Watercolor Floorplans from Recent Television Shows and Films

Exploring the sets of famous films and television shows is a fun way to see interior design through a filmmaker's eyes. And sometimes, it's even a little startling to see what those spaces look like in context and without the perfect framing the camera provides. This post features a few gorgeous layouts from the Floor Plan Croissant collection by Boryana Ilieva, a series of watercolor depictions of cinematic architecture. Each one reveals furniture and notable objects in a completely different way than one would ordinarily see on the television – these famous floor plans are artistic, soft, and powerful.

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This interior is based on the movie Elena, a 2011 Russian drama film directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev. Boryana Ilieva spent weeks studying this space on pause on play, and captures the details gorgeously. The main movie setting revolves around two spaces – an exclusive penthouse in downtown Moscow, and a crumbling apartment in one of Moscow's industrial suburbs. This watercolor examines the spacious penthouse in detail. A movie based on strong emotional realism, the interior invokes this feeling down to the sultry blue palette and dark mysterious atmosphere.

It's very cool to see fictional sets realized with such detail and seriousness. Interior architecture and interior design are probably the last thing on the mind of many moviegoers, no matter how much time and effort went into crafting these intricate stages.

An interesting fact for movie-lovers: although the apartment itself never existed, the layout is identical to the apartment belonging to the parents of the filmmaker.

The creator of Floor Plan Croissant reports feeling a little disappointed upon realizing that the Parisian apartment in the movie wasn't a real life location, but quickly adjusted with a delightful sense of curiosity and problem-solving, bending the arrangement of certain elements like windows and cupboards until they made sense architecturally.

This interior visualization, based on the 2012 film Amour by Michael Haneke, is based on a location that doesn't exist. The painter realized by studying the movie interior that certain elements were constructed or arranged in impossible ways and make allowances in the watercolor to reflect that. In all, production designer Haneke and art director Jean-Vincent Puzos did a fabulous job creating a set that felt substantial and real despite being custom-built within a sound stage.

As a highly erotic film, the layout's emphasis on the bold crimson bed is certainly no accident. Emotion is the main source of decoration and personality.

Here's a depiction of an apartment from the 2015 movie Love by director and screenwriter Gaspar Noé. This is a watercolor of the apartment belonging to the main character Murphy, at a point in his life when he was happy. The spare apartment accommodates the movie's emphasis on the memories and recollections of the main character.

First, artist Boryana Ilieva explores the world of colorful NYC apartments belonging to struggling young artists, illustrators, actors and other creatives. This first apartment highlights Hannah's apartment from Lena Dunham's television series Girls, a colorful space with an open layout.

Apparently, some of the architectural elements on the interior are fictional additions by the movie's director, including the staircase and possibly even the kitchen and bathroom.

Here's a cross section showing the interior of the apartment as it relates to the terrace. It certainly looks wonderfully warm and inviting in watercolor.

The apartment is located with a gorgeous view of the Colosseum, just like in the movie.

Here is a highly detailed series of watercolor paintings that explore the rooftop penthouse from the 2013 movie The Great Beauty written and directed by Paolo Sorrentino. Notice the distinctive architecture? The movie was filmed in Rome, and the apartment of the main character Jep Gambardella really does exist. This floor plan series is especially exciting because the exterior of the building never appeared in the film (except the fabulous terrace area), giving fans a unique perspective into the set location.

Tight filming angles emphasized the small layout at every turn. This watercolor series fully reveals the sparse furnishings and the relative impact of the few bright colors. The small floor plan wasn't just a fictional element – the film crew was actually confined to this cramped space, even sometimes filming from the bathtub to utilize every extra inch.

This one is especially exciting because of the importance the set plays in the movie. ROOM is a fascinating film directed by Lenny Abrahamson, telling the story of a mother and her 5-year-old child trapped in a windowless room with no outside contact. The mother does all she can to provide the young boy with a fulfilling upbringing even within the restrictive environment, before risking an escape plan as the boy's curiosity grew.

The apartment has since undergone several reconfigurations, but this film-worthy floor plan remains just as relevant and inspiring.

Now for a look at the set from Tiny Furniture, Lena Dunham's independently written and directed dramatic comedy from 2010. The real life apartment is located in Tribeca and it's absolutely fabulous – and recently sold for a tidy sum. The walls of storage and smart furniture selections are especially inspiring.

Each unique architectural feature gains a vivid life in watercolor. These apartments have uniquely characteristic features rarely highlighted on the television screen.