and the ground cover growing along the street edge frames it magnificently. I assume this is Poplar Street of the Leefolt home.
“Nobody ever ask what it felt like to be me.” My boy always say there gonna be a writer in the family. I guess it gonna be me.” This is a heartfelt and significant line at the end of the movie said by wonderful Aibileen Clark as she leaves the Leefolt home for the last time.
As I leave you, I am unable to say which house from The Help is my favorite, as bits of each house touched me in different ways for different reasons. How did The Help movie and its houses touch you?
Get The Help DVD and watch it again! The Help
Some Hilly Holbrook House credit here
Credit to vignettedesign for some The Help house photos.
Credit about The Help to reel-scout.com for the house and filming facts.
Other movie houses on Housekaboodle you might enjoy are:
The Real Life As We Know It Movie House
Cheaper By The Dozen Movie Houses
Exciting news: See Skeeter’s House for sale in Greenwood, MS
