Decorating Pages: TV and Film Design

Production Designer Alexandra Schaller joins me to talk about crafting the haunting world of TRAIN DREAMS, the Netflix adaptation of Denis Johnson’s novella.We unpack how the cabin became a full character, why the fire tower and logging camp were such ambitious builds, and how shooting almost entirely with natural light and candles shaped every design choice. Alexandra shares how she worked with the director, DP, set decorator, props, greens, and scenic teams to make Washington’s landscape feel intimate, mythic, and deeply emotional. Topics include:Turning landscape into storyBuilding and rebuilding the cabin across timeDesigning the fire tower and logging environmentsColor as emotion, especially Gladys’s yellowPlanes, trains, and giant trees on an indie budgetThe reality of remote locations, weather, and limited resourcesListen if you love production design, set decoration, indie films, Netflix originals, and craft-forward conversationswith the people who build the worlds on screen.👉 Get the FREE Quick Reference Set Decorating Template: www.decoratingpagespodcast.comDiscover the Art of TV & Film Design with Decorating Pages PodcastHosted by Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop, this podcast takes you behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies. Each episode features in-depth conversations with the industry’s top production designers, set decorators, prop masters, and art department professionals, offering rare insight into the creative process of visual storytelling.Whether you’re a film and TV fan, aspiring designer, or entertainment industry pro, Decorating Pages Podcast is your backstage pass to the world of production design. Learn how sets are built, stories are shaped visually, and characters come to life—one episode at a time.🔔 Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio so you never miss an episode.📲 Follow for daily design contentInstagram: @decoratingpagesTikTok: @decoratingpagespodcastYouTube: Decorating Pages Podcast🎬 Explore More from Decorating PagesLove the behind-the-scenes world of TV + film design? Check out these exclusive resources curated by Kim Wannop, Emmy-winning Set Decorator and host of Decorating Pages Podcast:🎓 Learn Set DecoratingTake my Set Decorating Masterclass—15 audio lessons packed with insider tips for breaking into the film & TV industry. Includes FREE Quick Reference Template. Start here: https://www.decoratingpagespodcast.com/masterclass

Let's take a quick look back at the top episodes of 2025, best reads and much gratitude for making the podcast top of the charts in many counties. A deep dive into Avatar: Fire and Ash with Production Designers Dylan Cole and Ben Procter and Set Decorator Vanessa Cole. This episode breaks down why Avatar is “live action by other means,” how practical builds and reference testing support performance capture, and how story + design influence each other throughout the process.Topics include the Ash People (volcanic wasteland inspiration, a bold black/white/red palette, and the idea of a village inside a burnt Great Tree trunk), the intricate craftsmanship of the Wind Traders (including 3,500+ feet of braided rope), and the evolving visual culture of the RDA. If you love production design, set decoration, worldbuilding, and behind-the-scenes filmmaking — this one’s for you.👉 Get the FREE Quick Reference Set Decorating Template: www.decoratingpagespodcast.comDiscover the Art of TV & Film Design with Decorating Pages PodcastHosted by Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop, this podcast takes you behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies. Each episode features in-depth conversations with the industry’s top production designers, set decorators, prop masters, and art department professionals, offering rare insight into the creative process of visual storytelling.Whether you’re a film and TV fan, aspiring designer, or entertainment industry pro, Decorating Pages Podcast is your backstage pass to the world of production design. Learn how sets are built, stories are shaped visually, and characters come to life—one episode at a time.🔔 Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio so you never miss an episode.📲 Follow for daily design contentInstagram: @decoratingpagesTikTok: @decoratingpagespodcastYouTube: Decorating Pages Podcast🎬 Explore More from Decorating PagesLove the behind-the-scenes world of TV + film design? Check out these exclusive resources curated by Kim Wannop, Emmy-winning Set Decorator and host of Decorating Pages Podcast:🎓 Learn Set DecoratingTake my Set Decorating Masterclass—15 audio lessons packed with insider tips for breaking into the film & TV industry. Includes FREE Quick Reference Template. Start here: https://www.decoratingpagespodcast.com/masterclass

Today’s episode is a double-feature for design nerds. First, I’m sharing Production Designer Loo Sung He on Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice—in a first-ever translator format where I’m reading her responses. Then we switch to TV with my full audio interview on Overcompensating with Production Designer Shayne Fox and Set Decorator Erika Lobko. Film first, TV second—two deep dives, one episode.First, Production Designer Ryu Seong-hie (Park Chan-wook’s No Other Choice) answers Kim Wannop’s questions in a unique format: the interview was conducted through a translator, and Kim reads Ryu’s translated responses on the show. Ryu breaks down how the film’s spaces carry character and pressure—especially Man-su’s home, built around a 1970s Korean “French House” ideal (mid-century suburban planning with French Provincial influence), plus the way greenery and color shift as the story darkens.Then the episode switches to TV with the full audio interview on Overcompensating featuring Production Designer Shayne Fox and Set Decorator Erika Lobko. They dive into building the show’s visual language—tone, texture, location choices, and the practical realities of designing and decorating a world that feels specific, modern, and lived-in.If you love production design, set design, set decoration, art department craft, and behind-the-scenes filmmaking, follow Decorating Pages Podcast for more conversations with the creatives shaping what you see on screen.👉 Get the FREE Quick Reference Set Decorating Template: www.decoratingpagespodcast.comDiscover the Art of TV & Film Design with Decorating Pages PodcastHosted by Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop, this podcast takes you behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies. Each episode features in-depth conversations with the industry’s top production designers, set decorators, prop masters, and art department professionals, offering rare insight into the creative process of visual storytelling.Whether you’re a film and TV fan, aspiring designer, or entertainment industry pro, Decorating Pages Podcast is your backstage pass to the world of production design. Learn how sets are built, stories are shaped visually, and characters come to life—one episode at a time.🔔 Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio so you never miss an episode.📲 Follow for daily design contentInstagram: @decoratingpagesTikTok: @decoratingpagespodcastYouTube: Decorating Pages Podcast🎬 Explore More from Decorating PagesLove the behind-the-scenes world of TV + film design? Check out these exclusive resources curated by Kim Wannop, Emmy-winning Set Decorator and host of Decorating Pages Podcast:🎓 Learn Set DecoratingTake my Set Decorating Masterclass—15 audio lessons packed with insider tips for breaking into the film & TV industry. Includes FREE Quick Reference Template. Start here: https://www.decoratingpagespodcast.com/masterclass

