How ‘Practical Magic 2’ Resurrected One of the Most Beloved Movie Houses of All Time

“He put blood, sweat, and a lot of tears into the home,” Sandra Bullock says of production designer Tom Burton’s reconstruction of the Owens family dwelling for Practical Magic 2. “And a lot of magic!” Nicole Kidman adds.Their easy banter in a new AD video tour of the film set feels instantly familiar, echoing the dynamic between sisters Sally (Bullock) and Gillian Owens (Kidman) nearly three decades after Practical Magic first cast its spell on audiences in 1998. Now, in the new sequel, the pair return to the same rambling Victorian whose witchy aesthetic has taken on a cult following of its own. Just as the film’s midnight margaritas, Stevie Nicks-imbued soundtrack, and supernatural world have endured in popular culture, the Owens home has inspired generations of fans to recreate its particular brand of domestic magic—an eclectic mix of Gothic romance and botanical abundance that helped define the “whimsigoth” aesthetic still popular today.The home’s steeply pitched roof and wraparound porch mingle with an Italianate widow’s walk and lighthouse influences, making it an architectural anomaly in its East Coast setting. Courtesy of Warner BrosAdapted from Alice Hoffman’s 1995 novel and directed by Griffin Dunne, the original Practical Magic introduced the sisters, their aunts (played by Stockard Channing and Dianne Wiest), and the ancestral curse that plagues them: any man an Owens woman truly loves is doomed to die.In the sequel, directed by Susanne Bier, the free-spirited Gillians still embraces magic, while Sally, traumatized by the deaths of two husbands, has raised her daughters Kylie (Joey King) and Antonia (Maisie Williams) without telling them they are witches or that the family curse exists. When Kylie falls in love and is put in danger while uncovering her family history in England, Sally, Gillian, and their aunts must finally tell the girls the truth and come together to save her. The Owens universe expands considerably as the sisters traverse England, with sets spanning Victorian apartments, country cottages, centuries-old pubs, and castle ruins. But the Owens home remains the story’s physical and emotional anchor.Nicole Kidman and Sandra Bullock as Gillian and Sally Owens in Practical Magic 2, now in theaters. Courtesy of Warner BrosDesigned by Robin Standefer and Stephen Alesch, now founders of AD100 firm Roman and Williams, the original Owens house was constructed from scratch on San Juan Island in Washington and torn down immediately after filming. Architecturally, the home draws heavily from the late-19th-century Queen Anne style, known for its eclecticism, ornate craftsmanship, and irregular forms, making it an anomaly in its fictional New England town. The melange of design influences, from 19th century Victorian to 90s design trends, are also palpable in the interiors, which were constructed on soundstages in LA and which Standefer described to AD as a “cabinet of curiosities.”For the sequel, Burton wanted to conjure the same ethos—all in one location. But when he obtained the original plans, he discovered that the interior floor plan didn’t physically fit within the exterior. After repeatedly rewatching the film and cross-referencing screen grabs with surviving plans, he redrafted the house from scratch, placing its rooms on one interconnected ground floor so Bier could follow characters through the space in 360 degrees.The house under construction at Leavesden Studios Courtesy of Warner BrosBuilt over 12 weeks on the backlot at Leavesden Studios in Hertfordshire, England, followed by three weeks of dressing, the set functions as a real house complete with a garden with real plants. “What I really like about the interior-exterior set is that we can actually look out the window and see the view outside,” Burton says.Inside, the kitchen, the emotional heart of the first film, was among the most meticulous recreations. It resurrects the large central farmhouse table on which the sisters bring Gillian’s boyfriend back to life in the first movie—their first joint attempt at hard magic—along with the original British-style stove tucked into an alcove and cabinetry with turned legs. “Every major life event happens in this kitchen in the first film and the second film,” Bullock says. “And in life, right?” Kidman adds.The production replicated the exact wallpaper, lighting, and cream-white tiles in the kitchen, though they rigged the cabinets with new technology. Photo: Jaap Buitendijk / Courtesy of Warner BrosBut newly implemented features—such as pneumatic mechanisms hidden inside the cabinetry that allow drawers to burst open on cue during emotional scenes—show how magic has evolved within the home, even as the space itself remains familiar. “To recreate the kitchen was the most emotional for everyone,” Bullock says. “Everyone who was a part of the first film walked in and may or may not have cried.”“The solarium is my favorite because that’s where all the spells take place,” Kidman says. Burton reconstructed the glass-enclosed, greenery-filled space after the original, but for this rendition, he aged the glass with resin to suggest decades of weathering beside the sea. Photo: Jaap Buitendijk / Courtesy of Warner BrosThe room that is most unchanged is Sally’s bedroom, which features the same minimalist writing desk (which Bullock insisted on adding to the set in the first movie) and bed, which is shown when she and Gillian hid beneath as children after their parents’ deaths in the first movie. Photographs of the sisters on the fireplace are among the few markers that decades have passed. “It’s very tidy and shows she is kind of repressed,” says Burton.Throughout the rest of the house, Burton and set decorators Graham Ward and Barbara Herman-Skelding layered newly sourced furnishings and props with old touchstones, suggesting the decades of family life that have unfolded and further cultivating a supernatural timelessness. Burton also implemented undertones of a Scandinavian-influenced ethos, injecting the interiors with light blue and grays that reminds the viewer where the film is situated. “We wanted to bring the New England coastal aesthetic into the house a bit more,” he says. “In general, the whole home is just a lot brighter.”Sally’s room, which looks much like it did in the original film Courtesy of Warner BrosStill, familiar touches—including a replicated portrait of Owens ancestor Maria, spellbooks, taxidermy, tinctures, and the original wallpaper, painstakingly redrawn and reprinted—ensure that the home retains its soul. “The cast was blown away by how much the house looked exactly the same, even though so much time had passed,” Burton says. “It’s a huge part of their history, and seeing them come back and relive it was the most fulfilling part of the project for me.”A miniature model of the home Courtesy of Warner BrosOutside, more than 4,000 plants—around 90% real, including 52 fully grown trees—recreated the vegetable and herb garden. As the landscape grew, Burton recalls, the trees produced fruit, crew members ate apples, and birds built nests, bringing unexpected life to the constructed landscape. Photo: Jaap Buitendijk / Courtesy of Warner BrosThe production brought back the same mixer from the first movie’s iconic midnight margaritas scene, in which Sally and Gillian dance around the kitchen and conjure a magical blend, a pivotal celebration of sisterhood that takes on new meaning in the sequel. Courtesy of Warner BrosSally, Gillian, Kylie, and Antonia take a magical leap from the top of the Owens mansion Courtesy of Warner BrosThe dining roomCourtesy of Warner BrosThis portrait of an Owens ancestor was recreated for the filmCourtesy of Warner Bros