Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1541514
The production was allowed to make almost all of the corridors our own. We created our own telephone room in one of these corridors by mimicking the existing wood paneling detailing and installing our own partition. We hung mirrors everywhere from the picture railing, put up black and gold peacock wallpaper, and displayed our modern art and sculptures that we had created for the film. Nia thought we were nuts when we pulled out the leopard print carpet, but it was totally period appropriate and also very chic in the era. Hedda's bedroom was probably my favorite set. Stella and I looked at a lot of references and bounced around many ideas for the style. I loved the outrageousness of Oonagh Guiness's bedroom in her country estate, with its purple and magenta satin bedding. We decided to create a bedroom for Hedda that felt sultry, given that Hedda is a very seductive character, weaponizing her sexuality to get what she wants. Although the design for her bedroom draws upon old Hollywood glamour, I also wanted it to feel cold, so we chose a musky dusty purple, which was very period appropriate, but also not entirely beautiful and a little ugly. Simon Gustaffsson created an illustration that we could show to Nia for her approval. The most involved task was creating Nia's scripted scene of a chandelier falling from the ceiling and smashing amongst the party-goers. The drop had originally been scripted in the great room, but as the existing chandeliers were from The Great Exhibition (the first World Fair in 1851) and essentially priceless, touching them at all was a non-starter. Instead, I proposed to Nia the idea of putting our chandelier in the conservatory. Designed to reference the all- glass exhibition hall for the Great Exhibition —The Crystal Palace—it was such a beautiful space that it would have been a shame not to use it. Plus, the idea that Hedda would hang a massive glass chandelier in an all-glass room A. HEDDA'S BEDROOM. ILLUSTRATION BY KARL SIMON GUSTAFSSON SHOWING OUR PROPOSED TRANSFOMATION. B. HEDDA'S BEDROOM. SET PHOTO. C. HEDDA'S BEDROOM. PRODUCTION STILL. D. CONSERVATORY. ILLUSTRATION BY KARL SIMON GUSTAFSSON. UTILIZING THE HOME'S CONSERVATORY. AN ART DECO CHANDELIER WAS BUILT FOR A SCENE IN WHICH IT FALLS AND SMASHES. E. CONSERVATORY. A NEW "STONE FLOOR" WAS ADDED TO CONCEAL EXISTING VENTS AND GARDEN BEDS. ALL THE VINES AND GREENS WERE ALSO BROUGHT IN. PRODUCTION STILL. A B C