Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1474575
be known). Former TV star Charles Haden Savage's apartment originally had a vibe torn straight from '90s NYC bachelor pads featured in Architectural Digest, with dark woods, glossy paint and spotlighting. Broadway director Oliver Putnam's place was initially imagined as an assault of color, dated pattern on pattern fabrics, and feeling much more of the influence of an absent exwife. Mabel's apartment went through the fewest changes. It was always intended to be under construction; but opening her walls to the original rough-sawn studs was a choice that came much later in the process. All the changes from the initial pitch came about through long discussions of the characters, their potential arcs in the story, and their presumed and invented histories. This was the great joy of the project, and what eventually gave the sets depth, vibrance and resonance for the characters. For Charles-Haden Savage's apartment, the departure from something rooted in the '90s was a massive shift visually and developmentally for the character. The concept was initially seductive. It created a time capsule for him and was visually impactful. It looked really cool and a little strange. What it did to the character was not as impactful. By leaving him thirty years in the past, he became more pitiful and less evolved. It became clear in discussions with ohn offman that we needed to change everything we had been considering. The ground plan was working, but the decor boards were completely scrapped in favor of something more contemporary, zeroing in on the concept of "playful sophistication." A few key pieces of research gave us a new way of thinking about Steve's character. Instead of telling the story of a man who made his money in the '80s and '90s, bought his apartment, and sat as a bachelor for the intervening years, the about-face gave the character a more evolved, richer backstory. We landed on designing an apartment that told the story that Charles was smart with his money, a savvy art and design collector with some really A. CHARLES' LIVING ROOM. CHRISTIAN NGUYEN'S VENUS, 2020 SITS ABOVE CHARLES' FIREPLACE. THE CHAIRS LEFT AND RIGHT ARE MICHAEL TAYLOR FOR BAKER FURNITURE. B. CHARLES' KITCHEN FEATURING PRINTED TILE LINOLEUM FLOORS, JOSEF ALBERS ALBUM COVERS, ED RUCHA'S NICE HOT VEGETABLES, AND ELITIS WALLPAPER WITH AN OMBRÉ EMBEDDED IN THE PRINT. C. CHARLES' LIVING ROOM. FEATURING A PAUL SMITH SOFA AND ALEX KATZ'S TRACY. SET PHOTOS BY CRAIG BLANKENHORN. D. PAUL SMITH FABRIC THAT RICH MURRAY SOURCED FOR CHARLES' SOFA. A B C D