To celebrate the triumphant return of “Living In” from our two week hiatus, I bring you what may be my favorite post in the series so far, National Velvet. Perhaps you may not geek out about old children’s movies as much as I do, but it’s a proven fact you cannot go wrong with horses, cute dresses and little Liz Taylor. Pop some popcorn and your heart will melt. Promise.

[image above, clockwise from top left: wool blanket $158,horse show ribbons $3.35 each, Lover sailor dress $580, cup and saucer $14, pears, needlepoint pillow $98, vintages breyer horse, yellow beret $12.99]

Set in the late 1920s in Sussex, National Velvet follows the story of Velvet Brown who trains her wild and wonderful stable horse to ride in the Grand National Steeplechase. (and can we all just pause for a moment and appreciate how adorable the name Velvet is?) Flannels, plaids, berets, barns, sweet dresses, riding boots, rosy cheeks and hair ribbons- this movie is truly and sincerely my holy grail of inspiration. -amy m.

PS- I would like to dedicate this post to all of us who wished and hoped and prayed for a pony for Christmas but never got one. Grace Bonney and design*sponge are happy to announce that, Oprah style, we will be hand delivering ponies to each and every reader this holiday season.

[image above, clockwise from top left: winner’s circle necklace $14.99,vintage saddle bag $62, wool blanket $158, felt headband $4, riding boots $189, plaid belt $90, antique carved bookends $650, henning sofa $3998]

Continuing in the Halloween spirit, Rosemary’s Baby is my favorite kind of scary movie- suspenseful, chilling and eerie without any gore. I’m a big wuss when it comes to horror movies and continually hold my hands over my eyes, so an adorable Mia Farrow makes the whole thing much more manageable.

[image above, clockwise from top left: Arredoluce floor lamp $3600,coat of arms mirror $198, silk dress with lace collar $240, flokati rug $159, wool beret $13, mango radio $198, Thonet bistro chair $361, Kensington pram $1995, pearl earrings $22]

In addition to the well-known fact that Rosemary’s Baby is a bit of cinema heaven, it also contains the most pitch perfect on screen house renovation of any movie I’ve seen. When Rosemary and her husband buy an apartment in the fictionalized upper west side Dakota building, it’s dark, stuffy and terrifyingly creepy. As Rosemary’s pregnancy progresses, she spends her days painting and wallpapering until the house is unrecognizably bright and cheerful. A charming mix of uptown traditional and feminine 1960s mod, she’s inspired me to kick into high gear with my own projects around the house. Spawn of satan not required. -amy m.

[image above, clockwise from top left: vintage wallpaper $57,flight base lamp $88, vintage nightgown, sputnik flower chandelier $2500, shearling throw , vase $40, coat rack $68, diamond necklace $542, tufted bench $1800, Repetto ballet flats $220]

As Halloween inches closer, I can’t get Edward Scissorhands off my mind. It’s one of those movies that bewitched me as a kid and still makes me turn to mush. Hands down- the most gentle, imaginative and magical movie ever. I can’t even form proper sentences to describe how wonderful it is. Not like I have to, though. You already know.

[image above, clockwise from top left: doma biker jacket $630,keychain $12, oliver table lamp $895, mannequin hand $21 each, zinc industrial table $2200, riveter’s stool $185, circle bracket $12, cookie cutters $6, birdcage $86]

The world that genius director Tim Burton creates in Edward Scissorhands is split right down the middle, with both sides as surreal as the other. Edward’s abandoned industrial mansion is as dark and creepy as can be while the neighboring suburbia is a dizzying grid of cookie cutter homes painted in colors Burton described as “sea-foam green, dirty flesh, butter and dirty blue”. Not exactly homey. But beyond the ick factor, Burton injects tenderness and humanity into not only his characters but their environments as well. Having a young Johnny Depp around doesn’t hurt things, either. -amy m.

[image above, clockwise from top left: coal flower lamp $88, calligraphy bed $2498, velvet pouf $32, boxwood topiary $210, moss bunny $9, vintage hedge shears $195, restored telephone $198, pink lipstick $16, Minnie stool $229]

Some girls are rabid Audrey Hepburn fans. They dress up like Holly Golightly every year for Halloween and watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s once a week. Perhaps I’m going to get crucified far and wide across the internet for saying this but, um, I tried to watch Breakfast at Tiffany’s for the first time last year and I just couldn’t get into it. To each their own. I’d rather watch Two for the Road over and over again, anyways. Few movies show the true nature of relationships so honestly; happiness, heartbreak, boredom, jealousy, misery and all. Plus, the story is told over a serious of different road trip flashbacks. All road trips, all movie long. It’s amazing.

