apartment therapy changing the world, one room at a time

The fainting couch really was hideous. Too big and blocking the fireplace--for shame! The decorator's original room was swoon-worthy. Loved the dark grey and peachy palette.

I like the new set up. Not the fainting couch.

But.... I LOVED their old couch. So gorgeous and simple.

The fainting couch doesn't go with the rest of it, and it doesn't fit, but I LOVE it.

I'm with Don - I didn't see the need to redecorate...

...like Peggy said: "You have everything - and so much of it."

i got all excited about the new decor-then the new addition made me want to cry ;)

It's not really the look of the couch that Betty is going for... it's the function and fantasy. Heh heh.

The Draper house is interestingly suburban and middle class -- relative to some of the other characters' homes. Despite their aspirations, they're pretty pedestrian. Don't you think?

I don't have a television. I have no idea what "Mad Men" is about. I keep hearing about it.

Will someone please fill me in on what the show is about? Is it available on DVD? (I do have netflix that I watch on the computer with a nice monitor).

adiaphane, there's this newfangled invention called "Google" that might just help you with your query.

Thanks tropicalcyclone for your wonderful help. I did look it up, and all I got was "about advertising int he 60's." I was looking to the community not just for a brief synopsis, but as to why people liked the show.

But I suppose I was wrong to ask for that.

This looks like a job for ... Let Me Google That For You!

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=mad men

Or maybe it isn't, because the link broke. Bah!

I'm all for antiques but they've got you a pretty ugly fainting couch there... victorian gone bad!

Wow tropicalcyclone- having a rough day?

I think the fainting couch is way too big, but I LOVE the peach Dunbar sofa. Oh and the pattern on the chairs.

adiaphane--

http://www.amctv.com/originals/madmen/about/

I haven't seen this episode, but it looks like the fainting couch is a metaphor for Betty. In that regard, the fainting couch is perfect!

Adiaphane, 'Mad Men' is available on Netflix -- and I highly recommend it! The basic premise of the show is that it's a show about the 1960s, following the lives of different people in an advertising agency. In addition to having great acting, story and direction (all the things you want in any good show), the production quality and the amazing attention to detail that makes it a true period piece. If you like mid-century decor and/or fashion, you will absolutely swoon. Until you have a chance to check out the DVDs, though, I'd recommend checking out the show's page on amctv.com to see if you can find screenshots and other background information on the design and production.

Adiaphane...I want to help, but I feel like I won't be able to describe it without sounding totally generic. Basically, it's about Don Draper and his personal and business life (at an ad agency in NYC in the 60's) -- I don't want to give anything away in case you decide to start watching! I caught up with it On Demand before the second season started and got sucked in right away. Some people say it moves too slowly, but I don't mind. You really get a chance to get to know the characters and they're all very interesting. And of course the sets and costumes are absolutely gorgeous. Give it a try!

@adiaphane: Try checking out the boards at Television Without Pity or the review/recaps of episodes at The AV Club.

The living room is OK, though a little fussy for my tastes. Works perfectly for the characters, though. The fainting couch is awful and out-of-place, of course, but it's all about pushing against the bounds of what's normal and acceptable. See what they did there?

Oops: www.televisionwithoutpity.com

adiaphane, here's a non-smartass answer. :)

http://itunes.apple.com/WebObjects/MZStore.woa/wa/viewTVSeason?id=259929224&s=143441

The fainting couch was wonderful in itself, but horrific in how it clashed with the rest of the decor. I couldn't help but notice how tiny Betty looked while lying on it, and that she put it on the hearth, the "soul of [her] home", to paraphrase the decorator.

I knew as soon as I saw the room on TV last night that I would see it here today. It's lovely!

I have a question, though: I have a piece of furniture almost identical to the one the Draper's are using for a bar. It's the same colour, similar carving. And has that same split down the middle of the top surface which opens up to reveal...Nothing. So the two sides sort of flip over and extend outward, but I can't figure out why or what for.

It doesn't seem as though the uneven, not-much-wider surface they create is useful enough to justify the split, but maybe I'm missing something?

When I saw this, I'll admit, I gasped. It is so pretty, I love this color palette, while it dates itself, it shows that classic design, never really goes out of style.

Is it wrong that I was a bit irritated that Betty didn't know what a fainting couch was? I know it's a character on a show but I would think that someone who was born in the 1930's would still know a piece like that.

