Unsung stars
Sitcom sets often almost like characters
You may not know him by name, but chances are you’ve spent many raucous evenings in John Shaffner’s homes.
The production designer and art director has crafted some of the most memorable TV sitcom sets in the business, ones so familiar and distinctive they’re almost like characters themselves.
And just as sure as life imitates art, Shaffner’s smallscreen homes have inspired design trends that have trickled down into our own abodes. The four-time Emmy winner spoke with the website Clever about some of his creations:
MONICA’S APARTMENT
The characters on the NBC series Friends were 20-somethings living in New York, so Shaffner decked out Monica’s purple paradise with style-conscious pieces that could’ve been picked up second-hand or found left on the curb. The overall effect is eclectic but still cohesive.
“It has, I hope, influenced young people to be adventuresome in their decorating, and to make choices based on collecting and finding,” Shaffner said. “The word that is often used today is ‘curating.’ You’re curating your home with the choices that you make with your decor.”
CHARLIE’S BEACHSIDE DIGS
Charlie was a wealthy womanizer on Two and a Half Men, but Shaffner didn’t want to fill his home with bachelor pad clichés like leather furniture, glass and chrome.
Instead, he opted for earth tones to create a homey and inviting vibe.
“Even though we know he was a pretty unlikable cad, there was something about his home that was appealing, and someplace you wanted to spend time with him and Alan and his nephew,” Shaffner said.
When Ashton Kutcher’s character Walden moved in during Season 9, Shaffner redecorated the place in now-ubiquitous grey tones.
“I was just beginning to see the resurgence of grey, and so
I redid the whole house with grey tones and driftwood colours,” he said.
BLANCHE’S BEDROOM
The feisty Golden Girls foursome of Blanche, Sofia, Rose and Dorothy lived together in Miami, in a home designed by production designer Edward Stephenson but decorated primarily by Shaffner.
Stephenson did ask Shaffner to zhuzh up Blanche’s bedroom with the Martinique banana leaf wallpaper made famous in the Beverly Hills Hotel, though, and they cut out the pattern to make the headboard.
Shaffner also had a bedspread made out of fabric to match.
“The Golden Girls is another show that has experienced enormous success in terms of its longevity,” Shaffner said. “Young audiences grow up on it now. And so I think a lot of the visuals in (the show) do get kind of embedded.”