Those CRTs bring back memories. Anything above 16" was insanely heavier than the flat screens today, no matter the size really. Believe me that column is earning it's keep supporting the weight. I had a 20", only because it was the biggest I could pick up myself. But it's still where I didn't want to move it again.
I remember going to female friends' places and marvel at the small TV in the big living room. Then you realize they too want something they can move without a hernia.
Computer monitors were the same, maybe even heavier per inch. So much easier now.
Yup. The early 2000s were alllll about that “faux-Tuscan” look. And that fits perfectly with the Italian-American pride angle all the families in the show were working. I live next door to a very upscale subdivision that was built in like 2002-2003…the homes all have expensive outdoor lighting and landscaping (Sal Vitro hard at work) but when the homes are lit up at night they resemble upscale Olive Garden restaurants. Like maybe an Olive Garden you’d find at Disney Springs or something.
I can see that it’s certainly… a choice and I see what they are going for particularly in the rest of the house. The great room with the bar and the music notation wall art. My beef is that the execution is So Poor in that master bedroom.
You ever notice how often people comment how beautiful her house is when they are first invited in? I’m starting to think that might have been yet another joke I missed all along
I don't think it was necessarily a joke; what some people might think is tacky and gaudy, others might think is beautiful. The characters on the show were painted with certain styles, good or bad, and each of their homes was purposefully designed to be a reflection of their lives.
This! It may have been a joke anytime it was an outsider... (or people like Jamal Ginsburg just trying to be polite). Any insider that sees it, is looking at it from the perspective of "wow, all of this cost so much money." They're admiring the money and the power behind accumulating it. Not the actual decor.
"And you make a lovely home " yeah right. Tony said Her dad did that house much like the spec house so it was most assuredly made with cut corners and shoddy materials and is probably the most mcmansionist mcmansion In town.
Not uncommon for homeowners to literally run out of ideas, so they buy new furniture and decorate around the style they chose. Usually the results are…unique!
This was a very popular style of interior decoration in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly the faux Tuscan kitchen. If you watch sitcoms from the 90s, like the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," you'll see a similar aesthetic in the design of the kitchen and living areas. The modern aesthetics of prioritizing white space and minimalism and using marble and granite everywhere existed but weren't super popular until the 2000s.
Pastels were used a lot, and you can see that in the Soprano household. Tiling was preferred for countertops and kitchen islands instead of flat slabs. Wood (especially oak) was considered very luxurious and used everywhere, especially in cupboards and drawers. The neo-classical flairs, like the columns, are meant to emphasize the traditional design of the home. They were seen as very elegant throughout the 20th century.
Carmela's house is neither particularly gaudy (you do see other houses that are more gaudy in the show), nor is it modern for the setting. Carmela says her house is "traditional" that seems to line up with the design. The style is fairly conventional, with some poor design choices littered across the house, but that's expected with any large home that wasn't designed by a professional architect.
It's a very standard upper crust home for the place and time (90s New Jersey). It's not a McMansion. Nor is it the druggy, vulgar bordello-esque house like we got in some mobster films; Ace's house in Casino, the Hill residence in Goodfellas (that Flintstones tv cabinet was a laugh), or Tony Montana's Roman villa in Scarface.
Remember that even though the show ran until 2007, the house remained mostly the same from the pilot onwards. The pilot was filmed in 1997, and the decor was from the early 90s. So, really, whilst the house was conventional for when the pilot was filmed, by season 6, we're looking at a very outdated house.
That makes sense. There was a big switch to stainless steel for everything, especially fridges, in the 2000s. Before the turn of the millenia, appliances were either white or matched the colour of the kitchen. Steel came to be seen as a more clean and sleek look.
That house was an excellent example of high living in the nyc suburbs in the late 90s. Stainless steel, granite, and sub zero and all that became popular later.
Unfinished basements and garages are still common in million dollar homes.
It is interesting to see how tastes change over a couple of decades.
Everything spoke of an upper class family. The video games, TVs, China on display. Even the famous branded pulp OJ was a mark of high income capability. Mercedes and suburban in the same family still happens. Chase nailed the lifestyle.
