Unbelievable Accuracy Shown in Restoration of Mitford House
The BritBox series "Outrageous," which delves into the lives of England's notorious Mitford family, was not filmed at the actual Swinbrook house in Oxfordshire. Instead, a picturesque manor house just outside London served as the primary filming location.
The choice of location allowed the production team to completely redecorate the interior to suit the series, which is set in the years between the two World Wars. The vision for the set design was to create a space that reflected the complexities of the Mitford family, symbolising Farve's (David Freeman-Mitford) personality and the family's fortunes.
The production team was granted full creative control over the location, transforming not only the interior to resemble Swinbrook but also creating sets for a London nightclub and the family's London apartment using different parts of the house. The team aimed to capture the contrast between the lavish world of high society and the home life of the Mitfords by using earthy tones like dark greens and browns in the house's design.
Matthew Button, the production designer for Outrageous, managed to draw on his own experience for creating the homes in the series. His mother's family had a house similar in size to Swinbrook, albeit in a state of disrepair with rotten windows. This provided valuable insights into the era-specific requirements for the series.
The owners of the stand-in home for Swinbrook were permissive, allowing the production team to make the necessary changes. In fact, they preferred the changes made to their home over its original state and decided to keep much of it after filming.
Outrageous aimed to deliver a combination of academic rigor and something cinematic. The production team worked diligently to ensure that the series accurately portrayed the Mitfords' grand yet threadbare homes, given that they were aristocrats but cash poor.
Matthew Button, in an interview, stated that jobs like Outrageous are rare. The production of Outrageous filmed at a home just outside London that allowed for era-appropriate redesign, making it the perfect location for this captivating series.
- The series "Outrageous" explores England's Mitford family, yet it wasn't filmed in their actual home, Swinbrook, but rather a manor house exterior London.
- The production team redecorated the house's interior to match the series' setting in the era between the two World Wars.
- The show's set design aims to embody the Mitford family's complexities, with interiors that symbolize family patriarch Farve's personality and their fortunes.
- Other sets, like a London nightclub and the family's London apartment, were created using different parts of the house to portray contrasts between high society and the Mitfords' home life.
- Matthew Button, the production designer, drew on personal experiences to create the series' homes, including his mother's family's house which resembled Swinbrook but was in disrepair.
- The owners of the stand-in home were accommodating, allowing changes and even preferring the altered home to its original state after filming. The production team sought to deliver both academic accuracy and cinematic flair in portraying the Mitfords' grand yet cash-strapped homes.
