Where Joan Holloway-Harris Laid Her Head

Originally written 08/13/2010 on my other blog, Shelterhome.

With season 6 updates!

The last ever season of Mad Men has aired. While looking at all the retrospective articles, episode recaps, and fashion commentary, I also saw more pictures of the show's sets. With Joan Holloway-Harris' departure from McCann Erickson, a lot more of her scenes were staged in her little pink apartment. Even though most of the articles mentioned above spoke about how the characters had or had not changed in the last 10 years, one thing that did not change was her home. When I first put together this post, Joan was still a newlywed. Now, despite all her life changes in the past ten years and the fact that now her little boy and mother share the space, it miraculously looks the same. Check out some new pics and updated commentary (in blue) below.

Well, come on in! Welcome to the apartment home of Greg and Joan Harris (nee Holloway), wonderfully sourced and styled by the talented set decorator Amy Wells, production designer Dan Bishop* and their design teams at Mad Men.


It is definitely girly, all done up in coral pink and seafoam green. Or in other words, shades of red and green. You do remember that the former Joan Holloway got married during the Christmas season, right?


Add in some cream, turquoise, gold accents, robin's egg blue in the kitchen, lavender or lilac in the bedroom, and you have Joan's complete interior color scheme for her amazing pink apartment.




So, let's start with that sumptuous floor pillow Joanie is lounging on above. This would be easy to replicate with some damask fabric and the same kind of trim which can still be found at any fabric store, some 30 decades later. How about a mix and match of the two below from Wrights trims?




 

In this view, we can see the green graphic patterned drapes alongside shorter cream or eggshell colored sheers; a gilded oval mirror, candle sconces, and her cream painted dining set with cane back chairs. Notice that her walls are in a deep coral (or salmon) and that the trim is that color that landlords still stick you with today, Antique White/Apartment Beige (or as it's called in the U.K, Magnolia). At least she has the wall-to-wall seafoam green carpet to augment her color scheme.

• The painted piece near the dining table stands in for a bar and seems to have a faux shagreen finish on the sides and gold detailing. Anyone know what this piece is called or what the furniture style is?

• Gilded gold round coffee table with inset glass resting on three chunky legs.

General Electric refrigerator for S. 3 and newer one for S.4

• Season 3 had the most adorable refrigerator ever! It took quite a while to source this one! Luckily, it was distinctive because of the vertical handle, separate freezer compartment on the bottom, slightly raised middle section on top and the deep channeled detailing down the center. It looks like it could be either a General Electric Deluxe PB6-40 or just a B6-40. Now whether or not they kept the same designs for years, may mean that this model is as old as the 1940-50s. Perhaps MM noticed that too because Season 4 shows a different, less-cute refrigerator.
  
  

  

  Season 6

• Season 6 shows an even newer refrigerator, in bright blue! What was Joan doing to those things? That seems to be a lot of wear and tear in just ten years.

• Remember those nubby sofas? What was that fabric and why was it so hard to clean?
• Here we see a coral armchair in a different style than the cream damask club chair seen in the earlier picture.
• I love that pale wood TV cabinet on hairpin wire legs and the lovely turquoise bowl/ashtray on top.
• Also do you notice the painted street scene? A very similar one is seen in her new office this season, I wonder if she brought it from home or bought herself a new one?

Season 6

• In season 6, Joan still has the same sofa. It is over ten years old and still covered in the same fabric. I find it hard to believe that with the huge increase in her salary this was never replaced. Every other character on the show has changed homes, some numerous times. However, Joan not only did not move but she had never changed anything in her apartment except a kitchen appliance or two? Puh-lease.
• Those turquoise drapes do not seem to have faded and the carpet has changed from a pale seafoam blue to cream, despite there being a child under ten living there.

Season 6

• Gilded faux bamboo bar cart with turquoise and gold tipped glasses. Of course, this made it to season 6!

• An unique folding buffet tray for appetizers. I used to have a wooden sewing basket that was constructed just like this. Here's one by Karoff that I found online at A La Modern. I'm tempted to believe it's the same one that Mad Men bought. Others can still be found on eBay and Etsy.
  

Karoff buffet tray

• A better look at the abstract patterned barkcloth curtains at the back of the room next to the plant.
• A closer view of those nubby, uncomfortable sofas? We had two otherwise lovely Danish armchairs recovered in that fabric (almost the same color too) when I was a teen. They originally were in tufted black leather...le sigh.
• Notice Joan's gold-tipped tea service and canape server. You can tell that she studied entertaining from her copy of Emily Post.
• I wish we could see those hanging light fixtures better though.

Red pearl Crucianelli accordion.

• I found many similar looking Italian-made Scandalli models before I could find a picture of a Crucianelli model like Joan's. Isn't it truly gorgeous?

Update: Picture of Joanie's bedroom, just ignore the exhausted diva in her jammies.

Lookee! Here's Joanie's color scheme from a 1952 print ad for DUCO paints from DuPont.

