Decorating Pages: TV and Film Design

How did Netflix’s East of Eden recreate early-1900s California almost entirely in New Zealand?

Set Decorator Amber Richards returns to Decorating Pages to break down the extraordinary period world of Zoe Kazan’s East of Eden, starring Florence Pugh, Christopher Abbott and Mike Faist.

Amber was previously on the podcast discussing The Power of the Dog and Mulan. She was nominated for an Academy Award with Production Designer Grant Major for The Power of the Dog, and the two collaborated again on East of Eden.

Amber takes us behind the scenes of t...

Who actually invented the Frankenstein laboratory we all recognize?

Mary Shelley gave Victor Frankenstein a workspace—but Hollywood gave us the stone walls, operating table, massive electrical machines, lightning and strange scientific equipment that became synonymous with Frankenstein.

Kim Wannop traces 95 years of Frankenstein production design, beginning with James Whale’s Frankenstein (1931), moving through Mel Brooks’ Young Frankenstein (1974), Guillermo del Toro’s Frankenstein (2025), and Maggie Gyllenhaal’s The Bride! (2026).

Discover why Young Frankenstein used original laboratory equipment created for the 1931 film, how Oscar-winning Production Designer Tamara Deverell and Set Decorator Shane Vieau transformed Victor Frankenstein’s...

What makes a horror movie set genuinely frightening?

Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop and Emmy-winning Production Designer Adam Rowe each chose five horror films for the other to watch through the lens of production design and set decoration.

Together they break down the sets of Rosemary’s Baby, Halloween, Alien, When a Stranger Calls, Poltergeist, Copycat, The Others, Midsommar, Hereditary and Nosferatu (2024).

Why does the perfectly normal suburban world of Halloween make Michael Myers more frightening? Why does Rosemary’s cheerful apartment feel so different from the darkness next door? How did Alien crea...

How do you design a horror movie set to actually make an audience uncomfortable?

Production Designer Nick Bassett joins Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop to go behind the scenes of Insidious: Out of the Further, the latest chapter in the Insidious horror franchise.

Nick reveals how the production design team created the film’s terrifying practical environments—from the enormous pillow-fort maze to Gemma’s family home, the dentist office and the tattoo parlor built partially in reverse for an elaborate mirror sequence.

They break down how architecture can create suspense, why hallways and ro...

Stanley Kubrick’s films are known for their unmistakable visual style — but who actually designed the sets?

Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop examines the production design and set decoration of five Stanley Kubrick films: The Killing, Spartacus, Dr. Strangelove, Barry Lyndon and The Shining.

Go inside Ruth Sobotka’s stark noir environments for The Killing, the Oscar-winning art direction and set decoration of Spartacus, Ken Adam’s legendary Dr. Strangelove War Room, the historic locations and candlelit interiors of Barry Lyndon, and Roy Walker’s unforgettable Overlook Hotel for The Shining.

Kim breaks down the impossible arc...

What did Sesame Street, Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, Punky Brewster, Pee-wee’s Playhouse, Full House, Scooby-Doo, Rainbow Brite and Jem teach us about design before we even knew what production design was?

In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator Kim Wannop goes back to the television worlds that shaped a generation of kids growing up in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Why did the Sesame Street neighborhood feel so real? Why does Mister Rogers’ set still feel remarkably calm? Why did Punky Brewster’s bedroom make so many kids want control over their own rooms? A...

I spent both nights of the 2026 Emmys inside the Peacock Theater, and this week I’m taking you with me — from a Decorating Pages point of view.

We’re talking about this year’s Production Design Emmy winners, including The Muppet Show, The Traitors, Fallout, Widow’s Bay and Pluribus, and an extraordinary weekend for Production Designer Denise Pizzini, who walked away with Emmys for two completely different shows.

But this isn’t just a winners recap. I wanted to talk about what these nights actually feel like when you work in the crafts: sitting in a theater...

How do you design a modern Los Angeles noir without simply recreating the past?

In this episode of Decorating Pages, I talk with Production Designer Meghan C. Rogers about creating the visual world of Season 2 of Apple TV’s Sugar, starring Colin Farrell. Meghan joined the series for its second season and pushed the show’s established noir language further, using architecture, texture, lighting and locations to make Los Angeles itself part of John Sugar’s story.

We get into the massive Indonesia sequence built at the Paramount water tank, including the engineering, water-safety and fire r...

