Do You Know What Every Room in Taylor Swift's Lover House Really Means?
While the summer of 2023 has been dubbed "The Summer of Swift," the craze for the pop star shows no sign of slowing down—as evidenced by the excitement around the release of her Eras Tour film on October 13 (Swift's iconic favorite number). The film, which is a three-and-a-half-hour-long master class in pop performance not to mention stamina, documents 44 songs, 10 albums, and nearly 20 years of Swift's career. For new Swifties, however, there might be an intimidating barrier to entry: the Lover House set piece. While anyone can memorize song lyrics and track the order of her exes, the lore and Easter eggs Taylor Swift loves share with fans at are slightly harder to follow.
The Lover House is one such obstacle. When the Lover album was first released in 2019, no one would've guessed that a single image from its title track's music video would go on to feature in three additional albums and a worldwide stadium tour. However, the Lover House was a major backdrop throughout the Eras Tour. Onstage, it appears to be empty, as if Swift has moved out. She burns it down during "Bad Blood" and exits through the orange front door at the end of the show.
It may be a fictional piece of Swift's real estate portfolio, but true fans need to understand the meaning of the Lover House because it's likely to come up many more times in Swift's career. Read on for an in-depth explainer of what the rooms in the Lover House mean and more details you need to know before you watch the Eras Tour film.
Where Does the Lover House Come From?
First seen in the music video for Swift's seventh album's title track, "Lover," the Lover House is a home inside a snow globe gifted to a child for Christmas. The theory is that the couple (the Lovers), gave their child this snow globe as a representation of their love story from start to present. The other way Swifties interpret it is the singer "giving" her fans a house that chronicles her career from her 2006 debut album, Taylor Swift, to her most recent, Midnights.
What Each Room in the Lover House Represents
Debut Album (Taylor Swift)
While Swift's debut album may not be a part of the official Eras Tour set list, it's an important piece of her history and the Lover House floor plan. Located on the lower level, the debut room is punctuated by the color green. From kelly green wallpaper and emerald curtains to a parlor palm tree in the corner, this room is monochromatic. It's also the first room we see in the music video, offering an introduction to Swift and her intricate worlds.
Fearless
Swift's hard launch into stardom, Fearless is her 2008 sophomore album. Exploring themes of teenage friendship, love, imposter syndrome, and bad ex-boyfriends, the album brought Swift her first Album of the Year Grammy, arena tour, and spot on the Billboard Top 100. Located one floor above Taylor Swift's debut album, the Fearless room is decked out in warm tones of orange, marigold, and gold. The twist here isn't the individual window seat cushions or the scattered toys; it's the fact that Swift and her lover are lounging on the ceiling, fully upside-down.
Speak Now
As an album, Speak Now is all about the trials and tribulations of being a 19-year-old girl. Dating a boy your parents hate, experiencing your first blindsiding heartbreak, and navigating your career's highest highs (winning CMA Artist of the Year) and lowest lows (the Kanye West VMA incident). It's no wonder this room feels both moody and formal compared with the rest of the Lover House. Opposite the debut album's green room on the first floor is the Speak Now room. In floor-to-ceiling purple, the signature color of both the album and the era, this is the home's dining room. Unlike the other rooms, it has a clear accent color: gold. An angular chandelier, ornate wall sconces, and eggplant curtains with gold detailing contrast with the rest of the "Lavender Haze."
Red
The Lover House's living room represents Swift's 2012 album, Red. In the video, the couple hosts a party in a room with low burgundy armchairs, a chaise lounge, and paisley wallpaper. (It has a very similar vibe to Swift's New York City apartment with the wooden beams and stained-glass windows.) Swift's iconic breakup album, Red navigates the whirlwind of falling in love fast and falling out of love hard. But it's also an album about self-awareness and regaining confidence after you've had your heart broken, a theme conveyed by Swift's insecurities and efforts to make amends in the video.
1989
If there's a single biggest Swift era, it's arguably 1989, the singer's first foray into pop music superstardom. Sure, Swift was already a powerhouse, but this stadium tour—and her infamous girl squad, DJ boyfriend, and Harry Styles easter eggs—made Swift the name on everyone's lips. Represented by the bathroom in the Lover House, the turquoise tile and blue walls are only a backdrop to the giant fishbowl located in the center of the space. Swift and her lover are seen swimming, cramped, in the fishbowl, representing the media scrutiny that ultimately led to Swift's disappearance from the public eye in 2016.
Reputation
The Lover House's attic symbolizes the Reputation era. A private and cozy setting for boxes of sentimental memorabilia and a projector for home videos, the attic represents a rare period in Swift's life when she wasn't in the public eye. In her 2020 documentary, Miss America, Swift states, "No one physically saw me for a year." This period of falling in love in private and coming back to herself is when Reputation was born; it's often regarded as her most romantic album, surpassing even Lover. In spite of being isolated, the attic has the same warmth as the rest of the home.
Lover
The Lover album is, naturally, the bedroom. Sweet and saccharine with a magenta wall and velvet curtains, the bedroom is monochrome in shades of pink. This room is where we see Swift and her lover have their first fight and make amends in the video. Lover is Swift's 2019 album, the seventh in her discography. It outlines the anxieties of bringing a stable relationship out of the shadows and into the flash of the public eye. A complete 180 from the Reputation era's grays and blacks, Lover is all about rainbows, butterflies, and pink glitter. The room has a distinctly 1980s feel, similar to Swift herself throughout the Lover era. Tufted armchairs and an oversize vanity sit along one wall, while a hot pink high-pile carpet lays the foundation.
Folklore and Evermore
Swift's first pandemic album, Folklore was released at the end of July 2020. Represented by the stairwell in the Lover House, the Folklore space is less of a room and more of a transition between eras. What's interesting (and proves Swift's mastermind abilities) is that Folklore, Evermore, and Midnights didn't exist when Lover was released, which has us thinking, How long has she been building this floor plan?
During the Folklore section of the Eras Tour set list, Swift lounges and sings on the "roof" of a home. Swift herself hasn't confirmed it, but many believe she has taken the stairwell to the roof of the Lover House.
Evermore, the sister album to Folklore, was released on Swift's birthday in December 2020, mere months later. Represented by the closet, Evermore is summer Folklore's cozier, winter-friendly counterpart. Lit by warm ambient lighting and containing only yellow clothing, the closet mirrors the album's fall color scheme.
Midnights
Last but certainly not least, Midnights isn't inside the Lover House but rather outside it, surrounding it. Symbolically represented by a starry night sky complete with "Midnight Rain" clouds, Midnights literally blankets the Lover House in snow.
Whether the Lover House has been burned to the ground for good, gets rebuilt stronger than ever, or returns in the form of the Lego Lover House kit fans are begging for, we can't wait to see what "room" Swift occupies next.
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