To the Manor, Adorned: The Palaces of Emmy Season

THE PRODUCTION DESIGNERS OF NETFLIX’S BRIDGERTON, THE CROWN AND HALSTON RE-CREATED THE GRANDIOSE SETTINGS OF REGENCY-ERA LONDON, BUCKINGHAM PALACE AND VERSAILLES By Carolyn Giardina

The production designers of Netflix’s Bridgerton, The Crown and Halston re-created the grandiose settings of Regency-era

London, Buckingham Palace and Versailles.

Bridgerton NETFLIX

Netflix’s hit period drama set in Regency-era London involved many sets built in the British capital, including this entrance hall of the Featheringtons, neighbors to the Bridgertons. It’s also among the London sets that segue onto a location. “In designing it, we were restricted to matching the space. We solved this by creating an anti-space between the sumptuous foyer and the door, which replicates our location,” explains production designer Will Hughes-Jones. “This allowed us to stretch our creative wings and add the beautiful plaster details on the walls, which were inspired by architects John Nash and Robert Adams.” Hughes-Jones’ team also researched existing British houses for inspiration, particularly Osterley Park and Claydon House. “Many of the elements on the walls of the set were hand-sculpted for the show. The cantilever staircase, which was so popular in this period, springs off the hallway to allow the camera to do sweeping shots down the stairs. More than 300 butterflies, a detail element for the Featheringtons, adorn the spindles of the staircase.” Of the Featheringtons, Hughes-Jones says, “We wanted to convey their position in society: new money always trying a bit too hard, in contrast to the Bridgertons, who are old money and an established family.”

The Crown NETFLIX

“Of the 50 rooms in Buckingham Palace that we have created over four seasons of The Crown, this has become, at around 120 feet in length, our go-to when we wish to convey scale,” says production designer Martin Childs, who has won Emmys for the series twice previously (and is an Oscar winner for Shakespeare in Love). “After four seasons of evolution, the definitive plan now exists of The Crown’s own Buckingham Palace.” In real life, the location is Lancaster House, which has previously stood in for the palace in film (The King’s Speech) and TV (Downton Abbey). “This room, the Long Gallery, connects our Throne Room to our State Drawing Room,” Childs says of the interior location seen here. “Doors off it will lead you to some of the 20 or so rooms built from the ground up on soundstages. Now any newcomer to the show can find their way from this room in central London to the Audience Room and to the drawing rooms, staircases and bedrooms at Elstree Studios.”

Below: The future Diana, Princess of Wales (played by Emma Corrin) skates through Lancaster House (left), the real mansion that serves as Buckingham Palace on Netflix’s The Crown.

From left: Harriet Cains, Bessie Carter and Nicola Coughlan as the Featherington sisters on Bridgerton.