Presented by HBO Max | For Your ConsiderationIn this special Emmy® season episode of Decorating Pages, I’m joined by five HBO Max Emmy-nominated production designers whose shows could not look more different: Nina Ruscio of The Pitt, Bob Shaw of The Gilded Age, François Audouy of Euphoria, Rob Tokarz of Hacks, and Tom McCullagh of A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms.We get into what production design actually does for storytelling — from making a 25,000-square-foot emergency department disappear into reality on The Pitt, to transforming existing locations into the extravagant world of The Gilded Age. Rob Tokarz breaks down c...

How do you bring back one of television’s most beloved environments when almost none of the original scenery or plans still exists?

Emmy-nominated Production Designer Denise Pizzini and Set Decorator Bethany Barton reveal how their team recreated the original Muppet Theatre for the Disney+ special The Muppet Show.

Using screenshots, extensive research and one surviving drawing of Kermit’s backstage office, they reconstructed the theatre’s architecture, auditorium, backstage spaces, practical lighting and decades of beautifully controlled clutter.

Denise and Bethany explain the hidden engineering required to design simultaneously for Muppets, puppeteers and hu...

Production Designer Laurin Kelsey joins Decorating Pages to discuss designing Elle, the new Prime Video series from Amazon MGM Studios.

Laurin takes us inside the visual world of a younger Elle Woods and explains how production design helped build her backstory through color, contrast, nostalgia, and character. We talk about finding Elle’s signature pink, creating the difference between Beverly Hills and Seattle, and designing the spaces that shape her world before UCLA and Harvard.

In this episode, we discuss Elle’s bedroom, the Woods family house, the Seattle high school, the Cosmo office, Blockbuster, and...

In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop takes a design-forward look at the production design of summer blockbusters.

From Jaws and Star Wars to E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, Jurassic Park, Pirates of the Caribbean, Top Gun: Maverick, Inside Out 2, and Barbie, this episode explores how production design and set decoration helped turn summer movies into cultural events.

Kim breaks down how blockbuster worlds are built to read instantly, create emotion, support story, and stay in the audience’s memory long after the credits roll. From beach towns and spaceships to suburban ho...

Production Designer Cabot McMullen, Art Director Raf Lydon, and Set Decoration Buyer Susan Chooljian join Decorating Pages Podcast to discuss the production design of HBO’s Rooster.

Host Kim Wannop talks with the team about designing Ludlow College, creating an East Coast campus world in California, and building half-hour comedy sets with scale, texture, history, and character. Cabot shares his long creative history with Bill Lawrence, from Spin City and Scrubs to Shrinking and Rooster, and explains how authenticity drives the design of the show.

The conversation covers the Warner Bros. stage builds, University of th...

Presented by HBO Max | For Your Consideration – HALF MAN – Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour or More)

Production Designer Emer O’Sullivan joins Decorating Pages to discuss the production design of the HBO/BBC limited series Half Man, created by Emmy-winning Richard Gadd and starring Richard Gadd and Jamie Bell.

Emer breaks down the design of Half Man, including Laurie’s house, the boys’ bedroom, the kitchen, the hospital room, the prison visiting room, the wedding locations, and the Glasgow architecture that grounds the story across multiple decades.

In this conve...

Presented by Disney/MarvelFor Your Consideration — Wonder ManOutstanding Production Design For A Narrative Program — Half-Hour

Production Designers Cindy Chao and Michele Yu and Set Decorator Lizzie Boyle join Decorating Pages to talk about the production design and set decoration of Marvel’s Wonder Man.

Host Kim Wannop discusses how the team built a grounded Hollywood story inside the Marvel universe, using real Los Angeles locations, character-driven sets, old apartments, theaters, bars, trailers, offices, practical destruction, and behind-the-scenes filmmaking spaces.

The conversation explores Simon’s East Hollywood apartment, Trevor’s faded-glory LA home, Marvel’s DODC priso...

Today on Decorating Pages, this Emmy FYC episode is presented by HBO Max in celebration of Hacks for Outstanding Production Design for a Narrative Program, Half-Hour.

Host Kim Wannop talks with Emmy-nominated Production Designer Rob Tokarz about the final season of Hacks and the detailed production design behind Deborah Vance’s world.

Rob breaks down the submitted Emmy episode, including the 1970s sitcom set created for Deborah’s fictional television history, the custom wallpaper, the Paley tribute, shooting at the Academy Museum, Deborah’s mansion and closet, the Las Vegas cube sequence, and the massiv...

