How would you recreate a 1950s housewife's kitchen? If you're set designer Cat Smith, you're the designer behind this coveted production. chemistry classwhich debuts as a limited series on Apple TV+ on October 13th — You're Thinking Like a Man in the 1950s.
The series, based on the bestselling book by Bonnie Garmuth, focuses on the life of Elizabeth Szot (played by Brie Larson). Elizabeth Szot gave up her career as a chemist when she found out she was pregnant, but she happened to become a TV cooking show host. Dinner at six o'clock.
One of the stars of the series is the pink saltwater taffy-colored kitchen that Smith brought to life through intense research. That “aha” moment, courtesy of Larson. And a lot of eBay is trying to bid it right.
Production designer Cat Smith painted the set of “Six O'clock Supper” pink and blue so that the color contrast would be visible even on black-and-white televisions.
Originally, Smith, who has been working on Drop out and yellow jacketfirst designed a ranch house-style kitchen set at Ace Mission Studios near downtown Los Angeles. Oak cabinetry and gingerbread-inspired details reflect a warm, homely feel. But Larson immediately vetoed it. “She looked at it and said, 'I love your kitchen, but that's the problem.'” A man wonders what a feminine kitchen looks like and what women want in a kitchen. It must have been the producer's idea,'' Smith told ELLE DECOR.
“This guy really doesn't understand women. This is his fictional ideal of a woman,” Smith explains. “It's all frilly and pink and not very useful.”
Smith changed tack and used architect Paul R. Williams' redesign of the legendary Beverly Hills Hotel and actor Lucille Ball's studio office as inspiration. She painted her pink kitchen with blue trim that would stand out on her imaginary black-and-white TV. Smith worked with wallpaper company Astek Home to create prints of gingham, stripes, and strawberries.
When it comes to kitchen accessories, Smith and set designers are selling things like ginger jars, pots and pans, little paper hats for legs of lamb, and even sewing kits (which Zott disposes of on camera) on eBay and online marketplaces. I also looked for other household items. much to the network director's dismay). Scene decorator Lori Masur designed ultra-frilled and impractical sheer window curtains with ruffled edges (of course), but Sott peered into them and declared, “This is disgusting.” did.
A set for the novel cooking program “Supper at 6 o'clock.”
For Smith, the design challenge touched on an era she wanted to revisit, warts and all. “Both her grandmother and mother grew up in this era,” she says. “Reliving that era through this film set is the most fun part of understanding how they became what they are today.”
