From Modern Family and Black-ish to the Simpsons and Friends, how much would it cost to replicate an iconic TV show set IRL?
If you’re looking for creative ideas for decorating your student gaff and Pinterest isn’t quite doing it for you, why not take some inspiration from some of the most iconic living rooms on TV?
Perhaps you love Monica’s famous rent-controlled apartment in Friends, the Banks’ Bel-Air Mansion or Carrie’s impossibly perfect New York studio in Sex and the City. We reveal just how much it would cost to replicate those iconic rooms today.
Recreating Iconic TV Show Living Room Sets – Ranked By Cost
It’s no surprise that The Simpson family’s living room, in fictional town Springfield, costs the least to recreate, coming in at just £727. Almost every episode features the famous living room and couch in the opening credits, but it’s no surprise that the family have been on a budget when it comes to their home.
The Simpson’s was closely followed by Sherlock Holmes, in his retro quarters at 122b Baker Street. Recreating the look with second-hand pieces (just as the show’s set designers did) from Ebay for a true vintage feel for less than £800. Elementary, dear reader.
Three shows on the list are based in New York, where the median cost of renting is $4,000+ per month for a one bed apartment. Monica’s living room from Friends, Ted’s apartment in How I Met Your Mother and Carrie’s studio apartment from Sex & The City all came in at less than £2,500 to recreate, including Carrie Bradshaw’s writing desk (perfect for writing your uni essays!)
Downton Abbey’s period dining room costs the most to recreate, with mahogany tables, a huge Persian rug and opulent furnishing throughout. That’s without even considering the priceless artwork adorning the walls in the hit series.
Rank | TV Show | Cost to Recreate |
1 | Downton Abbey | £12,518 |
2 | New Girl | £4,186 |
3 | The Fresh Prince of Bel Air | £3,580 |
4 | Black-ish | £3,430 |
5 | Big Bang Theory | £3,041 |
6 | Sex & The City | £2,463 |
7 | How I Met Your Mother | £2,215 |
8 | Friends | £2,196 |
9 | Fresh Meat | £2,062 |
10 | Stranger Things | £1,519 |
11 | Sherlock | £792 |
12 | The Simpsons | £727 |
Let’s take a deeper dive into exactly how to recreate these iconic TV sets with real life items…
The Simpsons
Once the credits start and you see that ever-changing sofa scene, you know it’s an episode of The Simpsons. Did you know that the same couch gag is usually used more than once in each season and that the pilot episode skipped the gag completely? Now you do.
Here’s how to recreate The Simpsons’ house for less than £800.
Friends
Okay, so Monica was illegally subletting her apartment from her grandma (and because of rent control it was a steal), but did you know that at one time or another all six of the fictional Friends have lived in the apartment? The final episode of the show revealed that Ross lived with his grandmother as he tried to make it as a dancer one summer.
The apartment was one of the most frequent locations used in the show and appeared in the final scene, which was watched by 50 million people worldwide.
Monica's living room (including the famous peephole photo frame) would cost over £2,000 to recreate today.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Sofa |
Dunelm |
£699 |
|
Table |
Tikamoon |
£179 |
|
Armchair |
Dunelm |
£349 |
|
Chair with Footstool |
The Range |
£249 |
|
Side Table |
Swoon |
£129 |
|
Sideboard |
Oak Furniture Ltd |
£495 |
|
Rug |
Ebay |
£30 |
|
Cushions x 3 |
La Redoute |
£54 |
|
Photo Frame |
Just Geek
|
https://www.justgeek.com/products/official-friends-peephole-photo-frame?variant=39604328366253&dfw_tracker=128932-39604328366253&gclid=Cj0KCQjw06OTBhC_ARIsAAU1yOUWd9uE1RabHxMYNmrjSSxuw5VOfhh7xuuNKwgIyOnkntIHDUJMhMEaAp6yEALw_wcB |
£12.99 |
Total: |
£2,196 |
The Fresh Prince of Bel Air
Right where Will Smith sat on his throne as the Prince of Bel Air (hands up if you can rap the whole theme song), the living room in the Banks’ mansion was host to a whole range of iconic scenes. It’s where Will and Uncle Phil shared their famous hug, where Carlton did his dance routine to Tom Jones and where Geoffrey thought he had won the lottery. Fun fact: it was completely refurbished after season 1.
You might need pockets as deep as Uncle Phil’s to recreate the famous living room, with the cost of bringing Bel Air to your abode sitting at over £3,500.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Sofa |
Loaf |
£1995 |
|
Armchair |
Wayfair |
£720 |
|
Footrest |
Wayfair |
£327 |
|
Side Table x 4 |
Oka |
https://www.oka.com/uk/product/lantau-faux-shagreen-drum-table-ehd031gym-0 |
£2200 |
Rug |
IRugs.co.uk |
£225 |
|
Cushions |
Wayfair |
£48 |
|
Lamp |
John Lewis |
£45 |
|
Total: |
£3,580 |
Sex & The City
In hindsight, Carrie’s amazing New York lifestyle seems a little unrealistic from her once-a-week column, but we didn’t care about that when we were watching Sex & The City. Just like her style, Carrie’s apartment was the studio space dreams were made of – it’s where she wrote her articles, created her trendsetting outfits and where she left to move in with Mr Big.