Sinners is the kind of movie where you can pause any frame and feel the history.Ryan Coogler’s 1932 Mississippi Delta vampire epic follows twin brothers (both played by Michael B. Jordan) who open a juke joint in an old sawmill, only to collide with vampires, the Klan, and a century of American sins. The film has become one of 2025’s most acclaimed releases, with strong box office, critics’ scores, and early awards – putting it squarely in Best Picture conversations. (Wikipedia)In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator Kim Wannop sits down with Oscar-winning Production Designer Hannah Beachler (Black Panther) and Set Decorator Monique Champagne (Nickel Boys, Sinners) to talk about how they built the film’s world from the ground up:Churches, houses, and stores placed like tiny islands on vast plantation landscapesAnnie’s house as a warm, healing, hoodoo-and-capitalism space, one of the emotional hearts of the movieA downtown resurrected from empty, moldy buildings into a living 1930s Black business districtThe juke joint as a complete building you can shoot 360º – including upper levels, real water, and safely-distanced alligatorsThe film’s bold red/white/blue color story and how production design, set decoration, costume, and lighting keep that palette humming across the filmIf you loved Sinners or you’re tracking the craft side of awards season, this conversation is a deep dive into how design and decoration carry history, politics, and horror in one of the year’s most visually powerful films.Discover the Art of TV & Film Design with Decorating Pages PodcastHosted by Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop, this podcast takes you behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies. Each episode features in-depth conversations with the industry’s top production designers, set decorators, prop masters, and art department professionals, offering rare insight into the creative process of visual storytelling.Whether you’re a film and TV fan, aspiring designer, or entertainment industry pro, Decorating Pages Podcast is your backstage pass to the world of production design. Learn how sets are built, stories are shaped visually, and characters come to life—one episode at a time.🔔 Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio so you never miss an episode.📲 Follow for daily design contentInstagram: @decoratingpagesTikTok: @decoratingpagespodcastYouTube: Decorating Pages Podcast🎬 Explore More from Decorating PagesLove the behind-the-scenes world of TV + film design? Check out these exclusive resources curated by Kim Wannop, Emmy-winning Set Decorator and host of Decorating Pages Podcast:🎓 Learn Set DecoratingTake my Set Decorating Masterclass—15 audio lessons packed with insider tips for breaking into the film & TV industry. Includes FREE Quick Reference Template. Start here: https://www.decoratingpagespodcast.com/masterclass

In this episode of Decorating Pages, Emmy-winning set decorator Kim Wannop sits down with Production Designer Cara Brower to talk about designing Hedda, Amazon MGM Studios’ new adaptation of Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler—now streaming on Prime Video. Brower—whose credits include Candyman, The Marvels, Twin Peaks: The Return, Us, and Hail, Caesar!—explains how she found and transformed a single English country estate into Hedda’s entire universe: grand staircase, dark entry hall, sensual bedroom, secret telephone nook, glass conservatory with a deadly chandelier, and a lakeside bonfire that bookends the story. The conversation digs into:How Ibsen’s original themes of power, boredom, control, and societal constraints on women informed the design choicesLayering Victorian architecture with Art Deco curves, 1960s-inspired pattern, and bold modern art so Hedda’s home feels like a socialite’s act of rebellionDesigning Hedda’s bedroom as a cold, sensual, almost Hollywood-boudoir space that belongs entirely to herThe engineering and cross-department chaos behind the film’s glass chandelier set pieceWhy shooting mostly on location—with minimal VFX—makes the film feel more immediate and theatricalPerfect listening if you love period drama, literary history, and extremely opinionated wallpaper.👉 Get the FREE Quick Reference Set Decorating Template: www.decoratingpagespodcast.comDiscover the Art of TV & Film Design with Decorating Pages PodcastHosted by Emmy-winning Set Decorator Kim Wannop, this podcast takes you behind the scenes of your favorite shows and movies. Each episode features in-depth conversations with the industry’s top production designers, set decorators, prop masters, and art department professionals, offering rare insight into the creative process of visual storytelling.Whether you’re a film and TV fan, aspiring designer, or entertainment industry pro, Decorating Pages Podcast is your backstage pass to the world of production design. Learn how sets are built, stories are shaped visually, and characters come to life—one episode at a time.🔔 Subscribe now on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Pandora, Stitcher, TuneIn, and iHeartRadio so you never miss an episode.📲 Follow for daily design contentInstagram: @decoratingpagesTikTok: @decoratingpagespodcastYouTube: Decorating Pages Podcast🎬 Explore More from Decorating PagesLove the behind-the-scenes world of TV + film design? Check out these exclusive resources curated by Kim Wannop, Emmy-winning Set Decorator and host of Decorating Pages Podcast:🎓 Learn Set DecoratingTake my Set Decorating Masterclass—15 audio lessons packed with insider tips for breaking into the film & TV industry. Includes FREE Quick Reference Template. Start here: https://www.decoratingpagespodcast.com/masterclass