If you’re not watching The Good Wife, then you’re missing out on one of the best dramas on TV.
I don’t really go for the “ripped from the headlines” types of shows, but I got so many requests to see Alicia Florrick’s apartment in Chicago that I finally started watching…and got totally hooked.
The sets are great, too. So today we’re taking a closer look at her apartment.
Alicia Florrick’s Apartment on “The Good Wife”
The apartment scenes are filmed on a 3,000 square-foot set in Brooklyn.
Julianna Margulies plays Alicia, a politician’s wife whose life is changed by her husband’s sex scandal.
After spending years as a stay-at-home mom, she goes back to work as an attorney to pay the bills and discovers that she’s really good at it.
The code words for Alicia’s apartment design were “simplicity and elegance.”
The Set Decorator for the series is the talented Beth Kushnick.
She writes a blog for CBS.com that gives inside looks into the weekly set design.
The Dining Room
The Director of Photography Fred Murphy said, “In a way, it’s filmed more like an old movie than a CSI type of TV show. A classic kind of movie. Kind of 1940s.”
Alicia’s Bedroom
The Kitchen
Chris Noth plays Alicia’s ex-husband Peter Florrick, whose misdeeds while in office put him out of a job and into a prison cell.
Another reason to watch — if you’re a Gilmore Girls fan like I am, anyway — is to see Rory’s old boyfriend Logan.
Matt Czuchry plays Cary Agos on The Good Wife and is one of my favorite characters.
Almost makes me wish Rory ended up with him!
Designer Stephen Saint-Onge visited the set in person and took some of these fabulous set photos.
Thanks to him for sharing them with us! His book is No Place Like Home.
Visit my Houses Onscreen page to see the other shows I’ve featured, listed A-Z.
Good post Julia…I was a big fan of the show originally, but lost interest. The sets are beautiful and how we aspire to decorate.
Alicia’s apartment is so elegant — very much in keeping with her cool cucumber character and simple but tasteful wardrobe. I love this show, but I wanted her romance to work out with her boss character. And OMG — thanks for pointing out the Eli -Mr. Elton connection…I knew he looked familiar.
I’ve watched that version of “Emma” so many times that he’ll always be Mr. Elton to me! 🙂
WOW! Not only a great design but such a warm human feel that I forgot I was looking at a set. Found myself kicking off my shoes selecting a book from the shelves and curling up with a glass of red wine for a comfy read. I had the identical book shelves and cabinets either side of my living room French doors into family room my last home. Amish made for house. Next owner liked more contemporary and removed them. Each has their own taste, but I can not imagine anyone not admiring this beautiful set!
Hello,
Loved reading this blog post today… I love this show and all of the actors. It’s a great show. Thank you for sharing the photos of their apartment and hopefully we can see more of that house. The decor of the apartment is pretty.
Another house I love is the Farm House in Walking Dead. I was disappointed that they had to leave that house on the last episode. Would you be able to show more photos of that house? Take care, Love your blog!! Claudia
I’m totally hooked on the show! Love her apt. and hope she stays there (and does not move back into her former house).
Count me in as hooked on The Good Wife, too! If you didn’t know any better, you’d never guess that Alan Cumming’s native (not sure if that’s the right term) accent is British. And Cary is the quintessential ‘love him/hate him’ guy! All the characters are excellent actors, that’s for sure.
These photos are such a treat! This is a great post.
Thanks,Julia. I thought I’d never get to see enough of that apartment.Such understated elegance combined with a lived-in look.I enjoyed the link to Stephen St.Onge. Thanks ,again Annette
Sometimes I like to pretend that Rory went off to Chicago to cover the Obama campaign and then stayed after he won. Logan followed her and went to law school and then got the job at the firm and Rory is still there with him. This means we need to ignore that Cary is a player but I’m willing to suspend that knowledge with them actually ending up together. 🙂
Ha! I love it!
I’ve only watched the show a few times, but I do love this set. However, I’m not to fond of the kitchen, but everything else–the fireplace snf book shelves and all of the architectural details are lovely.
You know, I realize Felicia is looking for a home, but I never understood why she didn’t want to buy her apartment, now that it’s going condo. It’s gorgeous!
Love everything! I love the built ins, the kitchen, the bedroom AND the linens, oh and that hutch in the dining room.
I’m a sucker for built-n bookcases and both this/house have them.
And after last week looks like we’re going to have some house drama — hope we get to see more of it.
I just watched episodes 3.17 where Alicia is thinking about buying her apartment. I don´t know if I got the costs right (i´ m not a native english speaker). I think I heard 1,2 Mill for buying +2000 Dollar monthly costs. Is this right? Are apartments are really this expensive in Chicago? (I worked here in Europe for a property mangement company. So I´m really interested in such details.) It would be nice, if someone can explain it to me…..I´m curious
Hi Julia,
I just came across an article in High Gloss magazine about set design expert Cathy Whitlock and her blog. She has a recent post about a collaboration with the designers from The Good Wife and Mitchell Gold I thought you might find interesting.
That’s a great blog–thanks, Laura!
Hi Jilia,
Thank you so much for making a post about Alicia’s flat. I love it, the kitchen used to be my favourite room, though I changed my mind now and prefer the living room. I can’t wait for the programme to be back on TV…only a few weeks to go!
Claudia
I love this apt (and her former home) and wish I could find out the paint color! I saw something on HGTV about this set and the decorator said she took Julianna Margulies’ coloring in to account when designing her home. They wanted something to read well on camera against her pale skin and dark hair. Hummm, fun idea to design by creating a background one looks good against!
One thing the mentioned I can now not unsee when watching…
***…warning, decorating design spoiler alert…***
..is because of all the glass reflection problems involved with shooting in the offices, they designed all the glass panels to pivot so it doesn’t reflect. Often you can see that if you are looking for it.
I saw that, too! Loved that show on HGTV. I was hoping there would be more of them.
Just have to say I love this site. Can get lost in looking at houses, for hours…
Meanwhile, I have to point out that the Florrick’s aren’t actually divorced, so Peter isn’t Alicia’s ex-husband, as stated above… picky, I know. Sorry.
Off to look at more beautiful homes. Thanks for all the work you put into this!
Point taken! Thanks, Sherilee. 😉