Actor Erich Bergen is probably best known from the television show “Madam Secretary” (which recently completed six seasons) and Clint Eastwood’s film “Jersey Boys,” but he’s also a singer, writer, producer, and more (he even made his Broadway debut in 2018 in “Waitress”). Erich explains that his job as an actor means completely diving into the different worlds of the parts he plays, and this journey has shaped his home’s style.

“Over the years, as I’ve gone in and out of various ‘worlds,’ I seem to always take a piece of it with me to the next stop on the journey,” Erich says. “It can be a clothing thing, or a music thing, or a home design thing. If you look in my closet, my music collection, or in my living room, you’ll find a melting pot of the vastly different styles I love. It’s both minimalist and maximalist! Classic New York with some vintage LA thrown in! And why not put a mid-century modern piece right next to something that looks like Halston designed for Studio 54?”

Erich designed the entire apartment himself and in the process, he’s created a home that’s truly reflective of his personality. “I don’t know what style you’d call this place, but it’s fully me,” he admits. “This is what the inside of my brain looks like. You couldn’t walk into this home and think it belonged to anyone but me, and that’s what I’m most proud of.”

You can find Erich on both Instagram and Twitter, and his music is available on Spotify and other music streaming services. He has upcoming concerts in 2020, including two shows in February at the Avenel Performing Arts Center in Avenel, New Jersey.

My Style: I’d call my style “collected.” A lot of the pieces I own have a story and an importance to me. I love lots of different styles so I like to mix pieces from all the looks and eras that I love. It usually ends up looking a little cluttered at first, so I always have to do a big edit.

Inspiration: I like things that look great and last forever. I like things that show their age, that tell a story. I find that my taste skews simple, classic, and timeless with a hint of sparkle. I love the Ralph Lauren mansion on the Upper East Side. I love the Sunset Tower Hotel. The grey velvet couches in the Tom Ford store, the photography of Slim Aarons, Las Vegas of the 1960s, New York of the ’80s. The mood board in my head is basically a big New York pre-war apartment building surrounded by palm trees where you have to wear a tuxedo and cowboy boots to get in.

Favorite Element: It’s not one thing in particular. I love that I can turn my head any direction in my home and see something that’s been with me since I was a kid. My home really does tell my story.

Biggest Challenge: The apartment has an odd configuration. The master bedroom is almost double the size of the living room, so there’s not much space in the living room for a place to eat properly. I don’t eat at home much so it’s fine for me, but I’m aware that it’s an odd setup. It makes it basically impossible to host people for dinner. So I just host cocktail parties instead. Problem solved!

Proudest DIY: I designed the whole place myself—does that count?

Biggest Indulgence: Bed sheets. Never skimp on bed sheets. They need to be comfortable and breathable, and that often times means spending a bit more money on them than you expect. Good bed sheets will bring you more consistent joy than food, wine, and a significant other.

ALSO window treatments. I never realized how important they were until I went to The Shade Store and saw the possibilities. I love natural lighting, especially when I wake up (blackout curtains kinda freak me out), but the light can be a bit intense in certain parts of the day, or when I want to watch a movie. I needed something that was simple, sleek, and modern that filtered the light as opposed to blocked it out. The Shade Store couldn’t have been more helpful in figuring out what I needed and everything was custom made for my situation for a lot less expensive than I thought it was going to be.

Best Advice: Do not put a television in your bedroom. It’s a sleep killer and a productivity killer. I know that the joy of sitting in bed on a Sunday morning watching trash TV is a wonderful thing, but it’s not worth it. Take it from me, a convert with over a decade of experience of a bedroom without a TV. I get such a better sleep without it.

What’s your best home secret? Having the right music playing in the house is more important than any furniture or lighting. You could live in a fluorescent-lit, empty white box with a leak-stained drop ceiling, but if the right song was playing, you’d be okay. Homes used to have more music in them! We used to have stereos that were the central part of the living room! These days, with most of us now having our music collection on computers or phones, music stopped being easily integrated into our homes. I found that Sonos makes it really easy to have music on in the house using whatever medium you use to listen to your music. You can listen to Spotify, Apple Music, live radio, podcasts, your iTunes library, your CD collection, an external hard drive filled with hi-res music files, whatever… all through Sonos. I even stream my turntable from 1981 through it. I put the little Sonos speaker in every room and on my phone I can choose which room to send the audio to. I hate to sound like a commercial for this thing, but I’m telling you it’s a total game changer.