This episode of Decorating Pages is presented by HBO Max in celebration of The Pitt Season 2 for Outstanding Production Design For A Narrative Contemporary Program (One Hour Or More)

Production Designer Nina Ruscio and Set Decorator Matt Callahan join Kim Wannop to discuss the Emmy-winning HBO Max medical drama The Pitt. After Season 1 earned 13 Emmy nominations and five Emmy wins, including Outstanding Drama Series, Season 2 returned to Pittsburgh Trauma Medical Center with another 15-hour real-time emergency room shift set during Fourth of July weekend.

In this interview, Nina and Matt break down the immersive production...

Production Designer Alex DiGerlando joins Decorating Pages to discuss the production design of FX’s Love Story and Netflix’s Black Rabbit.

Alex breaks down the sleek 90s-inspired world of Love Story, including Carolyn Bessette’s apartment, the Calvin Klein offices, Jackie Kennedy’s home, the George magazine offices, real New York locations, period magazines, and the challenge of designing a version of the 90s that feels specific, emotional, and cinematic.

Then the conversation moves into Netflix’s Black Rabbit, where Alex talks about designing the layered, textured, three-level restaurant set, working with Set Decorator Lydia Mark...

Set Decorator Kim Leonard joins Decorating Pages to talk about her work on High Potential, including Morgan’s layered character house, the fast-moving “Morgan Visions,” and the real process of decorating a one-hour network television series in Los Angeles.Kim also shares the story behind her Palm Springs restoration of a 1958 Palmer & Krisel house with original Steve Chase details, now connected to Modernism Week and Atomic Ranch. From textured plaster walls and restored vintage lamps to desert modern restraint and character-driven design, this episode is a deep dive into how Set Decorators see potential in spaces, objects, and stories.Host K...

With The Late Show with Stephen Colbert coming to an end, Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop looks at the design history of late-night television through the rooms we know so well: the desk, the guest chair, the skyline, the curtains, the bandstand, and the host’s chair.

In this episode of Decorating Pages, Kim breaks down late-night TV set design from Johnny Carson to David Letterman, Stephen Colbert, Jimmy Kimmel, Jimmy Fallon, and Seth Meyers. She looks at Carson’s iconic command-center set, Letterman’s strange and brilliant NBC office energy, his move to CBS and the histor...

Production Designer Loren Weeks and Set Decorator Michael Nallan join Decorating Pages to discuss the production design and set decoration of Netflix’s psychological thriller The Beast in Me, starring Claire Danes and Matthew Rhys.

Host Kim Wannop talks with Loren and Michael about how Aggie’s house became a character in the series, from the rich wallpaper and cluttered writing room to the unfinished renovation details that quietly reveal a life interrupted by grief. They also discuss the contrast between Aggie’s warm, layered fixer-upper and Niall’s sleek, controlled mansion, plus the gallery artwork, murder-scene logistic...

Kim Wannop talks with Production Designer Martha Sparrow and Set Decorator Patricia Cuccia about the production design and set decoration of Hulu’s The Testaments. They discuss Agnes’s bedroom, the dollhouse motif, Gilead’s plum color palette, giant school sets, handmade tile, wallpaper, custom mirrors, and how the design expands the world of The Handmaid’s Tale through a younger generation. A must-listen for fans of production design, set decoration, The Testaments, Hulu series design, and behind-the-scenes TV craft.

👉 Get the FREE Quick Reference Set Decorating Template: www.decoratingpagespodcast.com

Discov...

On this episode of Decorating Pages, Kim Wannop talks with Production Designer Howard Cummings and Set Decorator Julie Ochipinti about the incredible worldbuilding behind Fallout Season 2 on Prime Video.

Howard, known for Behind the Candelabra, Westworld, and Fallout, and Julie, Oscar nominated for The Prestige and Emmy nominated for Westworld, discuss moving the production to Los Angeles, rebuilding the vault, creating Freeside and New Vegas, and designing a world that blends 1950s retro-future style, western grit, atomic weirdness, and post-apocalyptic survival.

This episode is packed with behind-the-scenes insight on Production Design, Set Decoration, large-scale TV...

In this solo episode of Decorating Pages, Kim Wannop shares 15 movies every production design student and new set decorator should watch — not just the obvious staples, but the films that teach real lessons in character, mood, atmosphere, restraint, clutter, glamour, symbolism, and storytelling through space. The episode is built around the idea that a room can tell you who a person is before the actor even opens their mouth, and Kim walks through what to look for in films from Our Dancing Daughters and Great Expectations to Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Barry Lyndon, Rocky, All the President’s Men, The W...