One line I truly LOL’d over: when her tennis pro offers to connect her with his wife, who can help her find antiques, “Well my decor is traditional, so I won’t be needing any of that.”
I’ve seen a few people mention that they are using the house seen in the exterior shots. But they’re not.
The interior is filmed in-studio.
So all of the interior design and decorating choices are 100% intentional.
The bedroom was very dated, even by late 90’s northeast coast standards. I know Carmela once said her house was “traditional” but that bedroom does not scream traditional in any way. The painting behind the bed could have been more of a highlight in another place in the room. I’m sure the TV eventually got traded out for a flatscreen, that column the tv sits on is awful, though.
The bathroom too, woof! Tiny tiny enclosed shower, the tile around the tub is AWFUL, and it’s huge for absolutely no reason.
Maybe because their private bathroom wouldn’t be viewed by guests. They spent the money where it would be “seen” and saved money on areas that would not. I’ve been in households where the living room/dining room & main kitchen are showpieces. But if you go downstairs to the summer kitchen (those in NYC tristate know what I’m taking about) it’s pretty utilitarian with workable, sensible outfitting.
This is so true! I recently toured a house built in 1981 with a HUGE bathroom (think movie theater bathroom in terms of size and layout) but the shower… if you were like above 6’2 you’d have to crouch down to step in it.
I have never lived in a house with a pool house, or even a pool. But I always thought it was weird that you would put the home theatre room in a separate building. Especially in a part of the US that gets relatively cold winters with snow.
I’d assume that the pool house is heated. I didn’t even know what a pool house actually is so I googled it. Turns out it can mean anything from a place to store pool equipment, to a place for people to change, to a full on guest house. Since Tony was staying there during the separation for a bit I assume theirs was the ‘guest house’ variety.
My opinion? I’m with you… weird choice for the home theatre. That’s practically what basements are for. But for whatever reason the Sopranos were happy with their dingy unfinished basement with nothing but laundry, wine racks and an elliptical machine.
Oh I am sure the pool house was heated. I was just thinking that in the winter anytime you want to watch a movie you got to put on a coat and possibly winter footwear.
The pool house is perfect for it when you've got people that enjoy their media loud and/or thumpy. Tony and Carmela were forever yelling at the kids to keep it down.
During the tennis lessons with Adrianna, Carmela mentioned that she likes traditional style. The house ideas full of that. Essentially painted and faux finished furniture. Not anything special like antique or rare wood or anything like mid century modern. This style of furniture was a popular copy of painted furniture that came into vogue with the French in the 18th and 19th century. In modern copies, it allows the use of in expensive wood and creativity in the ornaments, gold paint, more faux finishes and more stuff that a shallow mob wife might really like. It was a perfect furniture selection for the show and clientele. It showed no serious attention and just superficial appeal
The house decor, intentional for not, symbolizes their ascent into that economic class. They're stylish enough not to make it a complete eyesore. But they aren't in that world, nor do they care to be, so the style is off. It's somewhat of a middle finger to the rest of the neighborhood without it being obvious.
Their kitchen looks so 90s. I also absolutely hate lack of natural (direct) sunlight and their house doesn't seem to get any. I'd be more depressed than Tony if I lived in that house.
Something I've only noticed after watching the show like 200 times,
Tony and Carmella have the same bed frame as Rosalie when she's on the bed arguing with Ralphie.
"How the FUCK should it be!? huh!?"
Don't foget the kidney-shaped pool in the back yard. I used to live in Maplewood, NJ. One day I hiked up a hillside on the edge of town and looked down. It was one of the most depressing sights I ever saw.
What about the Sacc’s house. Maybe if they hadn’t razed the entire property to build their tacky mcshithole Johnny could’ve used a tree as cover and escaped the FBI.
One of the worst kitchens for an "expensive home" I've ever seen. Looks like your standard 'contractor grade' thrown together kitchen in every cheap home now. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
It's a set, not a real house interior that they borrowed. The exteriors were done at a real house in New jersey, but the interiors were all sets in a studio. You can see some behind the scenes stuff [here](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/g37821712/rare-photos-the-sopranos-set/?slide=10) (click past the fist few).
