Saturday, January 19, 2008

SHELTER Sets: "I'll Be There For You..."

Recognize this room?


Do you recognize it now?

The One Where Ross Finds Out
Yup, it's Monica and Phoebe's --> Monica and Rachel's --> Chandler and Joey's to finally Monica and Chandler's huge apartment in New York City. Hmmm, the only person who never lived there was Ross...

Looking back at these pictures I don't think I ever realized how many different colors were in this apartment. How had I not noticed that the kitchen windows, ceiling, moldings, and lower cabinets were bright turquoise blue and the upper cabinets were yellow? The only thing I did remember was that the mismatched kitchen chairs were painted, and now it seems in the same yellow and a different shade of blue.



The hallway which led to the dark plum bathroom ended at a green closet door (the "secret closet") while the walls of the hallway and all other living room walls were a strong lavender color. How did they get away with that, without it looking like a carnival house?



Well, I guess to many people, it did look like a carnival. It was meant to show young women finding their style by using family hand-me-downs, thrift stores, a little DIY, and every once in a while splurging on actual antiques.

Key details for this look:
  • Aubusson rug, probably bought at a thrift shop that did not know how much it was worth
The One With Barry and Mindy's Wedding
  • TV console constructed from an actual antique buffet
  • Lavender walls with molding that sometimes looked blue and at other times a very vivid purple
  • White vintage refrigerator
  • Pink tiled counter and brick-lined kitchen walls
  • Decorative plates attached to the brick walls
  • Blue-green painted window frames and molding in the small open kitchen
  • Kitschy vintage fabric used for the kitchen, living room windows and as a sink skirt
  • Mix-matched chairs either painted in different colors or unified by being the same color


Trivia: You know that little frame around the peephole? It was a mistake, not a design choice, it was originally a mirror that hung on the door that someone accidentally smashed during filming. I think it turned out to be the most iconic object in the whole apartment!

This apartment; the funky colors, feminine furnishings, and the use of large vintage florals make me think of these clippings that I have of designer Betsey Johnson's apartment in the late 90's. Not a bad style muse, huh?




*Some details and first picture from this article in STYLE at HOME magazine. Article was excerpted from Sitcom Style by Diana Friedman.

**Betsey Johnson home shots from Metropolitan Home magazine, May/June 1997.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I always loved the mass of colors they used for that set. So fun! Hubby would never let me get away with that in our house, but it is a fun look.

AMCSviatko said...

I read an articule years ago (sorry, can't remember where) which outlined how much an apartment like that would cost to rent in real life and the cost of the items in it - and basically said there was no way in hell that they could afford the place based on the jobs the supposedly held down...

Jessica said...

This may show just how big of a TV nerd I am, but I always thought that since Monica took the apartment over from her grandmother, that she probably inherited some of the colors and furniture in the apartment too, which influenced the style.