First of all, I have to thank all of you who begged me to do a post about Nora Walker’s house in the TV drama “Brothers & Sisters.” I rented Season One and was immediately captivated by not only Nora’s home (shown here), but daughter Sarah’s, too. The sets are all amazing on this show. I could do an entire week’s worth of posts based on it, but I’ll restrain myself.
“Brothers & Sisters” premiered on ABC in 2006 about the Walkers, a family in California that owns Ojai Foods. They’ve had a lot to deal with since their father (Tom Skerritt) died, as they began to discover all sorts of secrets he had been keeping from them.
- The Walker family, headed by matriarch Nora (Sally Field).
- They had me at the front door.
- The front hall with a curving staircase that features lots of family photos. In one episode, Nora hangs a family photo that doesn’t include daughter Kitty, and it causes all sorts of friction.
- A closer view of the photos in the stairwell.
- Kitty and Nora in the TV room.
- William Walker in his study.
- The dining room is a frequent gathering place for the Walker family. In this scene, attorney brother Kevin was reading their father’s will.
- In the first season, Kitty’s love interest was Jonathan, played by Matthew Settle who left the show soon thereafter to star in “Gossip Girl” as Rufus. Just a little trivia for you! :-)
- Nora’s kitchen is one of my favorite rooms of the house. I couldn’t stop taking pictures of it (as you’ll see).
- I was excited when Nora’s smoke detector went off in one episode because the camera looked up to reveal these amazing ceilings!
- There’s a kind of sitting room/study off the kitchen.
- A party in the backyard.
- Nora’s daughter Sarah and her family live in this house.
- This was the only shot of the front door I could get. Dear producers, please provide better views of the house in future. Thank you.
- A Walker dinner party in Sarah’s dining room.
- Sarah’s family room.
- Sarah’s bedroom.
- The kitchen table.
- I also like the way they designed Justin’s bachelor apartment with the exposed brick walls.
(Note: I took most of these photos myself while watching the first season on DVD. Sets may have changed a bit in future seasons.)
Updated to add: For those of you who asked me to add a photo of Rob Lowe, who plays Senator McAllister on the show, here you go, even though it has nothing to do with the sets. I think we can agree that he contributes to the scenery. This is from the second season when he marries Kitty (Calista Flockhart):
The sets are so amazing that it’s hard to believe these rooms are on a soundstage and not in real homes. You can read an interview with the set designers Denny Dugally and Bryan Venegas here. Bryan says:
When decorating a set, I always keep in mind who the character is and what quirks I need to exploit to sell their personality. With the Walker Kitchen, I wanted to stay true to the architecture and to who Nora (played by Sally Fields) is. The house is a beautiful Spanish home in Pasadena so I wanted to sell the fact that the Walkers were financially well off without making them stuffy or material. I also made sure the house had a sense of history and functionality. Nora is very organized, obsessive, and a mother so I made sure her surroundings told her story.
Here’s a photo of the set from the Subzero website:
The show reminds me a little of “The Family Stone“–it’s that kind of big, tightly knit family that sticks together despite their differences. And the Stone and Walker families both have sprawling old houses that they gather in. If there are any other houses from TV shows or films that you’d like me to feature in weeks to come, let me know!
Here is a video tour of the sets given by cast members that was shot for a segment on “The View.” You’re able to see much more of the rooms than you can from the show or these photos alone. You can see what Holly’s house looks like, and they explain how one set is rearranged to represent different rooms in Kevin’s apartment:
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If You’re Hooked on Houses from TV and Film:
- The Long Island Estate in “Sabrina”
- “The American President:” The West Wing on the Big Screen
- Thornfield Hall from “Jane Eyre”
- The House from the Julia Roberts-Susan Sarandon Tearjerker “Stepmom”
- See entire list of all movie posts I’ve featured
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