From ‘The Cosby Show’ to ‘Mad Men’, a Look Back at the Interior Design of Famous TV Sets

Whatever we may think of Bill Cosby now, in the 1980s, we felt completely at home in the gigantic, formal living room of the Huxtables’ brownstone—which, importantly, showcased the work of real black American artists, which Cosby famously collects.

Wendy Goodman, design editor, New York magazine: “Very quaint and comforting but also with a little bit of formality with the wainscoting. A very upper-middle-class family home.”

Doug Meyer, cofounder, Doug and Gene Meyer design studio, New York and Miami: “The sets for Cosby and many other shows are like a play in front of a live audience. The width of this house is 10 times the width of a real-life brownstone. The interiors are an Ethan Allen nightmare, cheap crap from the upholstery to the plastic wood finish and the gold frames on the oil paintings. It’s everything I hate about fake Americana, the wallpaper borders, the reproduction wing chairs, the cheap grandfather clock. The colors are drab and depressing, the cheap electroplate brass. If I were redoing it, I’d paint everything white and go from there. But how could they afford a redo with their dad in jail and everyone in denial?” Photo: Everett Collection