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From Film to Real Life: Tjolöholm Castle from Melancholia

Regina Yunghans
Regina Yunghans
Regina is an architect who lives with her husband and children in Lawrence, KS. As a LEED Accredited Professional and longtime contributor to Apartment Therapy and The Kitchn, her focus is on healthy, sustainable living through design.
updated May 4, 2019
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(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

Maybe it’s the slow change to cool, deep-autumn weather that has me thinking of Lars von Trier’s film, Melancholia. The beautiful, surreal (or too-real?) film features a wedding taking place at a beautiful home and its grounds:

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

The home in real life is Sweden’s Tjolöholm Castle, an Arts and Crafts creation by architect Lars Israel Wahlmann. The exterior of the castle and its grounds is where Melancholia filmed its eerie outdoor scenes. The equally-gorgeous interior scenes were filmed on set.

As mentioned in a review of the film by Ten Point Review: It [has an] irrelevant preoccupation with interior design, that made watching [the] film feel like taking peyote with the editor of World of Interiors.

When I recently started feeling wistful about the first time I saw this film, I went on a search for more information about the castle at which it is set. It turns out one can actually have a wedding at Tjolöholm Castle, just like Kirsten Dunst. You can also rent out the gatehouse for vacay. It’s pictured below and due to that stone fence/facade/fence, I’m digging it even more than the big house!

(Image credit: Apartment Therapy)

What do you think? Are you enamored with the look and feel of Melancholia’s interiors (and exteriors)?

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