• Master Bedroom Walls — Benjamin Moore 2112-40 “Stone” – Matte
• Master Bedroom Wallpaper behind bed — Phillip Jeffries Wallpaper – Manila Hemp (Grey Settee)
•  Master Bedroom Closet Doors — Benjamin Moore 2132-10 “Black” – High Gloss
• Living room TV wall — Benjamin Moore 2132-10 “Black” – High Gloss
• Guest Bedroom//Media Room: Benjamin Moore AC-26 — “Ozark Shadows” – Matte
• Window Treatments in all rooms — The Shade Store Light Filtering Roller Shades – Snow
• Window Treatment in living room — The Shade Store Cascade Roman Shade – Luxe Linen – Oatmeal
• Bathroom: Wallpaper — Martinique by Designer Wallcoverings

• Couch — Room & Board Jasper 86” Sofa in Tudor Salt
• Chair — Vintage Milo Baughman Leather Chair – similar avail at Crate & Barrel
• Bottom Rug — Safavieh Nautral Jute Rug – Amazon.com
• Top Rug — Ralph Lauren
• Vintage Italian Brass “Dome” Floor Lamp — From Porter James Of New York
• Noguchi coffee table — Design Within Reach
• Hurricane on coffee table — Ralph Lauren
• Hurricanes on floor — Mercury Collection from West Elm
• Dining Table — Lake Bistro Table – Jayson Home
• Dining Chairs — Ralph Lauren
• Louis Vuitton Folding Chair — By @sarahcoleman
• Disco Gnome — CB2
• Red Plaid Throw — Vintage
• Green Knit Throw — Handmade by my mother using Loopy Mango Emerald fabric
• Rotary Phone and Dog Lamp — Vintage
• Large Senic/Horse Photograph on Gallery Wall — “Untitled (Five Horses at Sunrise), Wyoming” by Nick Turner — Twyla.com
• Majority of gallery wall vintage pieces (some are Currier & Ives).
• Louis Philippe Gilt Mirror — Restoration Hardware
• Rotary Phone — Vintage
• Dog lamp — Vintage
• Shakespeare tray — Vintage
• Blue/White vase — Vintage

• Fridge and Stove — Viking
• Ceiling light — Meurice Flush Mount by Jonathan Adler

• Bed frame — Arhaus
• Bedsheets — Ralph Lauren
• Velvet Duvet — Restoration Hardware
• Bedside Tables — Dina Nightstand from One Kings Lane
• Bedside Lamps — Chevron Deco Table Lamp from West Elm
• Rug under bed — Jute Chenille Herringbone Rug in Natural Slate from West Elm
• Rug under desk — Jonathan Adler
• Desk — Portica Table in Walnut from Room & Board
• Desk Lamp — Vintage
• Desk Chair — Aeron Chair by Herman Miller
• 3 Bulb Lamp — Vintage
• Valet — Vintage
• Reading Lamp — Linear Wood LED Floor Lamp – West Elm
• Reading Chair — Bacharach Swivel Chair by Jonathan Adler
• Studio 54 Pillow — Jonathan Adler
• Charcoal Felt Hamper — CB2
• Leather and Plaid Chair — Vintage from @dckingswood
• Pillow on Chair — Ralph Lauren
• Giraffe Photo — GreatBigCanvas.com
• Vintage Los Angeles Photo — Decor Art Galleries in Studio City, CA/HollywoodHistoricPhotos.com
• Ceiling Lamp — Cedar & Moss Globe 10” Pendant Bronze from Rejuvenation
• Luggage — Supreme x Rimowa

• Picture — “The Camel Porter 1” by Gray Malin
• Esquire needlepoint — Vintage
• Gold accessories — Amazon

• Allston 71″ Day & Night Queen Sleeper Sofa in Tepic Cement — Room & Board
• Recliner and Ottoman — Ekornes Stressless Mayfair
• Soria Floor Lamp (Graphite) — Room & Board
• Koleman Floor Lamp — Jonathan Adler
• Side Table — Mitzi Nightstand in Antique Bronze from West Elm
• Gold Side Table — West Elm
• Throw — Ralph Lauren (RRL)
• CD Storage — Gnedby IKEA
• Record Storage — Kallax IKEA
• Brass Sputnik Flush Mount Light by Brooklyn Bulb Co — Amazon
• Marin Shiitake 75.25″ Media Console — Crate & Barrel
• Speakers — Excite X18 – Dynaudio
• CD player — Marantaz CD5005
• Amp — Nova150 from Peachtree Audio
• Turntable — Vintage Rega
• Sanus Natural Foundations 30 Inch Speaker Stands (Cherry) — Amazon
• Sands International Box — Vintage
• Ashtray — Vintage from Lake Como, Italy
• Rug — Slub Stripe Sweater Rug, Stone White from West Elm

Thanks Erich!