Home Alone house reportedly getting authentic movie makeover

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The house made famous in the Home Alone movies will soon be returning to its former glory in the Chicago suburbs.

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Merry Christmas, ya filthy animals.

The luxurious estate in Winnetka, Ill., was sold for (US)$5.5 million earlier this year after a stunning makeover and is now reportedly being restored to its former 1990s glory, when the first film starring Macauley Culkin, Joe Pesci, Daniel Stern, Catherine O’Hara and the late great John Candy became an enduring Hollywood hit.

The revelation was reported by ABC 7 Eyewitness News in Chicago, although details about the scope of the renovations were sparse.

House hit the market in May 2024

The previous owners of the Georgian colonial, which is located at 671 Lincoln Ave. in an affluent Chicago suburb, were seeking (US)$5.2 million when it hit the market in May 2024 but multiple offers jacked up the price by about $300,000.

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Even Culkin, who was 10 when the original John Hughes blockbuster debuted in 1990, admitted he had “half a mind” to buy the 9,126-square-foot, five-bedroom home “just for giggles” when it hit the market, Bloomberg News reported earlier this year.

Home Alone and the first sequel, Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, continue to be treasured Christmas classics with the Winnetka home reportedly serving as a tourist attraction during the holidays. The original Home Alone sees a young boy named Kevin (Culkin) fend off two dimwitted burglars (Pesci and Stern) after accidentally being left at home by his parents.

The original movie, which is celebrating its 35th anniversary this year, has also spawned several other less successful spinoffs and was featured in a book released over the summer by John Abendshien, who owned the home when the first movie was made.

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Former owner calls cast his ‘movie family’

The author of Home But Alone No More told ABC 7 Eyewitness News that members of the cast would stick around after filming had wrapped up for the day.

“The cast and crew just kind of hung around,” he told the outlet in an interview, “because they were away from home themselves and the home became kind of a second home to them.

“So they became what I describe as our movie family.”

Abendshein also told ABC that his family was allowed to stick around during film as they had converted one of their bedroom suites into an apartment.

“As long as we kept out of the camera eye, we were free to roam and watch scenes as they were being filmed,” he told ABC, via the New York Post.

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