Thanks to AirBnB, you can stay in a replica of Carrie’s iconic apartment in New York. But why travel when you could recreate her living space at home for just under £2,500?
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Leather Chair |
Dunelm |
£599 |
|
Chairs x 4 |
Made |
£1316 |
|
Rug |
Home Looks |
£90 |
|
Writing Desk |
Atkins & Thyme |
£399 |
|
Lamp |
Dunelm |
£59 |
|
Total: |
£2463 |
Downton Abbey
The fictional Yorkshire country estate of Downton Abbey (actually Highclere Castle in Hampshire), home to the aristocratic Crawley family and their staff, won countless awards and broke records for its representation of Edwardian life.
If you really want to turn back the clock with your next uni home improvement project, get ready to blow the budget – the famous dining room will cost you over £12,500 to recreate (even without any of the huge portraits in the background).
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Table |
Swagger Home |
£3027 |
|
Chairs |
Olrids & Downtown |
https://www.oldrids.co.uk/julian-bowen-canterbury-dining-chair/p4838 |
£414 |
Persian Rug |
The Handmade Rug Company |
https://www.thehandmaderugcompany.com/products/large-persian-kashan-fine-383cm-x-270cm |
£6,900 |
Console Table x 2 |
A Place For Everything |
https://www.thehandmaderugcompany.com/products/large-persian-kashan-fine-383cm-x-270cm |
£1,198 |
Sideboard |
A Place For Everything |
£979 |
|
Artwork |
Original |
|
Priceless |
Total: |
£12,518 |
Sherlock Holmes
221b Baker Street ‘s actual address might be fictitious but the second-hand styling of Sherlock’s apartment in the BBC adaptation of the Conan-Doyle classic is anything but fake.
The interior pieces on set in the hit series are vintage, but here’s how you can pick up Sherlock’s style and recreate his famous living room (deerstalker hat optional) for less than £800.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Leather Chair x 2 |
Ebay |
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125003947457?hash=item1d1ad0ddc1:g:45sAAOSwibFhd3rf https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/255226691309?hash=item3b6cb23eed:g:CmAAAOSwKxZhfYx~ |
£190 |
Persian Rug |
Ebay |
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/203704898492?hash=item2f6dc213bc:g:i4MAAOSw6WFgXhit |
£200 |
Side Table |
Ebay |
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/224579745948?hash=item3449fef89c:g:jOUAAOSwuklhGULR |
£32 |
Table & Chairs |
Ebay
|
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/185166612121?hash=item2b1cca4699:g:xssAAOSw8wVhkuFA
|
£245
|
Shelving |
Ebay |
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/393701278804?hash=item5baa6cc454:g:ZLsAAOSwJ3NhkUqT |
£125 |
Total: |
£792 |
Big Bang Theory
Apartment 4A was home to Sheldon (until he moved next door) and Leonard, who by the end of the hit series still lived there with wife Penny – it was dubbed as ‘Nerdvana’ in series 1 and provided a backdrop for many of the show’s iconic moments.
Want to create your own little slice of Nerdvana at home? It doesn’t take a professor to work out it’ll cost you over £3,000.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Leather Couch |
Oak World |
£1859 |
|
Armchair |
Wayfair |
£399 |
|
Dining Chair |
Online Reality |
£73 |
|
Shelving Unit |
Wayfair |
£310 |
|
Side Table x 2 |
Oak Furniture Land |
£160 |
|
Lamp |
Lamp & Light |
https://www.lampandlight.co.uk/classic-table-lamp-black-with-cream-shade-taula |
£42 |
Coffee Table |
Beliani |
£140 |
|
Cushions x 3 |
Ikea |
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/sandtrav-cushion-grey-white-60510701/ |
£36 |
Rug |
Wayfair |
https://www.wayfair.co.uk/rugs/pdp/fernleaf-ulverston-teal-rug-u001515223.html |
£22 |
Total: |
£3,041 |
How I Met Your Mother
As this series jumps back and forwards between timelines as Ted recounts to his children the events that led him to meet his wife (hence the show’s title), we see the living room change from 2005 to 2030 with some ever-familiar details.
