Where Have I Seen That House?
The settings for favorite TV shows can often become almost as familiar as the characters themselves. But although we’ve spent many hours with these apartments and houses in the background, their details usually remain a mystery. Of course many programs are shot on sets, but sometimes real home exteriors and interiors are used.
With this collection, readers may wonder no more about some well-known homes from television dramas on AMC, HBO, and PBS as well as situation comedies on NBC and FOX. There are a few reality homes thrown in as well, from programs airing on MTV and Oxygen.
By Colleen KanePublished 19 April 2012
“Downton Abbey”
Price: $240 million*
Location: Highclere Park, Newbury, England
Bedrooms: 41 - 51
Bathrooms: N/A
Square footage: N/A
The hit British period drama “Downton Abbey” is filmed on location at Highclere Castle, home to many generations of the Carnarvon family. The castle, situated on 1,000 parkland acres, has been the home of Carnavons since it was built in 1679, but humans have occupied the site for some 1300 years. Screenwriter Julian Fellowes, a friend of the Carnavons, and had Highclere Castle in mind as the setting when he penned the script.
Among the extraordinary features of the home are two grand staircases — the oak one took almost a year to carve and install; wall coverings of leather and silk; a library with over 5,650 books; and secret cupboards that once hid the family’s collection of Egyptian antiquities. At one time, 60 staff members lived on the grounds; some of their freestanding living quarters now serve as two- to four-bedroom rental cottages.
*According to an estimate from real estate expert Barbara Corcoran
“Mad Men”
Price: $75,000 in 1948
Location: Los Angeles
Bedrooms: N/A
Bathrooms: N/A
Square footage: N/A
This season on Mad Men, gone is Don and Betty Draper's house in Ossining, the picture of early-1960s suburbanity. Don lives with his new wife in a too-swank-and-enormous-to-be-true (indeed, it's a set) midcentury modern pad in New York City. The once wasp-waisted Betty has a new husband, a new house in Rye, N.Y.
Betty's home is actually a 30-room Romanesque mansion in the Victorian-rich neighborhood of Los Angeles called West Adams. Known as The Stimson House and sometimes The Red Castle, it was built by lumber baron Thomas Douglas Stimson in 1891for $150,000 — the most expensive house in L.A. at the time. The basement's maze of rooms includes a one-time lounge and bar, and remnants of pipes from an organ.
The house's eccentric looks match its colorful history: the house has seen dynamite explosions, dog-poisoning and a fraternity kidnapping. Neighbors finally purchased the place in 1948 and donated it to an order of nuns for use as a convent, which it is to this day.
“Sex and the City”
Price: $9.85 million
Location: New York
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 3
Square footage: 4,000
Carrie Bradshaw's apartment on “Sex and the City” is an oft-cited example (along with the girls’ pad on “Friends”) of impossible TV real estate. Now we have an idea of just how impossible. The brownstone at 64 Perry Street, used in exterior shots early in the show's run, recently sold. According to Curbed, though, its neighbor at 66 Perry played the role of Carrie’s home’s exterior for the bulk of the series.
The West Village Italianate townhouse at 64 Perry, built in 1866, has a deep back garden, 12-foot ceilings with crown moldings, herringbone wood floors with inlaid borders, and six carved marble fireplaces, among other original details.
“30 Rock”
Price: see below
Location: New York
Bedrooms: N/A
Bathrooms: N/A
Square footage: N/A
The apartment of Liz Lemon on “30 Rock,” which includes such characteristically nerdy furnishings as an old library card catalog [inset, at right], is found in a real-life building at 160 Riverside Drive on Manhattan's Upper West Side. The 16-story residential co-op was built in 1929 and has 70 apartments, many with views of the Hudson River and Riverside Park, according to CityRealty.com.
While Liz lives in apartment 3B on the show, in one episode she indulged in the very New York practice of annexing a neighboring apartment to expand her living space. A 3-bedroom, 2-bath apartment in the building is currently on sale for $2.275 million. Perhaps not coincidentally, “30 Rock” mastermind Tina Fey herself lives about 12 blocks away on West End Avenue.
“New Girl”
Price: $9.25 million
Location: Los Angeles
Bedrooms: N/A
Bathrooms: N/A
Square footage: 71,392
This 1906 former warehouse in the Arts district in downtown Los Angeles is the supposed site of Jess, Nick, Schmidt, and Winston’s loft in the Fox sitcom “New Girl.” The show's interior scenes are shot a set, according to IAmNotAStalker.com, so the warehouse is only used for exteriors and the occasional entrance scene.
If anyone out there aspires to play a real-life Mr. Furley to these beautiful young people (and has $9 million-plus to spare), note that the building is for sale. Its 36 loft units rent for $2,280, including parking spaces and underground parking.
“Tori and Dean: Home Sweet Hollywood”
Price: $2.675 million
Location: Malibu, Calif.
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 4
Square footage: 2,052
Last year was a big one for real estate for reality TV personality Tori Spelling. The former “Beverly Hills, 90210” star and husband Dean McDermott sold their home in Encino for $2.5 million. Meanwhile her mother, Candy Spelling, sold the mega 56,500 square-foot Spelling Manor for $85 million (a bargain considering the original asking price of $150 million).
Now, 2012 looks like more of the same. Just five months after buying it, Tory and Dean are selling their 1965 Malibu home that serves as the set for their reality show to make way for yet another child—Tori is expecting baby number four. The gated grounds boast organic gardens, a play area, horse corral and a chicken coop.
“The Office”
Price: $425,301 (estimated value on Realtor.com)
Location: Van Nuys, Calif.
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2
Square footage: 1,770
This house stands in for the suburban Scranton, Pa. home of Jim and Pam Halpert on “The Office.” In season 5, Jim buys this house from his parents, saying he wants to help them — adding, in his typical deadpan, that he also saved on closing costs.
Built in 1953, the house has an in-ground pool, a carport, and a freestanding garage. The garage became a minor plot point in the show when, as a bonus, Jim converts it into an art studio for Pam.
“Breaking Bad”
Price: $183,556 (estimate on Realtor.com)
Location: Albuquerque, N.M.
Bedrooms: 4
Bathrooms: 2
Square footage: approx. 2,000
This ranch in Albuquerque’s Loma Del Ray neighborhood was the stand-in for the residence of series protagonist Walter White and his wife, Skyler, during the four seasons of AMC’s acclaimed drama “Breaking Bad.”
Extrapolating from similar homes in the development, Walter's has 4 bedrooms and two baths and somewhere around 2000 square feet in living space. With an estimated value under $200K, the house is modest enough that a high school teacher might realistically be able to afford it.
“The Hills”
Price: $6.11 million
Location: Laguna Beach, Calif.
Bedrooms: 5
Bathrooms: 6
Square footage: 7,100
The family home of reality star Kristin Cavallari (“Laguna Beach,” “The Hills,” “Dancing with the Stars”) was sold to the bank in February, according to the The Huffington Post. It was featured in a 2009 episode of “The Hills," when Cavallari visited her dad and stepmom.
The house, built with sustainable materials and energy saving systems in 2009, is situated on more than three acres in the Three Arch Bay gated community. It has panoramic views of the ocean from every room and access to a private beach.