Images: Courtesy of Tom and Lorenzo (Thank you SO much guys!), A La Modern, AMC, Retro Renovation

*Links to two online versions of Etiquette: in Society, in Business, in Politics and at Home, 1922.

** He's a VCU alum too!

SHELTER - The Colors of a Cozy Home

Ashley and Jason; new home owners and newly-weds, have an incredibly cozy home. I fell in love with this photo in their Flickr stream. I kept coming back to it. The rich reds, purple, orange, pale blue, and the copper-colored woods make it seem as if there was a roaring fire in there and you just want to curl up on that sofa. Throughout their home, I love their mix of the old and the new in their choices.

Would you consider yourself an artistic person? Is it something that you use in your career or daily life? We're both pretty artistic in different ways. I'm a writer (and blogger of Read it Out Loud) and Jason works for the Discovery Channel and makes movies on the side. I also have a 'lil side business, The Ripe Radish, selling crafts on Etsy.

What specific difficulties did you have when decorating your space? Even though the house is larger, the individual rooms are smaller than what we were used to in our old wide-open apartment. This made furniture maneuvering and laying out more difficult; there are less options.

Before

After

Also, basically every part of redoing the kitchen was difficult - I never want to work with tile again!

What is your favorite color? Oh, I think it changes weekly. Right now, yellow.

Do the colors in your clothes closet show up in your home? Yes! I love incorporating colors into my wardrobe. My closet is arranged by color, and it looks like a rainbow when you step in there. There are some days I want to wear bright pink polka dots and some days I want to wear brown. I dress and decorate according to my current emotional state, which can make for some interesting outfits and corners of the house.

Would someone you know think your space represents who you are? Do you think it does? The first thing most people say after getting the tour is that the place is "so us" or that we've really made it ours. That's definitely the greatest compliment, because it means we were successful in creating a home that represents us.

How different is your grown-up style from the place in which you grew up? Very different. My parents are much more modern. I've always thought their house was a little too sterile for me. They have lots of modern art hanging and a few bizarre smaller sculptures. I always knew I would want something more cozy and warm. I love the coziness of our house above everything else.

What was your biggest influence in choosing your current décor? It's kind of one big lump of inspiration I've gotten from design mags like Domino, design blogs like decor8, websites like apartmenttherapy.com, and various books. I'm inspired by everyday houses too; I can always find something I like in someone's living space.

What has been the most expensive change you have made to your space? The kitchen. It started out with this faux cobblestone linoleum counters, laminate flowered flooring, and ugly cabinets. We spent about $3,000 updating it - we tiled the counters and the floors; got a new sink, range hood, and backsplash; and painted the cabinets white and got new hardware for them. It's still not quite done (we took all of this on about a month before our wedding, so it's taking a little longer than expected).

What has been the least expensive, yet most influential change you have made to your space? Jason says it's the dimmer switches he installed, "because now you can get mood lighting." I would have to say it would be painting the wood paneling white - we just didn't have the money or time to rip it down (it's only on one wall in the family room) and now it actually looks intentional.

White paneled wall

Have you done any of the décor yourself (DIY)? Everything was DIY, except for the the electrical/wiring update that we had done. Refinishing the wood floors was the most DIY we've gotten, and that was mostly Jason. They were in REALLY bad shape - they look great now!

What changes have you made that make you feel the most proud? I would say both the kitchen and the floors I'm pretty proud of.

If you received $1,000 that you could only spend on your home, what would you do with the money? There's such a long list! I think the first thing I would do would be to fix up the bathroom. Right now there's a pink toilet and pink sink and laminate flooring. We totally ran with the pink thing and made it this sort of art deco bathroom, but I'd love something a little less... pink.

What do you plan to do next in your space? I'm trying to decide what color to paint my office. Right now it's the only unpainted room. The basement also needs some work. There's an awesome craftsman bar down there we would love to take advantage of, but we need new flooring.

What do you think was your biggest influence in how you decorated your home? Color. Is that too general? We just painted each room and then decorated based on the feel and vibe of the room.


How about those legs in the hot pink skirt, what's the story there? Got the legs from eBay a few years ago and dressed her in a skirt that actually used to fit me in high school (which is always a good reminder, since she inhabits the dining room.) Various things have adorned her midsection like plants and lamps.

What decorating style are you most attracted to: modern, traditional, country, mid-century, etc? A little bit of everything, but the house is probably mostly mid-century inspired.

What kind of homes do you most admire or lust after? We both love the character and charm of older row houses in the city.

Have you seen any homes in movies that you would want to live in? Jason makes fun of me - I say I want every house I see in almost every movie. The one in particular that comes to mind now is [in] Amelie. And as for other homes from movies that I loved, I also really like Enid's bedroom in Ghost World, Maggie Gyllenhaal's apartment from Stranger than Fiction, and Jennifer Aniston's apartment in Along Came Polly. Also, Amy Sedaris' apartment in real life is basically my DREAM place.

Along Came Polly

Stranger Than Fiction

Any Sedaris' living room

How comfortable are you in your living space? We're both extremely comfortable; in fact, we hardly ever want to leave now. We have nothing in our space that makes us unhappy.

