Friends Set Designer Explains Why Monica’s Apartment Walls Were Purple

Published on March 22, 2018.

Purple is a bold color for any room, but is particularly bold for an entire apartment, but that is the color Friends’ set designer John Shaffner chose for Monica’s apartment walls.

Nearly 14 years after the iconic show came to an end, Shaffner spoke to Great Big Story where he explained why he chose the statement color for Monica and Rachel, and later Monica and Chandler’s place. Color is really important in establishing the show identity,”he said, before further explaining, “When you switch to Friends, you see that it is purple and you stay tuned.”

While it is hard to tell if it was the bold color drawing people in or the amazing chemistry and hilarity of the cast, either way it worked as the show went on for 10 seasons and is one of the most iconic series in television history.

Shaffner also shared other secrets about the set including one about the closet at the end of the hall that Chandler spent one episode obsessing over. “One of the responsibilities of a production designer is to look into the future. If you can, anyway,” Shaffner said, although he admits he didn’t know that Monica would turn out to be a secret hoarder. “We put a door all the way up this hallway and we really didn’t say where it went to. I said, ‘Why don’t we just wait and see where the story is taken?’”

Check out 15 more secrets from the set of Friends!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sdLOIPyL9ws