Inside “Frasier”'s new Boston home — the Steinway, that Rorschach wallpaper, and more
Same Frasier. Old city. New apartment.
With the psychiatrist's return to TV — and to Boston — after a few decades away, Kelsey Grammer's Frasier Crane is setting up house and home closer to his son, Freddy (Jack Cutmore-Scott), on Paramount+'s new Frasier revival. But it can't be just any ol' home. Frasier — the man and the show — has a very specific style, after all.
"The Seattle apartment was so iconic," production designer Glenda Rovello tells EW, "and the second I got the call for Frasier, that absolutely was in the forefront of my thought process: How do we make a new apartment yet have those standards?"
As it turns out, with lots of designer touches… classy but also comfortable. Frasier's new apartment is a two-story home — formerly two separate units that he renovated into one — which he outfitted himself, complete with a real Steinway piano. "It is always in tune because we never know when Kelsey just wants to sit down a play," Rovello says.
Pamela Littky/Paramount+ Kelsey Grammer on the set of the new 'Frasier'
Looking around the good doctor's digs, his financial status is evident: Christian Lacroix pillows on the sofa, Mario Bellini leather chairs at the dining table, Kelly Wearstler fabric covering metal stools. All are designers who "have a lot of gravitas currently," Rovello says, so much so that the writers even mention some in conversation.
The stairway leading to the upstairs bedrooms is adorned with, fittingly, ink-blot wallpaper, each panel of which was hand-painted by the Kansas City company Porter Teleo.
"When Kelsey saw it, he thought they were Christmas trees," Rovello admits of the Rorschach-test print, laughing. "'Why do we have Christmas trees?' I just thought, oh, well, I guess it works. Everyone sees what they want to see in it. I see totems. But he saw Christmas trees."
Chris Haston/Paramount+ The set of 'Frasier'
Wood textures play a large part in the design as well. "I think that goes to the type of person he is," Rovello explains. "He's really emotionally in tune. And so we wanted to show that in terms of the materials — they're real, they're not artificial. There's something tactile and warm about the materials in the apartment."
That includes the herringbone floors and wall treatment to the dining room table, which Rovello and set designer Amy Feldman found among the studio's assets. "It was a mess," Rovello recalls. They refinished the walnut table, which is on an "early-'80s, late-'70s chrome base… It's kind of masculine, and I liked it for him."
Chris Haston/Paramount+ The set of 'Frasier'
Metal and stone pieces — like the welded steel bookcase, end tables, and stools — add more texture and depth. Frasier is also able to showcase his personal collections, be it leather-bound books, oil paintings, and antiques.
"They add such a warmth and a history to a space. Frasier's not brand-new, so I don't think everything in his apartment should be brand-new," Rovello says. "So we see the pre-Columbian [items] that he's always collected. There's some old boxes on top of the console next to the front door — those are antiques. The antique architectural models, the brutalist ceramic pieces. Most of the paintings are old."
Not everything is a relic, though. In fact, Rovello and her team commissioned a ceramic artist to create the two pendant lights that hang near the staircase and feature a personalized touch: "They're a metallic glaze, and they're perforated — one says 'Frasier,' the other one says 'Kelsey,' in Morse code."
Chris Haston/Paramount+ The set of 'Frasier'
The new Frasier debuts Thursday, Oct. 12, on Paramount+, with new episodes dropping weekly.
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