Want to recreate the 2005 apartment that provides the backdrop to the story? It’ll cost you just over £2,200 today.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Couch |
Habitat |
£400 |
|
Armchair x 2 |
Wayfair |
£780 |
|
Office Chair |
Lakeland Furniture |
https://www.lakeland-furniture.co.uk/scanon-office-chair-vintage-brown |
£175 |
Rattan Chair |
Tikamoon |
£139 |
|
Side Table x 2 |
John Lewis |
£298 |
|
Drawers |
I Love Retro |
£159 |
|
Rug |
Wayfair |
£76 |
|
Coffee Table |
Oak Furniture Land |
£140 |
|
Cushions |
Wayfair |
|
£48
|
Total: |
£2,215 |
Stranger Things
Remember when strange(r) things started to happen in Joyce Bryer’s living room in the hit Netflix show, getting her into Christmas lights all year round? We were kind of into it too.
If you want to recreate Joyce’s living room without the whole portal-to-another-dimension thing, it’ll cost a touch over £1500.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Sofa |
SLF24.co.uk |
£499 |
|
Throw |
Wayfair |
https://www.dunelm.com/product/dhadit-130x150cm-throw-blush-1000163785?defaultSkuId=30691094 |
£28 |
Lights |
Amazon |
£88 |
|
Coffee Table |
Tikamoon |
£179 |
|
Side Table x 3 |
Wayfair |
£90 |
|
Lamp x 2 |
Dunelm |
£50 |
|
Armchair |
Wayfair |
£350 |
|
WingbackChair |
Ikea |
£199 |
|
Cushions x 3 |
La Redoute |
£36 |
|
Total: |
£1,519 |
Black-ish
Black-ish follows the Johnson family as they juggle their busy lives, leading to multiple spin-offs as the family grow up. One thing that stands out to us is just how immaculate the Johnson’s home is, especially their main living area, despite always being on the go.
Recreating that tidy den of tranquillity will cost you just under £3,500.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Sofa |
Snug |
£1599 |
|
Leather Chairs x 2 |
John Lewis |
https://www.johnlewis.com/furniture-lights/sofas/armchair/leather |
£1098 |
Coffee Table |
Wayfair |
£122 |
|
Storage Unit |
Ikea |
£135 |
|
Side Table |
Wayfair |
£109 |
|
Cushions x 3 |
La Redoute |
|
£36 |
Rug |
La Redoute |
£143 |
|
Floor Lamp |
John Lewis |
£115 |
|
Artwork |
Desenio |
£37 |
|
Total: |
£3430 |
Fresh Meat
Following six UK uni students from Freshers’ Week through to graduation, cult classic Fresh Meat is hilarious and all too relatable for those going through university, covering every student experience from making new friends to passing final exams.
Creating Fresh Meat’s authentic uni student vibe in your home costs just over £2000.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
Bookcase |
Ikea |
https://www.ikea.com/gb/en/p/billy-bookcase-black-brown-40263848/ |
£65 |
Sofa Throw |
Apollo |
https://www.theapollobox.com/product/sku946401/geometric-sofa-throw |
£42 |
Three Seater Sofa Dark |
Swyft |
£995 |
|
Three Seater Sofa Light |
Ikea |
£450 |
|
Coffee Table Wooden |
Oak Furniture Land |
£375 |
|
TV stand |
Dunelm |
£129 |
|
Cushions |
B&Q |
https://www.diy.com/departments/sedum-beige-brown-cream-striped-cushion/1294432_BQ.prd |
£6 |
Total: |
£2062 |
New Girl
Okay, so we’re only a little bit jealous of the New Girl loft. It’s spacious and airy, with huge floor-to-ceiling windows, AND in the middle of Los Angeles. No wonder new girl Jess was keen to move in!
In reality, Apartment 4D isn’t going to come cheap – nor would the furniture! Recreating the loft’s style would set you back at least £4000.
Furniture |
Retailer |
Link |
Price |
L-shaped leather sofa |
The English Sofa Company |
£2700 |
|
Leather chair and footrest |
Boss Living |
£595 |
|
Patterned Pouffe |
Homescapes |
£70 |
|
‘Zipcode’ Bookcase |
Wayfair |
£122 |
|
Open Frame Bookcase |
Amazon |
https://www.amazon.co.uk/GreenForest-Industrial-Bookcase-Rustic-Bookshelf/dp/B07Y4KBBZJ |
£259 |
3 x Sofa Cushion |
Dunelm |
£48 |
|
Tall Lamp |
Lighting Superstore |
https://www.thelightingsuperstore.co.uk/products/metrica-steel-made–white-shade-floor-lamp |
£175 |
Table Flower Pot |
M&S |
£30 |
|
Wooden Coffee Table |
Wayfair |
£117 |
|
White Rug |
Wayfair |
£70 |
|
Total: |
£4186 |
Make uni memories in Fresh’s student lettings
Just like these iconic TV show living room sets, your student home is where you’ll create unforgettable moments with your uni friends. Find affordable and stylish student lettings across UK and Ireland cities with Fresh.
References
Cost of furnishing a living room – https://moneytipsblog.co.uk/cost/furnish-a-house/
New York Rent – https://www.apartmentlist.com/renter-life/cost-of-living-in-new-york
Average house size UK – https://www.labc.co.uk/news/what-average-house-size-