Inside Holly Golightly's Apartment
I was watching Breakfast at Tiffany's the other night and found myself, once again, wishing I had Holly Golightly's apartment.
Holly's kitchen is simple and white, no accents and no real knick-knacks. I do love the wallpaper, though.
In her similarly drably-coloured bathroom, Holly has minimal accessories, but she does have at least four toothbrushes (including the one she's using). It's a subtle hint towards what the movie won't outright say about her profession.
While Holly gets ready at her vanity, we're treated to this view from her bed: you can see a professional hair-drying machine and a donkey statue wearing a lei.
In the little cubby under her buzzer, she stashes a bottle of perfume and a tube of lipstick (fun fact: in this movie, Audrey Hepburn wore Pink in the Afternoon by Revlon).
For the party, Holly has filled her empty shelves with party foods and favours, as well as a nice bottle of champagne. She also decorates with a copy of Nine Lives by Paul Varjak as soon as he gives her a copy.
As Mag Wildwood so helpfully demonstrates, Holly also has a zebra-skin rug.
I'm not the only one, though. There's an entire corner of the internet devoted to it. You can find several websites that outline where to find it in New York City, how to turn your own space into an homage to Holly Golightly, and even buy a poster of its floor plans!
Anyways, I thought it'd be fun, when I noticed what Cat was laying on when Paul buzzes Holly's apartment, to watch Breakfast at Tiffany's and try to spot all the kooky things in her apartment. Let's dive in!
When Paul Varjak first buzzes her apartment, we see Cat laying on her crumpled up black dress, with a collection of fashion magazines off to the side and several high heels (only one shoe of each) under the bed. Note that you can just see one of the black alligator shoes she later looks for.
The first true glimpse into Holly's apartment comes when she lets Paul in to use the telephone. There, we get our first glimpse of the claw-foot bathtub couch, a set of white luggage stacked on the other side of the door, several crates and boxes, a weather vane, and a near-empty shelf. The only pop of colour: the fuchsia throw pillows.
In another corner of her living room, Holly has a Dansette record player, a lot of records stacked haphazardly (some are out of the sleeves), and a painting still on its easel.
On Holly's vanity: many, many perfume bottles and makeup.
While Holly dresses, we can see into her closet (the door behind Paul) and down to the living room (the door in front of Paul). In her open closet door, we can see some of her clothes, including the orange Givenchy coat she wears in the Tiffany's/New York Public Library/Five and Ten scene.
In the other corner of her bedroom, there's a piñata.
Here's another view of her bathroom. You can see the bathrobe she'll don in the next scene hanging from the door.
Ahead of the jazzy party scene, Holly's agent O.J. Berman can be seen staring into a birdcage in Holly's living room. The bird is dead and stuffed. In the background, you can see her guitar.
After their après-shoplifting rendez-vous, Paul goes into Holly's apartment to find her, but she's not there. We're treated to another long shot of the living room. In this photo, you can see the knick-knacks she keeps on top of her kitchen cupboards: they look like empty bottles and wicker baskets.
On the shelves, the sole accessory is a copy of Nine Lives by Paul Varjak. In the left corner, the white suitcase is where Holly stuffs the telephone. The guitar is next to the window sill, and an air conditioner is in the window.
In her grief over her brother's death, she destroys her bedroom. You can see a wicker basket of flowers (also contains one cigarette lighter as well) in front of the donkey statue.
Of course, as soon as she latches herself to José da Silva Pereira, one of the richest men in Brazil, she turns her apartment into haven of South American wares. Note that Cat is perched atop the taxidermy animal head. She has posters on the wall, a few more knick-knacks on the shelf, a table and chairs, and the clawfoot bath tub is gone.
It's the last true look we get at Holly's apartment before she lights out to jail, but it's one of the most iconic in cinematic history.
What's your favourite part of Holly Golightly's apartment?
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I took all screenshots used in this post.
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