Production Designer Victor Molero joins Decorating Pages to break down the production design of Season 2 of The Night Manager (Prime Video). This episode dives into global location strategy across London, Colombia, and Spain, plus how Tenerife (Canary Islands) doubled for multiple countries.

Victor shares the behind-the-scenes process of designing sets that support character psychology — from clinical, minimal spaces that signal loneliness to “luxury trap” environments built to feel beautiful but claustrophobic. The conversation covers scenic painting and aging, custom tiles, museum-scale set dressing and artwork, VFX architectural additions, and building a jungle camp set with practical atmosphere.

I...

n the 250th episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning Set Decorator and host Kim Wannop looks back at how the podcast started, how it grew into a go-to source for production design and set decoration conversations, and what comes next for the show. Kim shares the story behind launching the podcast in 2018, building it while working in film and television, growing the YouTube channel, creating the Set Decorating Masterclass, expanding into Production Design Film Study episodes, and becoming a trusted stop during awards season for behind-the-scenes interviews with top designers and decorators. She also recaps her Oscars watch party attempt...

Production Designer Sara K White (Emmy-nominated for The Flight Attendant) joins Decorating Pages to break down the production design of Peacock’s Ponies—a 1970s spy series built through color, texture, ceilings, and period logistics that would break a normal person.

In this episode: the CIA “bubble” room design inspired by sound baffles, a women-forward Soviet beauty salon sequence, and the Kombromat surveillance facility—a tunnel maze filled with 70+ matching 1970s TVs that took months to source.

👉 Get the FREE Quick Reference Set Decorating Template: www.decoratingpagespodcast.com

Discover the Art of TV...

Kim Wannop goes LIVE on the red carpet at the 30th Annual Art Directors Guild (ADG) Awards in Los Angeles, grabbing quick interviews with production designers, art directors, set decorators, and animation artists about world-building, schedules, and craft.

This episode includes red carpet moments with Pixar’s Elio team, Mid-Century Modern, Sponge Bob the movie, Hacks, Monster, The Pitt, Palm Royale, The Studio, Black Rabbit, Wizards Beyond Waverly Place, Dancing with the Stars, Taylor Swift "The Fate Of Ophelia", Lifetime Achievement honoree Jan Engel, and more — plus a full rundown of the ADG Awards 2026 winners and special hono...

Award season is here, and the 2026 Oscar nominees for Production Design are stacked. In this episode of Decorating Pages Podcast, host Kim Wannop breaks down the five nominated films through a design lens — palettes, lighting choices, texture, aging, scale, and the tiny set dressing details that make a world feel real.

Nominees covered: Frankenstein, Hamnet, Marty Supreme, One Battle After Another, Sinners — plus what the Academy tends to reward, why period films often dominate, and which designs feel like the biggest swings of the year.

If you love production design, set decoration, and behind-the-scenes craft, this one’s fo...

I’ve got a real one for ya. On this episode of Decorating Pages, I’m talking Death by Lightning (Netflix) with Production Designer Gemma Jackson (Emmy winner, Oscar nominee) and Set Decorator Hannah Gawthorpe — and this is a masterclass in period production design and set decoration. 

They built 1880s America — New York, Chicago, Washington, Ohio, and the White House — entirely in Budapest, and we get into how they differentiated every world through layout, wallpaper, practical lighting, and dressing choices. Plus: chandeliers, flags, graphics research, and the kind of logistics that only the art department could love.

If you...

Dancing with the Stars has to deliver a brand-new world every week — live — with choreography, cameras, lighting, and set changes happening at full speed. In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator and host Kim Wannop talks with Production Designer James Yarnell, a 20-year DWTS veteran and ADG-nominated for the show’s “Wicked” episode.

James breaks down how the DWTS ballroom is designed around the true priority: the dance floor — including how camera movement is choreographed alongside the dancers, how theme weeks are executed on a brutal weekly timeline, and how scenic builds, props, screens, and projection a...

Pluribus on Apple TV+ is a masterclass in modern TV world-building — from massive exterior construction to meticulous interiors where every detail supports character and story. In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator and host Kim Wannop interviews Production Designer Denise Pizzini and Set Decorator Ashley Michelle Marsh (previously featured on the podcast for Better Call Saul) about designing and building the visual world of Pluribus.