And adiaphane, I'll be the first to say "Mad Men" is a little on the blah side and I think that it's popular among viewers for the nostalgia and that the 1960's/MCM design is popular again. 20% of the reason I watch the show is for it's set design, 30% appareal, 25% Joan/Christina Hendricks, 15% Ken Cosgrove and 10% to turn and ask my mom, "do you remember that!?! I'm sure, I'm not alone on this, except for the Ken Cosgrove, who is the dreamy blonde for those who don't know ;)

I forgot to mention how I thought it was funny that AT did a story on Pelmet Boxes and then this episode aired:

http://www.apartmenttherapy.com/boston/inspiration/window-inspiration-pelmet-boxes-096446

Just watched the linked sneak peak of the episode.

"People gather around the fire, even if there isn't one."

I think it's lines like that, adiaphane, that make "Mad Men" such a great show. :)

love.those.chairs.

Thanks everyone. I have tried to look it up and the first few hits were not very helpful (the wikipedia page is very vague and didn't give me any insight as to whether or not I would want to watch the show). There was so much about the set design, costumes, and writing, but nothing really on what the premise of the show was about.

I did go to the AMC page weeks ago to see what the show was about, but it was so busy, I totally missed the "about this show" link. Thanks bepsf.

I hadn't heard of televisions without pity before. I'll read through the forums.

I really appreciate the feedback, and I think I might give the show a try. The premise sounds intriguing and the costumes and sets do look really beautiful.

It's a show you have to have patience for, as it has longer story arcs that aren't tied up neatly within one or two episodes. I love it dearly.

I liked the old couch, it was a low back that wrapped around the huge coffee tabe. It dominated the entire room. I also liked the old color palate. The new decor is all about traditional decorating rules. The other was thinking outside the box 50's. As for the show, it is the best entertainment on TV!

This is definitely not a show for the MTV, sitcom, plot laid out before you crowd. I think it's popular for all the reasons stated. Plus, it respects the intelligence of the viewer. It is also a show with lots of thoughtful undertones and subreferences. It so accurately reflects the attitudes and mores of the 60's that is can be hard to watch, especially for the treatment of women and minorities. but, that's the way is was.

About the fainting couch... All the regular viewers know why she bought it. Had nothing to do with it being antique or decorating or her wanting a fainting couch. Hmmm... Don't forget ice-queen Betty's episode with the guy in the bar bathroom... And setting up her friend with the horsey guy. It's just a matter of time. She is no better than Don, just not as frequent.

But, I'm all a-dither over where the Peggy storyline is heading....

Hmm. It keeps reminding me of those kama sutra benches that get posted on AT every once in a while... just something about those curves...

Adiaphane - Lorenzo and Tom's summaries are always as entertaining as the show. Here's their take on Mad Men:

http://projectrungay.blogspot.com/2008/08/if-youre-not-watching-mad-men-youre.html

The decorator says "home is where the hearth is" and that the family gathers around the fireplace... It's perfectly clear to Betty why she put the fainting sofa in front of the fireplace.

Mad Men's best interior by far is Pete Campbell's Manhattan apartment. Just fantastic.

Love Mad Men and everything about it - sets, story, women's costumes, pre-women's lib, the smoking and drinking, a by-gone era.
The best 'decor', though, is the delicious Jon Hamm!

Mad Men - oh, and the all the undertones behind every character, plot line and piece of dialogue.
I knew I'd love it when I first saw the magazine ads before Mad Men even aired. A silhouette of the back of a man sitting in a chair, with a cigarette in his hand. That's what drew me in originally.

I watch it, but I never saw season one. I'll have to rent it. I'll admit it doesn't always grab me because of the subleties...I catch it 'on demand' and watch it a couple of times ( I guess I'm slow...) :). It's a smart show and the period set is fantastic. Ok...the real reason I watch is Jon Hamm as Don Draper. He is drop dead handsome!

Meh, I love it for the MCM stuff and because I work in the advertising and design field. There's some stuff that's real dinosaur behavior, but there's a lot that should be but isn't. There are a surprising amount of elements that you'd be shocked are still alive and well today.

Like when I walked in on the senior partner of my old firm to find him doing lines of coke off his glass top desk at lunchtime.

adiaphane, you can watch all 3 seasons on surfthechannel.com!

adiaphane, please don't start the show in the middle (you'll miss all the nuances, oh, you don't have a TV, so you've never seen that commercial). I only know two other people without a TV (two of my managers on two separate jobs). You will get addicted especially as an AT fan because the mid century style is pretty much dead on, as are the personalities and fashions. Not like anything else on TV, thank goodness. Good luck, we'll see you in about three weeks when you're done watching!!

I want that fainting couch for my home office! Wouldn't that be great for reading or have a matching pillow made to hold your laptop?