When we first see Celie at Albert's farmhouse, it looks so rundown. But when we see Shug return with her husband, the house seems to look completely different! There's white columns and the inside looks so much nicer.
My mom was watching it with me, and made mention of the same thing. Did they move at some point and we missed it?
"I'd say this cloud is Cumulo Nimbus."
"Didn't he discover America?"
"Penfold, shush."
No, they didn't move. I think some of the shots are the front of the house and others from the back.
"No Good Deed Goes Unpunished"
I think that the house was looking run down at first because Albert had his hands full with the kids, the land, the animal and chasing women. When celie came she was pretty much his slave. The inside of the house looked even worse when we see Celie about to start cleaning. Before long she had the house looking spotless. She had to cook, clean, watch the kids, do laundry, etc. Which freed him up to take care of the outside. After Celie left him we see the house looking run down again. The chicken and goat had even gotten in the house.
shareYou must've missed the montage showing Celie cleaning the house. It's easy to assume she kept up on the cleaning and overall maintenance of the house.
shareEr no, Celia cleaned it up.