True Story: 'Golden Girls' Producers Had to Hide Blanche’s Bedding So It Wouldn’t Get Stolen

From Country Living

Late last month, we ran a story about the house from the iconic sitcom Golden Girls — and you went absolutely wild for it. Since it's clear our audience has a soft spot for Blanche, Sophia, Dorothy, and Rose, we decided to do a little digging into the history of the home, specifically its most iconic room.

Blanche's fantastically maximalist apartment is swathed almost entirely in one of the most famous patterns of all time. Design enthusiasts will immediately recognize it as Martinique— the famous banana leaf motif by CW Stockwell, which was relaunched this year — NOT to be confused with Brazilliance, the other banana leaf print, devised by decorating grand dame Dorothy Draper. Design insiders have, shall we say, strong opinions on which is the first, best, most iconic of the two, but one thing is for sure: Blanche went with Martinique, and that may be part of the reason for its continued popularity.

"While we don’t have sales records that go back to the 1980s, I often cite the show as one of the main reasons Martinique continued to be top of mind in popular culture during that era, especially since the mid to late '80s is when wallpaper began to have a downturn in popularity," reveals CW Stockwell CEO Katy Polsby. Plus, she reveals, the wallpaper used on the show was applied in the same manner as it is at the pattern's other most famous locale: The Beverly Hills Hotel.

"Golden Girls production designer Ed Stephenson directed his staff to install Martinique with the iconic CW Stockwell ‘cut-out leaf’ technique — made famous by the Beverly Hills Hotel installation — so it seems clear that he collaborated with Stockwell for that direction," Katy tells us.

That should hardly come as a surprise — after all, she points out: "Remy Chatain, third generation owner of CW Stockwell, had many friends in the world of film and television including production and set design; CW Stockwell product graced many of the studio owners’ homes and was often used to adorn sets for different shows." He also lived in Pasadena near Ed Stephenson, the production designer, and Katy speculates the two were likely friends.

Though we may love Blanche's bedroom now largely for its nostalgic value, it was already an icon during filming — so much so that the production team had to literally lock it down.

"I read awhile back that when the set design team had Blanche’s matching bedspread made, Stephenson’s assistant kept it on his own bed during the off season so that the costly piece could never go missing!" Katy says.

Production designer John Shaffner, who worked on the show (as well as Friends, Roseanne, and The Big Bang Theory), backs up this statement: "In 1985, the fabric cost over $50 per yard, plus the labor. Between the shooting of the pilot and the series, I was nervous the expensive bedspread would get lost. So I took this bedspread home — and used it on my own bed all summer," he told author Jim Colucci in Golden Girls Forever.

Luckily, if you're going for the look now, you don't have to resort to theft: CW Stockwell now offers the pattern in a range of colors.

Because after all, as Katy quips, "what Blanche Deveraux lacked in her taste in men, she certainly made up for with her exquisite taste in decor!" Amen.

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