Denise and Ashley are Art Directors Guild (ADG) nominated, and this conversation gets into the real craft: detailed prep using outlines, approvals that lock the design, and the scale of bu...

Murderbot is ADG-nominated for Episode 1: “FreeCommerce” — and the production design and set decoration work is a huge part of what makes the show feel so specific, lived-in, and visually smart.

Discover the sci-fi production design magic behind the ADG-Nominated Murderbot with Production Designer Sue Chanand Set Decorator Rob Hepburn. From inflatable TPU solar habitats to 3D-printed med labs, they reveal how they brought a warm, lived-in aesthetic to space. Hosted by Kim Wannop, this episode dives into sourcing, greenscaping, LED tech, and the wild storytelling choices that made Murderbot unforgettable.

👉 Get the FREE Quick Reference Set D...

Slow Horses Season 5 is packed with gritty London texture, smart MI5 world-building, and production design choices that carry character and story — and the series is Art Directors Guild (ADG) nominated.

On this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator and host Kim Wannop interviews Production Designer Choi Ho Man about designing Slow Horses across multiple seasons: evolving the MI5 Hub and First Desk offices, keeping continuity seamless, dressing Slough House with lived-in chaos, building “real” locations on stage (including the standout restaurant sequence), and solving the constant reality of location logistics and clearance issues.

Slow Horses...

Hamnet is period filmmaking at its most grounded and immersive. In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning host Kim Wannop interviews Production Designer Fiona Crombie and Set Decorator Alice Felton about the design and decoration of Hamnet — from Shakespeare’s family home and the glove workshop to the Globe Theatre and garden builds.

Topics include period-authentic materials, sightline-conscious furniture choices, hand-stitched textiles, thematic palette shifts, and the art of set storytelling.

Directed by Chloé Zhao, Hamnet is based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel and stars Jessie Buckley and Paul Mescal.

Hamnet, Chloé Zha...

Production Designer Darren Gilford joins Decorating Pages to break down the production design of TRON: Ares — from building a bold new Dillinger red world to honoring the franchise’s visual DNA.

Darren shares the real craft behind the look: materials testing (including a candy-apple red technique on stainless panels), how CNC-cut surfaces and grain direction affect highlights on camera, the engineering behind LED-lit floors, and why the Grid demands a totally different approach than “real world” sets. Plus, we talk Flynn’s world as a love letter to Sid Mead, Easter eggs pulled from the original archive, and the ar...

Production Designer Alexandra Schaller joins me to talk about crafting the haunting world of TRAIN DREAMS, the Netflix adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella.

We unpack how the cabin became a full character, why the fire tower and logging camp were such ambitious builds, and how shooting almost entirely with natural light and candles shaped every design choice. Alexandra shares how she worked with the director, DP, set decorator, props, greens, and scenic teams to make Washington’s landscape feel intimate, mythic, and deeply emotional. 

Topics include:

Turning landscape into story

Build...

Let's take a quick look back at the top episodes of 2025, best reads and much gratitude for making the podcast top of the charts in many counties.

A deep dive into Avatar: Fire and Ash with Production Designers Dylan Cole and Ben Procter and Set Decorator Vanessa Cole. This episode breaks down why Avatar is “live action by other means,” how practical builds and reference testing support performance capture, and how story + design influence each other throughout the process.

Topics include the Ash People (volcanic wasteland inspiration, a bold black/white/red palette, and the idea...

Today’s episode is a double-feature for design nerds. First, I’m sharing Production Designer Loo Sung He on Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice—in a first-ever translator format where I’m reading her responses. Then we switch to TV with my full audio interview on Overcompensating with Production Designer Shayne Fox and Set Decorator Erika Lobko. Film first, TV second—two deep dives, one episode.

First, Production Designer Ryu Seong-hie (Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice) answers Kim Wannop’s questions in a unique format: the interview was conducted through a translator, and Kim reads Ryu’s translated re...

Sinners is the kind of movie where you can pause any frame and feel the history.

Ryan Coogler’s 1932 Mississippi Delta vampire epic follows twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who open a juke joint in an old sawmill, only to collide with vampires, the Klan, and a century of American sins. The film has become one of 2025’s most acclaimed releases, with strong box office, critics’ scores, and early awards – putting it squarely in Best Picture conversations. (Wikipedia)

In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator Kim Wannop sits down with Oscar-wi...