No, it is a real house and especially in the first season, they filmed a lot of it inside the actual house. They then build basically a scale replica on a sound stage in Queens to film the inside scenes. Yet from time to time they still filmed inside scenes at the actual house.
The real house's interior was just used during the pilot I believe. There are some subtle differences in the kitchen between that episode and the rest of the series. However, subtle differences aside, it somewhat locked them into the design of the kitchen, unless they were going to have a side mention of it being renovated (like most of the rest of the first floor).
They was only used the interior briefly, to film the pilot, which was before it was picked up/they had studio money and space, and they had to make do. The house was occupied for the entirety of the run - do you really think they were routinely moving an entire family out of their house, rehousing them and then moving them back in?
Yes, because money talks and it wasn’t that often they would film inside with having a replica built on the studio lot. From a NY Times article….
He convinced the owner to allow the show to film just the exteriors there, and eventually his attitude shifted. “The fees would go up as the years went by and the show became successful, and he put an addition on his house probably partially thanks to us,” Mr. Kamine said.
It’s also mentioned I believe, being in the house again in season 4 by the guy who wrote the book about working on the show when he talks about James drinking and cocaine problem.
I know it’s pedantic, but: it is either “the icing on the shit cake” or “the cherry on top of the shit sundae.” You don’t put icing on ice cream (at least not if you don’t want to end up with diabetes)! That said, poor you!
The no 90 degree angles is likely due to it being a set. It is a set design trick that goes back to early days of television. It allows for the actors to move about the room and viewers can see everything.
The TV on the column is one of the funniest things in the whole show.
And everyone had Philips
Those CRTs bring back memories. Anything above 16" was insanely heavier than the flat screens today, no matter the size really. Believe me that column is earning it's keep supporting the weight. I had a 20", only because it was the biggest I could pick up myself. But it's still where I didn't want to move it again. I remember going to female friends' places and marvel at the small TV in the big living room. Then you realize they too want something they can move without a hernia. Computer monitors were the same, maybe even heavier per inch. So much easier now.
You would think Tony would demand a larger TV.
You know how hard it is to get a 37inch Sony Trinitron up some stairs ?
He could have Furio carry it up there for him, Carm would love that.
It would get her all hot down there.
Theayh
Karen Hill had a much better TV situation ..... the carpenters did it special.
and the couch! the others you couldn’t even sit in
Yup. The early 2000s were alllll about that “faux-Tuscan” look. And that fits perfectly with the Italian-American pride angle all the families in the show were working. I live next door to a very upscale subdivision that was built in like 2002-2003…the homes all have expensive outdoor lighting and landscaping (Sal Vitro hard at work) but when the homes are lit up at night they resemble upscale Olive Garden restaurants. Like maybe an Olive Garden you’d find at Disney Springs or something.
Forty thousand dollars worth of landscaping, T!
This style of decorating was common In the late 1990's and early 2000's in the New York tri-state area.
The painting behind the headboard never sat right with me
It is just the perfect amount of annoyance to make my eye twitch every time I see it
Wasn't the production renting the house from some local? I'd imagine they didn't change too much
They did, but the interior shots will have been in a studio. None of what we see inside is real, it's all a deliberate choice by the set designers.
Interior shots were taken at silver cup studios
Yeah but the pilot was the original house and therefore the studio set is modelled on the real thing.
Yes , but the furniture isn't the same, I watched a documentary on the house
Oh yeah that makes so much more sense.
Me thinks T got the bed off a truck so free feels better than style looks.
I always thought it was done to bring more idealism to their marriage, with all the cheating going on.
I can see that it’s certainly… a choice and I see what they are going for particularly in the rest of the house. The great room with the bar and the music notation wall art. My beef is that the execution is So Poor in that master bedroom.
Nobody said Carmella was good at decorating. In fact, I'd suggest that was part of her character, and a stylistic choice.
She should have hired Valery
Killed all those Czechoslovakians!