[image above, clockwise from top left: headband $12,Diana f+ camera $103, passport cover $20, suitcase set $395, fermob bistro table $337, espresso cup and saucer $60/ set of four, classic MG rental, cashmere sweater $95, fermob bistro chair $189/set of two]

What could be more painfully charming and utterly adorable than Audrey on a lifetimes’s worth of road trips through France? Ummm… nothing. Highwaisted jeans, classic convertibles, striped shirts, kerchiefs and suitcase sets. So maybe renting the MG is a little, ahem, impractical for your average weekend getaway, but a girl can dream and dream she will. -amy m.

[image above, clockwise from top left: suitcase set $395, hermes scarf $375, clown hat $13, striped top $22, dresser $798, canvas rucksack $8, schoolhouse clock $128, Corrigan chair $1998]

When I first saw Days of Heaven, I was blown away. Totally speechless. It is, without a doubt, the most visually beautiful movie I’ve ever seen. Every frame could make me weep. The music. The costumes. The wheat fields. The farmhouse. The farmer. If you want a peek inside my fantasy realms of my brain, this is your chance.

[image above, clockwise from top left: vintage ticking fabric,polermo umbrella $29, reproduction gramophone $184, mechanic’s light $148, empire sofa, bowler hat $100, antique hat rack $500, pheasant feathers]

Set in the fields of the Texas panhandle in 1916, the film follows three migrant laborers and their deepening entanglement with their wheat farmer boss. Steady, mysterious and understated, it never ceases to lure me and by the end I’m all weepy and longing to run through a field by moonlight. Sadly, wheat fields and open sky are in short supply in Brooklyn, so instead I must placate myself with dreams of farmhouse tables, hunting dogs and faraway gramophones playing old timey music. -amy m.

[image above, clockwise from top left: antique garden forks $195,wooden bowl $20, wheat sheathes $14, mirror $368, wool blanket $ 470, german shorthaired pointer , farm table $1000, grasshopper print $40]

This was a tough one. I kept hemming and hawing over the little things, saying in my head “But is it Godfather good?”. I mean The Godfather is legendary. No one messes with The Godfather. I’d hate to look back in a year and think I didn’t do it justice. So I’m taking the cowards way out and only stealing the style of one of my favorite Godfather settings (Corleone, Italy in forties) so I leave room for, umm, future interpretations. A definitive and complete style breakdown of the Godfather is just too much pressure for a Tuesday afternoon, so let’s save some fun for a rainy day.

[image above, clockwise from top left: iron gate $4500,hanging shade $898, wool hat $20, metal table $95, antique bottles $350, electra bicycle at bobbin uk $440, antique wine jugs $300]

The long alfresco dinner parties, bottles of wine, wildly handsome Al Pacino and crumbling Italian mansions all make me want to wimper with greedy wanting. But I’m about 90% sure that my obsession with the Corleone, Italy scenes stem from the mere presence of Apollonia, Micheal Corleone’s albeit brief bride. Hello, girl crush of my life. I have spent many a tearful night begging god to turn me into a 17 year old, rural Italian bombshell, but no. Hence my constant hunt for a bit more godfather bits to add to my life. – amy m.

PS- Someone with a 25 inch waist pluhleese buy that darn dress, already.

[image above, clockwise from top left: ottoman rug $225+,pearls $128, vintage eyelet dress $88, bench $499, vintage carboy $269, oil jug $795, wool blanket $150]

Some folks, when asked about movies they love, rattle off a list of obscure art house films and directors no one knows. You’re left thinking, okay, but what movies to do you actually watch when no one else is around While I do like me some wackadoo movies, fluff like Dirty Dancing is always in my top 10. I mean, catskills resort vacation circa 1963, an awesome soundtrack and some cheesy dialogue? Makes me want to pop some corn and have a pillow fight with my best friends, slumber party style.

[image above, clockwise from top left: acacia floor lamp $298,leotard $12, ballroom heels $100, vintage radio poster $100, rattan living suite $8500, watermelon $3, vintage suitcase $25]

Honestly, I hadn’t ever really paused to considered Dirty Dancing a stylistic oeuvre, seeing as takes place in a hysterically blatant 1980s version of the 1960s, but who am I to judge. Its mountain bungalow setting is just amazing. Grace- next summer let’s book Kellerman’s for a design*sponge sleep away camp. Who’s with me? amy m.

[image above, clockwise from top left: antique French desk lamp,clock $88, st. james tee $67, rattan dresser $5750, keds $35, recycled plaid blanket $35, playing cards $3.50, armchair $1500 for pair]