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Lee Leshen produced a documentary about what it’s like to live in a famous on-screen property, so naturally he made his own place an homage to some of his favorites.
Welcome to Different Strokes, a look at unique home design choices that beg for further explanation.
Filmmaker Lee Leshen has more than a passing interest in famous on-screen houses that are just as iconic as the media they appeared in. He produced the 2024 documentary, The House From…, about what it’s like to live in a movie- or TV-famous house, like Home Alone’s Georgian Colonial, the Golden Girls Palm Beach Regency, or Walter White’s ranch-style home from Breaking Bad. So when he decided to buy his own piece of real estate in New York City after riding out the pandemic in a 250-square-foot West Village studio, he knew it was going to be a creative project, not just a regular renovation. "When I was thinking about my next apartment, I thought, What if you had a nice apartment in Toontown sprinkled with a bit of Pee-wee’s playhouse?" Lee says. "It was going to be more Acme-themed."
In the open living area of his West Village condo, filmmaker Lee Leshen devised a gallery wall with around 40 collectibles from throughout his life—a screen print of Val Kilmer as Doc Holliday in Tombstone done by Kilmer in 2021; a stunt cane used by the Riddler in Batman Forever; three of Don Draper’s business cards from Mad Men, and many more bits from the movies and series he loves. (He’s cataloged it all.)
Photos by Em Cullum Photography, courtesy Lee Leshen
Once he saw what’s now his 1,000-square-foot condo with 14-foot ceilings in the same neighborhood, a new idea clicked: he’d build a 312-square-foot house inspired by a beloved movie house within the unit. He closed in 2022, and moved in 2023. Although the condo renovation was supposed to take just six weeks, it ended up lasting more like six months.
The "house" inside his condo is complete with real shutters and windows. A red front door on the lower level opens to a small closet full of shoes, and a set of stairs (carpeted with turf) leads to his lofted sleeping area and bathroom. There’s a mini balcony on the "facade" overlooking the kitchen; Lee put fake tulips and a white picket fence around it and decorated it with toy houses from Christmas Vacation and A Christmas Story and a Lego Christmas tree. There’s even a political lawn sign. It feels a bit like a movie set.
Lee sits on the turf-covered stairs of the mini "house" within his condo.
Photo by Em Cullum Photography, courtesy Lee Leshen
It’s not a conventional use of the space, but Lee loves it. "I’ve talked about maybe one day, depending on how long I live here, taking down the siding and putting up something that looks more like a beach house, and then making it a summer house," he says. "But right now, everything works."
We talked to Lee about how he made his West Village condo accommodate a mini home inside of a home. Our conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.
The stairs lead to Lee’s lofted bedroom. The wood paneling is an homage to his original vision of putting a tree house inside of the condo.
Photo by Em Cullum Photography, courtesy Lee Leshen
See the full story on Dwell.com: This Filmmaker Loves Movie Homes So Much, He Built a Mini One in His NYC Condo
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By: Leslie Horn Peterson
Title: This Filmmaker Loves Movie Homes So Much, He Built a Mini One in His NYC Condo
Sourced From: www.dwell.com/article/lee-leshen-barrow-house-mini-movie-set-condo-efa71434
Published Date: Thu, 17 Sep 2026 17:10:05 GMT