On that perfect quote about their living space, SHELTER wishes you...

Happy Holidays to you and yours!

(this is my last post of 2007; have a safe and great holiday and I'll see you in the New Year!)

SHELTER - Before and After Color

Front door after

When Stephanie (aka Stefshep7 on Flickr) and Dave, her husband, decided to move to San Diego to take care of her ailing grandfather, I'm sure they didn't expect their living space to look like this.

Front door before

This is the before front door
Does that say "Welcome!" to you?

Once there, they had to contend with what condition the former tenants had left the place in when they left. There was peeling paint and a stale smell in the air because few windows could be opened. To top it all off, they had left loads of stuff behind, bed frames, mattresses, bookcases, and books, lots of books. ALL of the items in the before pictures are the previous tenants.

However, Stephanie and Dave were able to not only bring this place to a point of cleanliness but they went above and beyond and made their apartment an incredibly cozy looking beach house, full of color and light. Please enjoy the pictures and what they have to say about their beautiful home.

Would you consider yourself an artistic person? Do you use it in your daily life? No, not artistic in any way! I did used to work in a "design" related field. I was a Lighting Designer and Consultant in Nor Cal for 14 years. I couldn't design it, but I sure could light it!

Kitchen before

Kitchen after!

What motivated you to go with the "all out" decor? I think it was the fact that moving here was a necessity...to care for my grandpa. If it weren't for that, I wouldn't have left Nor Cal. I loved our home there. So, I felt I should make it as "fun" as possible to live in.

What specific difficulties did you have when decorating your space? Oh boy! Well...my hubby Dave and I have very limited "hands-on construction" experience. So that was a big one. I think the biggest thing for us though...was dealing with the junk left behind (Over 3 tons of stuff had to be removed, and that was prior to any demo!) as well as the filth! I was not sure how anyone could have lived that way. The carpet was so bad; we would not walk on it without shoes!

Living room before

After!

How comfortable are you in your living space?

Very! We are still working on things, but have been able to make it a very nice place to be!

What drew you to the vibrant colors?

It just came to me while still living in Northern Cal...months before the move. I wanted a festival of color! Being so close to the Mexican border (only 15 minutes); I was inspired by a color scheme you might find there. I actually wanted to go with a lot more busy patterns and colors...kind of like a colorful pinata, but since my artistic ability and capacity to create patterns and colors together, I figured it best quit with the color while I was ahead.

Do the colors of your home show up in your closet? LOL...actually not really. I am a bit more understated with my wardrobe!

What was the inspiration for the blue on blue bathroom? That was ALL my hubby Dave! He said the beach was the inspiration, we are only a couple of blocks from the beach here...so that was his biggest influence.

After!

Do you think your decor style matches your personal style? Well...our last home up north was quite rustic, we used a lot of golds, and even dark chocolate brown on the walls, I loved it. I am not sure if you noticed, but all of the furniture you see in the "redo" is exactly the same as what was in our "rustic" place. Which did present its adaptive challenges as well. I was so happy when I found the pillowcases you see on the couch, not only did it have the pinks and oranges I wanted, but it actually had the burnt red-maroon color of my sofa in it too! That is what pulled it all together! I saw the couch as a big hindrance when we started. Getting back to the question of my style...I really have no idea! I LOVE conservative funky I suppose. If there is such a thing! LOL..........

Does your decor match your personal style? I suppose it does!

Would someone who knows you say the style represents who you are? I would have to say, not what they would expect necessarily, but after taking it all in... yes, I think they would say it does.

What was your biggest influence in choosing this decor? Mexico!

What has been the most expensive change you made? It was the new windows, about 3.8k, then the cabinets in the kitchen about 1.6k.

What has been the least expensive, yet most influential change? Definitely the paint!

Master bedroom before

Master bedroom after!!

Have you done any of the decor yourselves?

Absolutely all of it! Dave is the one who deserves most of the credit! All I did was choose color rugs and accessories, paint and scrub wood floors!

What changes are you most proud of? That’s so hard; really, the cabinets and windows would have to be our proudest moments.

Guest room after

What do you plan on doing next?
Hmmm...repairing the bathroom floor, near the toilet and tub. Lots of rotten boards that we can only disguise for so long! LOL....

What decorating style are you most attracted to?

Country rustic, and definitely Craftsman! My hubby loves contemporary design.

What kind of homes do you most admire or lust after? My ideal [home] would be a classic Craftsman; my hubby Dave just loves the "pueblo Santa Fe" style best.

Have you seen any homes in movies that you would want to live in? Only one comes to mind, that's the funky place Barbara and Dustin lived in "Meet the Fockers" I just loved everything about that place inside and out! I guess you could say that would be my dream home!

Meet the Fockers

How different is your grown-up style from the places in which you grew up? Not very, my mother loved Native American art, and her style was very rustic. Since she passed away in 1998, a lot of her things have ended up in our home. Rustic feels like home to me. As for Dave, his grown-up style is very different from the classic formal home he grew up in.

Thank you Dave and Stephanie!