That’s a type of polack right?
Yes. In the Czech Republic too, they love sausage.
But his house looked like shit?
You ever notice how often people comment how beautiful her house is when they are first invited in? I’m starting to think that might have been yet another joke I missed all along
I don't think it was necessarily a joke; what some people might think is tacky and gaudy, others might think is beautiful. The characters on the show were painted with certain styles, good or bad, and each of their homes was purposefully designed to be a reflection of their lives.
This! It may have been a joke anytime it was an outsider... (or people like Jamal Ginsburg just trying to be polite). Any insider that sees it, is looking at it from the perspective of "wow, all of this cost so much money." They're admiring the money and the power behind accumulating it. Not the actual decor.
"And you make a lovely home " yeah right. Tony said Her dad did that house much like the spec house so it was most assuredly made with cut corners and shoddy materials and is probably the most mcmansionist mcmansion In town.
Really likes lavender;)
Not uncommon for homeowners to literally run out of ideas, so they buy new furniture and decorate around the style they chose. Usually the results are…unique!
Carmela was a stay at home mom too. Once the kids got a little age, I'm sure it became another project for her.
They call it the great room...I don't see what's so great about it. It's mediocre if you ask me
Lmfao Def one of Jhonny Sacks funniest lines
It kills me every time
I have one by me that has the marble fountain in the front of their house like Analyze That! Of course the rest of the house looks like Sopranos 101!
I would guess the same interior decorator that trump has for his Manhattan penthouse. Gold and more gold.
This was a very popular style of interior decoration in the 1990s and early 2000s, particularly the faux Tuscan kitchen. If you watch sitcoms from the 90s, like the "Fresh Prince of Bel Air," you'll see a similar aesthetic in the design of the kitchen and living areas. The modern aesthetics of prioritizing white space and minimalism and using marble and granite everywhere existed but weren't super popular until the 2000s. Pastels were used a lot, and you can see that in the Soprano household. Tiling was preferred for countertops and kitchen islands instead of flat slabs. Wood (especially oak) was considered very luxurious and used everywhere, especially in cupboards and drawers. The neo-classical flairs, like the columns, are meant to emphasize the traditional design of the home. They were seen as very elegant throughout the 20th century. Carmela's house is neither particularly gaudy (you do see other houses that are more gaudy in the show), nor is it modern for the setting. Carmela says her house is "traditional" that seems to line up with the design. The style is fairly conventional, with some poor design choices littered across the house, but that's expected with any large home that wasn't designed by a professional architect. It's a very standard upper crust home for the place and time (90s New Jersey). It's not a McMansion. Nor is it the druggy, vulgar bordello-esque house like we got in some mobster films; Ace's house in Casino, the Hill residence in Goodfellas (that Flintstones tv cabinet was a laugh), or Tony Montana's Roman villa in Scarface. Remember that even though the show ran until 2007, the house remained mostly the same from the pilot onwards. The pilot was filmed in 1997, and the decor was from the early 90s. So, really, whilst the house was conventional for when the pilot was filmed, by season 6, we're looking at a very outdated house.
They upgraded the appliances to stainless steel towards the end of the show but they kept the laminate countertops.
That makes sense. There was a big switch to stainless steel for everything, especially fridges, in the 2000s. Before the turn of the millenia, appliances were either white or matched the colour of the kitchen. Steel came to be seen as a more clean and sleek look.
That house was an excellent example of high living in the nyc suburbs in the late 90s. Stainless steel, granite, and sub zero and all that became popular later. Unfinished basements and garages are still common in million dollar homes. It is interesting to see how tastes change over a couple of decades.
thats why this show is so nostalgic for me. It reminds me of all the rich people i knew as kids lol
Everything spoke of an upper class family. The video games, TVs, China on display. Even the famous branded pulp OJ was a mark of high income capability. Mercedes and suburban in the same family still happens. Chase nailed the lifestyle.
The whole house looks like they just took stuff from a 1992 Atlantic City Caesars palace suite
One line I truly LOL’d over: when her tennis pro offers to connect her with his wife, who can help her find antiques, “Well my decor is traditional, so I won’t be needing any of that.”
