Hurrah! " Mad Men " returned after its long hiatus, earning record ratings and a host of new Midcentury Modern design fans obsessed with Don Draper's new Manhattan home. It's June 1966 and Draper has traded in his dreary digs from last season for an Upper East Side spread complete with serious bachelor pad trappings.
The apartments full of sleek modern lines and high-tech gadgetry and manly appointments (leather lounge chair, countertop cocktail bar with a drum-shaped ice bucket) is contrasted with his new wife Megan's youthful taste and love of color.
The set decorator took inspiration from two books by 1960s bestselling interior design author Betty Pepis and "Decoration U.S.A.," a 1965 collaboration between Jose Wilson and Arthur Leaman. "The colors of the rooms and furnishings are so vibrant in those books they almost make your teeth rattle," Didul said.
The kitchen wallpaper brings back memories of my mums kitchen circa 1974! I am not sure its a look I want to go back to?
The Draper living room has grass cloth wallpaper and curtains with a matching valance made from retro material from Fabricut. Outside the window wall: a 1964 white metal patio dinette set by Samsonite that Didul purchased on eBay. The modular sofas and ottoman were designed by "Mad Men" production designer Dan Bishop and built by Omega Cinema Props. Don's Lied Mobler black leather lounge chair came from Galerie Sommerlath in Los Angeles; the magazine rack is from Amsterdam Modern, also in L.A. The glass-topped coffee table is from Deja Vu in Long Beach, and the counter stools are a vintage design by Erik Buk purchased on Craigslist from a Virginia seller.
The dining room has a strong Danish influence. The dining table set and credenza were purchased at Danish Modern Noho. The rug, designed to look like a 1960s rya, was created from shag carpeting at S & J Biren floor coverings in Los Angeles. The gray armchair is part of a pair purchased on Craigslist "because they reminded me of chairs I had seen on 'Bewitched,'" Didul said.
Custom-built kitchen cabinets have a handy pass-through window to the dining room, a built-in cook top and a revolving spice rack, far left, purchased on Etsy. Didul shopped for glasses, cookware and kitchen accessories at the antique malls in Orange and Pomona.
It would be my dream job to be a set designer.
