J occasionally gets a little annoyed with me when we are watching a movie/television show and I get distracted by the great lamp/sofa/bed/art/architecture/random decor. There's a lot of great decor in movies and tv shows to get distracted
by. I thought it would be fun to assemble some of my favorite fictional spaces and talk about what makes them great.
Growing up,
Bewitched was one of my favorite television shows (thanks, TBS Superstation 17!). And even then I LOVED Samantha and Darrin's house.
Hooked On Houses did a post about 1164 Morning Glory Circle a few years ago covering the whole house. I want to focus specific design aspects of the set design of
Bewitched, though, so this will be a different take. The Stephens purchased a Connecticut Dutch Colonial early on in the series. Here it is before they bought it, but after Samantha twitched her nose and gifted the house with some cute awnings.
When I gazed up
Bower Power's first master bedroom I realized their over the bed painting looked very familiar. Okay, I actually squeeled "Katie Bower has Samantha's foyer painting!"
See it over Samantha's shoulder, with some horrid wallpaper, a terrible plant, and cute little credenza.
Here it is over Darrin's shoulder! Okay, so this isn't just the foyer painting from
Bewitched. It's actually a Rembrandt entitled "Girl With a Broom," painted around 1640 (yes, I went to college. Yes, I took some art history classes. Yes, I still think of this painting as Samantha's entryway painting). I think the joke is that Samantha was supposed to be the girl in the painting. When the Stephens house was redecorated, this awesome painting was removed in favor of a mirror. Sigh. However, the painting is a classic and it's fairly easy to find a
reproduction.
These pictures aren't quite right. The first few seasons of
Bewitched were shot in black and white, but later were colorized. So...yeah. Just enjoy the shapes! Don't you love the Danish Modern furniture? I think the coffee might be from the
Lane Acclaim line. Maybe not. Still a great example of a more conservative yet still very fresh mid century modern coffee table. And that sofa! OMG! Those LINES.
The
Thrive Nixon Sofa in in Cordova Amber is very similar to Samantha Stephens's hip Danish sofa. Feel free to twitch your nose as you lounge upon it.
The
Bewitched set decorators used many famous artists beyond Rembrandt. This is a Picasso hung horizontally instead of vertically on the brick wall fireplace. Love.
A gallery wall in the corner of the Stephens living room shows off some more of an incredibly awesome art collection, and a colonial American style chair on what appears to be grasscloth walls. Honestly, this setup wouldn't look out of place on
Apartment Therapy.
Ahhh. Here it is. One my very favorite pieces in all of TV Land. The
Hans Wagner Papa Bear Chair. The Mid Century era is FULL of absolutely incredible chair design. Out of all of them, this is absolutely one of my favorites. It's such a sleek, playful twist on the standard wingchair. I'd ignore the insane colorway of this photo and focus on the lines. I think the colorist went a bit crazy (for some reason I feel like I've read the actual chairs on the set were brown).
Feast your eyes upon the gray Papa Bear. Doesn't he look yummy? Modernica still makes this chair, and it can be yours for only about four grand! Sigh. This belongs under the file things I probably will never own....
Here you can see Samantha walking from the living area into the dining room. The kitchen is visible through the oh so era appropriate pass through. Again, I can't get enough of Samantha's sleek Danish Modern furniture choices. That table and those chairs still look amazing (I feel like I should know the designer, but I can't place them). And I love the open floor plan of the Stephens' house. Great flow.
Yes. Oh yes. Oh my gosh, YES. I love so many things about the
Bewitched house...but this might be favorite. Even over the Papa Bear Chair. Well...different kinds of love. What is Samantha standing next to? Why, that would be the
Frigidaire Flair.
The Flair was produced by Frigidaire in the 1960s. The oven(s) were on top and the stove burners were located in a pull out drawer. The design is so incredibly space age that every time I look at it I can feel the optimism technology fostered in the 1960s. Really, I bet young women cooking on it in 1962 felt assured they'd spend their retirement visiting Mars. It's such a happy stove!
Here it is with the door open. Flairs are pretty beloved in the vintage community. I'd love to have one. My oh so practical I was an electrician in the Navy husband thinks its insane to buy a fifty year old stove. I think he doesn't have the proper spirit of adventure! (Also, check out the vintage sunshine yellow Pyrex!)
Here's something every
Bewitched fan needs to own. This amazing digital portrait of Agnes Moorehead's Endora is by
Toban Nichols and is entitled
Hiss. I've been obsessed with it ever since I saw it in this
Apartment Therapy House Tour. I think it would look incredible in pretty much any room of our house.
So, those are my favorite bits and pieces from
Bewitched. What television shows or movies feature houses you can't get enough of?
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I love that papa bear chair. And I'm the same way where we're watching TV. I swoon every time I see the Father of the Bride house.
ReplyDeleteWhat a fun post! I never thought to pay much attention to TV show home design. Now I won't be able to stop. :)
ReplyDeleteWhat a great post. I grew up watching Bewitched too (but I'm old enough to remember it on prime time TV). I never looked so closely at all the mid-century goodies you pointed out. My dream is to one day own a Wagner chair ... or maybe even an Eames!
ReplyDeleteThanks! I'd happily own either a Wagner or an Eames.
DeleteMy piano teacher had that Rembrandt painting in her living room. Every time I saw it, I thought of the Stevens' house as well.
ReplyDeleteI just caught this, thank you so much for including me in this post. I'm a lifelong Bewitched fan myself and so flattered by your kind words.
ReplyDeleteLooking back, I was surprised that I was even allowed to watch Bewitched, seeing I was a minister's daughter, but my mom loved it too! The one decor item I was absolutely in love with and vowed I would one day replicate, was the three sets of French patio doors in the living room. I thought that was the coolest thing!! When we built our home in 2001 the first thing I asked for were the exact same doors.
ReplyDeleteI've always loved everything about this house. My very favorite appliance is the stove. I have some friends that actually have an original one from the 60's...and they use it. It came with their house when the purchased it. I tried to talk them into letting me buy it from them, but they wouldn't part with it no matter what I offered! If I'm ever fortunate enough to have my own home built, it will be this same design, with a few additions, like a secret room under the staircase, a door that connects to the garage, a basement that utilizes that closet door in the kitchen by the back door, which was, in at least one episode, said to be the basement door...but usually a broom closet...once they went in it and it was the laundry room. Love the doors that lead out to the patio...oh, and that flat top roof on the garage, I would have to have that as a deck off the master. I'd really Iove to see the exact layout of the upstairs. I'm always confused as to where the guest room, Tabitha's room and Adams rooms are. How about the entire space over the living room, what's up there? Maybe another room? I have loved all the decor through the show. It's so sad that so many people on this show became sick and passed. I've heard of the " curse" that some thought plague the show. It was a great show, so sad that Elizabeth died so young.
ReplyDelete