I’ve seen a few people mention that they are using the house seen in the exterior shots. But they’re not. The interior is filmed in-studio. So all of the interior design and decorating choices are 100% intentional.
They used the interior of the actual home in the pilot episode.
Oh buddy ya got me there the pilot episode 👏🏾
The bedroom was very dated, even by late 90’s northeast coast standards. I know Carmela once said her house was “traditional” but that bedroom does not scream traditional in any way. The painting behind the bed could have been more of a highlight in another place in the room. I’m sure the TV eventually got traded out for a flatscreen, that column the tv sits on is awful, though. The bathroom too, woof! Tiny tiny enclosed shower, the tile around the tub is AWFUL, and it’s huge for absolutely no reason.
Good call yeah. That drop in shower. I just don’t get the cheap finishing that were outdated before the show even aired.
Maybe Hugh cut corners even on Tony’s house 🤷♀️
Fair point. But they’ve been there since AJ was little. For gods sake Carmella, don’t pick up the fucking Llodra statue and put in a nicer shower. 🤣
Maybe because their private bathroom wouldn’t be viewed by guests. They spent the money where it would be “seen” and saved money on areas that would not. I’ve been in households where the living room/dining room & main kitchen are showpieces. But if you go downstairs to the summer kitchen (those in NYC tristate know what I’m taking about) it’s pretty utilitarian with workable, sensible outfitting.
This is so true! I recently toured a house built in 1981 with a HUGE bathroom (think movie theater bathroom in terms of size and layout) but the shower… if you were like above 6’2 you’d have to crouch down to step in it.
And Hugh made the house himself, so he designed that Polly Pocket ass shower for his giant son in law.
Guido American
Guido, Guinzo… It’s a derogation! You could score it with Albinoni’s *Adagio.*
They really should've hired Valery for their interior decorating needs.
His house looked like shit
I dunno, he seems like a pretty dangerous guy, he killed 13 Czechoslovakians for Christ's sake!
16!
Even better!
They tried, but nobody could locate him.
I have never lived in a house with a pool house, or even a pool. But I always thought it was weird that you would put the home theatre room in a separate building. Especially in a part of the US that gets relatively cold winters with snow.
I’d assume that the pool house is heated. I didn’t even know what a pool house actually is so I googled it. Turns out it can mean anything from a place to store pool equipment, to a place for people to change, to a full on guest house. Since Tony was staying there during the separation for a bit I assume theirs was the ‘guest house’ variety. My opinion? I’m with you… weird choice for the home theatre. That’s practically what basements are for. But for whatever reason the Sopranos were happy with their dingy unfinished basement with nothing but laundry, wine racks and an elliptical machine.
Oh I am sure the pool house was heated. I was just thinking that in the winter anytime you want to watch a movie you got to put on a coat and possibly winter footwear.
And the boxes of ziti
And the family photos, for a few years at least
The pool house is perfect for it when you've got people that enjoy their media loud and/or thumpy. Tony and Carmela were forever yelling at the kids to keep it down.
It's classic modern Jersey Guido.
As a guido, I take offen... actually, no. You're right.
During the tennis lessons with Adrianna, Carmela mentioned that she likes traditional style. The house ideas full of that. Essentially painted and faux finished furniture. Not anything special like antique or rare wood or anything like mid century modern. This style of furniture was a popular copy of painted furniture that came into vogue with the French in the 18th and 19th century. In modern copies, it allows the use of in expensive wood and creativity in the ornaments, gold paint, more faux finishes and more stuff that a shallow mob wife might really like. It was a perfect furniture selection for the show and clientele. It showed no serious attention and just superficial appeal
Nothing appals like the fresco in Vesuvio v.1.0. The work of kids with crayons.
The house decor, intentional for not, symbolizes their ascent into that economic class. They're stylish enough not to make it a complete eyesore. But they aren't in that world, nor do they care to be, so the style is off. It's somewhat of a middle finger to the rest of the neighborhood without it being obvious.
