The Houses and Interiors of Apple TV’s "Dickinson": The Homestead and the Evergreens – HouseBeautiful.com

The Emily Dickinson Museum

Its no secret that period dramas tend to boast stunning visualswhether that means sumptuous interiors, awe-inspiring filming locations, elaborate costumes, and everything in between. A dark humor period drama series about the life of celebrated poet Emily Dickinson is no exception. As someone who spent almost her entire life living in the same house, Dickinson likely understood the importance of having a place to call home (and a place to write her many poems, which added up to nearly 1,800 in total). The Apple TV+ series Dickinson certainly illustrates the significance of this now-historic dwelling. Both this housewhich is known as the Homesteadand the house next door, where Dickinsons brother and sister-in-law livednamed the Evergreenswere recreated for this series, and their interiors have design lovers bingeing.

Apple TV

Replicating two historic houses from the 1800s was no easy feat, but it was a necessary one, given that filming in dwellings that are actual relics of a bygone era would pose a risk to their preservation. And these homes exist beyond Dickinsonthe real Homestead and Evergreens abodes can still be found, in Amherst, Massachusetts, as part of the Emily Dickinson Museum. Despite the close proximity of these houses and the fact that they were both residences of members of the Dickinson family, they could not look more dissimilar. Both the real Homestead and its replica are Federal-style houses with a pale yellow exterior and forest green shutters, while the fictional Evergreens is an off-white Italianate structure with a barn red-colored front door (its real counterpart differs slightly, with a more vibrant cream-colored exterior and a wooden front door).

Apple TV

So, where are the replica houses of Dickinson? On the site of the Old Bethpage Village Restoration in Long Island, New York, a living museum village that sits on 209 acres and boasts a fantastic collection of 18th and 19th century structures from all over Long Island that were transported to the site to recreate a 19th century village, production designer Neil Patel tells House Beautiful. These structures include a church, a general store, a barn, a town square gazebo, and numerous houses, adds Patel. He also reveals that a nearby forest and meadow, along with live sheep, further contributed to the realistic depiction of this time period.

Although the Homestead is the star of Dickinson, the Evergreens has its own fascinating history as well. Its landscape was designed by Frederick Law Olmsted, who is best known for designing Central Park. Olmsted happens to make an appearance in Dickinson (well, an actor who plays him does), and the same can be said for novelist Louisa May Alcott, who is also depicted in the series. Although there is no proof that Alcott and Dickinson actually met, they had plenty in common, given that both women went on to become notable writers, both from Massachusetts, and Alcotts own house was reproduced for the 2019 film adaptation of Little Women.

Apple TV

Beyond the impressive exteriors of the houses of Dickinson are the lavish interiors, which include a range of wallpapers that will surely leave design lovers in awe. One wall hanging that might look familiar is Zubers Views of North America, which was a favorite of First Lady Jackie Kennedys, who had it installed in the Diplomatic Reception Room of the White House in 1961, during her husbands presidencyit still graces those walls to this day.

In Dickinson, expect to see this wallpaper in the dining room of the Homestead, where its surrounded by matching emerald drapes and a marble mantel. As for the whimsical floral wallpaper in Emilys bedroom, it stays true to the time periodits from the 1800s archive of Thomas Strahan wallpaper for Waterhouse Wallhangings, set decorator Marina Parker tells usbut looks like something grandmillennials would covet today.

Apple TV

Yet another wallpaper company contributed to the sets of Dickinson: Adelphi Paper Hangings. They provided their signature hand-blocked wallpaper for the Homestead parlor and hallway in season two of the series. Of course, Adelphi Paper Hangings is no stranger to period dramasa different wallpaper of theirs can be seen in last years Emma.

While we cant say for certain what Emily Dickinson would think of the replicated versions of her familys neighboring houses, we at House Beautiful can confidently conclude that the houses of Dickinson are poetry in motion.

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The Houses and Interiors of Apple TV's "Dickinson": The Homestead and the Evergreens - HouseBeautiful.com