Sitcom Style

Pure Contemporary has gone behind the scenes at "Nip/Tuck" to show you what set décor choices reveal about a character's traits and personality. We've told you about the stylish modern pieces flaunted on "Sex and the City" and how "Friends" made Pottery Barn's Apothecary Table as popular as it made Jennifer Aniston's layered locks. But we have not come close to the in-depth and interesting look at sitcom set design Diana Friedman achieves in her just released book “Sitcom Style.”

“Sitcom Style’s” nostalgic look into TV powerhouses like “The Cosby Show” and “All in Family” shows readers that sitcom sets are thought out detail by detail to convey specific things about characters. Jerry Seinfeld’s obsessive-compulsive personality is revealed in his alphabetized cereal boxes. Frasier’s dad Martin Crane is relaxed and laid back, like his taped together easy chair. The tactlessness of Roseanne’s family showed in the tackiness of their velvet paintings and kitschy décor.

Sitcom interiors affect mood and can reflect and enhance personality. The same is true in anyone’s home and the designers profiled in “Sitcom Style” explain how non-designers can make deliberate choices that will reveal who they are, or who they want to be.