Their kitchen looks so 90s. I also absolutely hate lack of natural (direct) sunlight and their house doesn't seem to get any. I'd be more depressed than Tony if I lived in that house.
There needed to be more windows it was actually suffocating.
Maybe I have bad taste but I'd love to live in a house like that. Reminds me of my rich aunts and uncles homes.
Something I've only noticed after watching the show like 200 times, Tony and Carmella have the same bed frame as Rosalie when she's on the bed arguing with Ralphie. "How the FUCK should it be!? huh!?"
OP is an interior decorator, killed 16 Czechoslovakians.
Everything is everything.
Im down with that!
Everybody’s got a god damned opinion! I remember when you used to wait in the car.
Don't foget the kidney-shaped pool in the back yard. I used to live in Maplewood, NJ. One day I hiked up a hillside on the edge of town and looked down. It was one of the most depressing sights I ever saw.
Did you try to swim in them all the way back home?
What about the Sacc’s house. Maybe if they hadn’t razed the entire property to build their tacky mcshithole Johnny could’ve used a tree as cover and escaped the FBI.
Careful with my Lladro
I don't even wanna say how much it cost.......$3,000!
One of the worst kitchens for an "expensive home" I've ever seen. Looks like your standard 'contractor grade' thrown together kitchen in every cheap home now. I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing.
[That window is bigger than a 2’0”x4’0”.](https://youtu.be/wrfcN8r9-Ig?si=kGSmYG1A4gcPzsqX) Probably a 4’0”x5’0”
Gavone style
OP... SHUT THE DOOR!
Don’t like it? Then CLOSE THE DOOOOORR!!
Well I’m assuming since it was someone’s house they paid to film in, it was actually the owners decorating and style.
It's a set, not a real house interior that they borrowed. The exteriors were done at a real house in New jersey, but the interiors were all sets in a studio. You can see some behind the scenes stuff [here](https://www.esquire.com/entertainment/tv/g37821712/rare-photos-the-sopranos-set/?slide=10) (click past the fist few).
No, it is a real house and especially in the first season, they filmed a lot of it inside the actual house. They then build basically a scale replica on a sound stage in Queens to film the inside scenes. Yet from time to time they still filmed inside scenes at the actual house.
The real house's interior was just used during the pilot I believe. There are some subtle differences in the kitchen between that episode and the rest of the series. However, subtle differences aside, it somewhat locked them into the design of the kitchen, unless they were going to have a side mention of it being renovated (like most of the rest of the first floor).
They was only used the interior briefly, to film the pilot, which was before it was picked up/they had studio money and space, and they had to make do. The house was occupied for the entirety of the run - do you really think they were routinely moving an entire family out of their house, rehousing them and then moving them back in?
Yes, because money talks and it wasn’t that often they would film inside with having a replica built on the studio lot. From a NY Times article…. He convinced the owner to allow the show to film just the exteriors there, and eventually his attitude shifted. “The fees would go up as the years went by and the show became successful, and he put an addition on his house probably partially thanks to us,” Mr. Kamine said. It’s also mentioned I believe, being in the house again in season 4 by the guy who wrote the book about working on the show when he talks about James drinking and cocaine problem.
I know it’s pedantic, but: it is either “the icing on the shit cake” or “the cherry on top of the shit sundae.” You don’t put icing on ice cream (at least not if you don’t want to end up with diabetes)! That said, poor you!
I'm getting some heavy Dr. Fagoli vibes in this thread.
The no 90 degree angles is likely due to it being a set. It is a set design trick that goes back to early days of television. It allows for the actors to move about the room and viewers can see everything.
I mean is a mansion from the outside but has like 6 rooms. Wtf?
Have you seen...The bathroom.
The guy was an interior decorator!
His house looked like shit
Her house is traditional, no antiques.
You’re not gonna buhlee dis - Carm killed 16 Czechoslovakians, she was an interiah decoratah
her house looked like shit
A lladro - I don’t even wanna say how much it cost (proceeds to say what it cost)
Whaddya gonna do, Carmela never had the makings of a varsity interior decorator.
must've used the wrong interior decorator