One thing I love finding during my exhaustive research into Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is when real world items cross into David Lynch’s fictional world. A great example of this is the heart-shaped wreath found on the front door of the Palmer’s house.
LEAVE THE HEART WREATH
Marilyn Pettersen owned the house in Everett, Washington home when David Lynch filmed scenes around late September 1991. In order to transform the home into Palmer family residence, David and crew removed many of Pettersen’s possessions, except for the heart-shaped wreath. She retold this story to Daily Herald reporter Leslie Moriarty in August 1992.
“I respect what they had to do,” Pettersen says of the crews and Lynch. “It was kind of hard to see them take all of the homey things out of my house – you know, the plants and the special touches. But that’s not what they needed in order to depict the house of this neurotic woman and her family.”
“It was kind of ironic, though,” Pettersen continued. “The one thing David wanted them to leave was the heart-shaped wreath on the front door. Somehow he thought it showed the real meaning behind the film … that these nice things we see on the outside aren’t always what’s inside.”
Interestingly, according to Mary Reber, the current Palmer house owner, Marilyn made the wreath seen in the film. But more on that in a moment.
Production wrapped by the end of October 1991, and about six months later, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me would premiere at the Cannes Film Festival and in Japan on May 16, 1992.
THE MISSING WREATH
It’s difficult to say what happened to the original wreath from the film as Marilyn Pettersen passed on October 28, 2014. She had left some things in the home that was sold to Mary Reber about a month earlier.
By the time I first visited the home on August 13, 1996, the heart-shaped wreath had been replaced with a hanging floral planter.
Decades later, David Lynch and Mark Frost returned to this historic home for Twin Peaks’ third season. The wreath, however, would not be found on screen.
THE WREATH’S RETURN … SORT OF
I finally revisited the Palmer house in Everett on September 13, 2019 where I spotted a new circular wreath on the front door.
Here is a better look at the wreath captured about a month after the nighttime shot.
I joked with Mary on Twitter that she needed to find a heart-shaped wreath. She confirmed the original wreath was made by Marilyn, but the ones she had left behind were very brittle due to the passage of time.
A few months later, Mary shared a photo of a newly hung heart wreath via social media.
While it may not be the exact wreath from film, it’s a nice nod to an iconic object that David Lynch specifically asked to remain.
MORE VIEWS OF THE HEART WREATH
Despite being the interior film location for the Palmer house in the Twin Peaks pilot episode, we only ever seen the home’s exterior in the feature film and season three. The establishing shot for the Palmer house in seasons 1 and 2 was captured in Monroe, Washington. To that extend, we only see the heart-shaped wreath in the theatrical cut of Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me and a few “Missing Pieces” released in 2014.
The first time we see the wreath is when Laura returns home from Donna Hayward’s house just before she finds pages missing from her diary.
The wreath makes a brief cameo in a scene when Laura and her mother Sarah just before Laura leaves the front door.
During this scene, we get a rare shot of the back of the front door. The faint outline of the wreath can been seen through the curtains.
We see the wreath when Laura Palmer returns home just in time to wash her hands for dinner.
The wreath is barely seen as Leland Palmer leaves the front door.
As Laura makes a brief visit with James Hurley, we get some of the bet views of the wreath.
I love this shot of Leland Palmer watching Laura and James’ interaction. I wonder if Ray Wise was purposely positioned to make it appear he cut the heart in half.
It reminds me of the half heart “best friends” necklace that will play an important part of the first season. Heck, there is even “Half Heart” as heard on the Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me soundtrack.
Another rare shot of Donna Hayward in front of the Palmer house as Laura leaves her in the dust.
The final time we see the heart-shaped wreath is found in the Missing Pieces where Leland Palmer enters the front door to his house at night.
If you have any images of the heart-shaped wreath on the front door between 1992 and August 1996, I’d love to see them.
If you are interested in taking a tour of this location, please check out VisitPalmerHouse.com. Mary Reber (Mrs. Tremond in Twin Peaks Part 18) owns the house and has created a variety of tour packages showcasing this historic Everett, Washington home.
Please remember this is a private residence, so please be respectful if you are in the area. This reminder includes anyone who wants to scream at the house while standing on the street – yes, it happens. Don’t be that person.
