Decorating Guides
Happy Birthday, Marilyn Monroe
Celebrate the ever-enthralling Hollywood star with artwork, furniture and fabrics sporting her unforgettable image
I challenge you to think of someone’s image that has captivated us and influenced and ingrained itself into our home decor more than that of Marilyn Monroe, who would have celebrated her 87th birthday today, June 1, 2013. (Monroe died in 1962 from a prescription pill overdose.) My own wife has amassed a small collection of posters, expensively framed prints, coffee table books and even Marilyn Monroe wine.
But few people know or have celebrated the effect of Monroe’s image and life more than Greg Schreiner, the president and founder of her fan club, which he started 31 years ago. He’s been studying Monroe’s life since he first saw her face splashed on the silver screen in 1960. “As a child, my parents took me to see Some Like It Hot,” he says. “I couldn’t get the image out of my brain. I was 8 years old. I was 10 when she died.”
Every June 1 Schreiner celebrates Monroe with a guided tour around her old Los Angeles haunts and a free-to-everyone party at Schreiner’s house, which, of course, is full of Monroe memorabilia. “Every wall is covered, but it’s not garish the way you’d think. People come in and say, ‘It’s so beautiful,’” he says.
Here are some ideas for working some of Marilyn's mystique into your own decor.
But few people know or have celebrated the effect of Monroe’s image and life more than Greg Schreiner, the president and founder of her fan club, which he started 31 years ago. He’s been studying Monroe’s life since he first saw her face splashed on the silver screen in 1960. “As a child, my parents took me to see Some Like It Hot,” he says. “I couldn’t get the image out of my brain. I was 8 years old. I was 10 when she died.”
Every June 1 Schreiner celebrates Monroe with a guided tour around her old Los Angeles haunts and a free-to-everyone party at Schreiner’s house, which, of course, is full of Monroe memorabilia. “Every wall is covered, but it’s not garish the way you’d think. People come in and say, ‘It’s so beautiful,’” he says.
Here are some ideas for working some of Marilyn's mystique into your own decor.
There's something instantly recognizable about Monroe's image. Her life — the good and bad — was well documented throughout her career, with photographs spanning a full range of emotions. Here a bright color wash over a Monroe portrait adds artful drama to a monochromatic space.
Schreiner has also curated an exhibit at The Hollywood Museum that will run from June 5 to September 8, 2013. It will display many of his collected Monroe artifacts, including dresses she wore in her movies and in private life, as well as her refrigerator and dresser (pictured); the dresser was next to her the night she died.
Interestingly, while Monroe's image offers pop art cachet, her classy image can anchor sophisticated settings, too.
“Marilyn has become an iconic figure for the world,” Schreiner says. “She’s a star in every respect and keeps reinventing herself.” You'd be hard pressed to find another face that could create drama and style in a large format the way Monroe's does.
Here a sultry wine-sipping Monore graces fabric for a knockout headboard.
Monroe's image adorns the backs of these jet-black chairs.
"Equally, men and women are attracted to her, feel protective of her,” Schreiner says. “Women never felt threatened by her intelligence, classiness and voluptuousness.”
“There’s something hauntingly incredible about her on the screen,” Schreiner says. “She’s magical, luminous. You can’t take your eyes off her. No one on film has done that for me but her.”
Monroe took a staggering amount of nude portraits during her life, a rarity in those days — and not only for someone with such star power.
Here artist Bert Stern's "Marilyn Monroe — Crucifix II (from The Last Sitting), 1962" hangs in this modern dining room space, creating a dramatic and provocative atmosphere.
Here artist Bert Stern's "Marilyn Monroe — Crucifix II (from The Last Sitting), 1962" hangs in this modern dining room space, creating a dramatic and provocative atmosphere.
Portraits: Michael Hoppen Gallery
"Above all she represents so much we miss that we don’t have today; she was the end of the Hollywood studio-system era," Schreiner says. "After that the studios took away the magic of the stars."
This is a super-rare Seward Johnson bronze sculpture depicting Monroe's most famous moment: holding down her dress while standing over a blowing subway grate.
Your turn: Show us your Marilyn Monroe decor!
Your turn: Show us your Marilyn Monroe decor!