Inside The Wrights' Apartment (If a Man Answers)

I've discovered I'm a big fan of Sandra Dee this summer, as well as '60s interiors, if my last few Apartment Therapy posts are any indication... 

Though If a Man Answers, which starred then-husband and wife team of Sandra Dee and Bobby Darrin, is a bit...sexist and the premise a little too unbelievable, there's still their gorgeous apartment to gawk at. 


gif by me

So let's dive in to the Wrights' apartment from If a Man Answers.


Our first introduction to their apartment comes when Sandra, playing Chantal, is being wooed by photographer Gene, played by Bobby Darrin, while he's still a bachelor. 


Note how drab and monochromatic it is? 


Not to mention, messy. 


While being photographed, Chantal imagines what the place could look like, and it's very pink... 


...and floral, with red accents. 


Look at that radio! 


And the old typewriter and the artwork. 

Of course, once they get married, Chantal takes over the decorating... 


...and transforms it to a light version of her frothy pink fantasies. I love the lattice doors! 


And even though the main colours are cream and beige, she's managed to make the room pop and look more modern than Gene's bachelor stylings ever could. 


I love the coral trim. 


And the baubles on the curtains behind Chantal. 


The stairs, which used to be blocked by boxes and other junk, are now cleaned off and lined with plants. It's such a great use of space. 


This is Tina, by the way. She's a college friend of Chantal's (and she's played by Stefanie Powers) who's spoiled and will soon start hitting on Gene just because she can. 

I love that armoire behind them. 


The cushion holder! And the paintings and use of greens and flowers to decorate the space. Chantal has a knack for home décor. 


What '60s pad is complete without a home bar? I love this set up! 


A view of the dinette area and that plaid chaise.


I love the couch/lounge bed and the coral/white throw pillows to decorate it. The ram decoration seems a little odd (at first glance earlier in the film I thought it was a unicorn and was like, "Yes, that's Chantal's aesthetic entirely!"). 


A slice of Americana on the wall, with an eagle and stars? 


Another view of the bar and how it it's set against the kitchen, which has also undergone a transformation thanks to Chantal.


It's full of red accent pieces. 


Chantal framed by all the greenery on the stairs (she's spying on Gene and Tina, who's become his newest muse). 


I need a rooster lamp. Who do I talk to about that? 


I love those tall coral bottles as well. 


A boring telephone considering some of the ones from the era.


The bar has a Dutch door with shutters, which I absolutely love. I'll never get over that bar! 


Here's another view of the bedroom with the hot and pale pink throw pillows and the red accented pieces for the bedside tables. Tina's laughing at her because she just found the dog training manual Chantal's been reading to train Gene (no, none of that was a typo). 


Of course she runs straight to Gene to tell him about it, causing, rightfully, a fight between the newlyweds.

Side note: where can I get a cat statue like that? 


The dinette in use. The premise now is that Chantal's going to make Gene jealous by sending herself flowers and being vague about who they're from, and getting her mother to call and hang up if Gene answers (hence, If a Man Answers). 

The ploy is that once Gene gets suspicious enough and angry enough at the evasive answers, he'll go to the florist to ask who's sending Chantal flowers. The florist has been instructed to say they're from a Robert Swan, if that happens. Robert Swan is a made up person who was once Chantal's mother's fake lover (her husband still sort of believes Robert really exists), and she's lending him to Chantal to trick Gene. 


A tiny window from their tiny apartment. 


Another view of the living room area as Gene carries Chantal off to bed. I love that chair! 


I love those pillows. 


The plot thickens when a man named Robert Swan, tracked down by Gene, comes for dinner. He and Gene make plans to share Chantal, and that's when Chantal calls her parents. This Robert pretends to know who Chantal's mother is, too, leading the father to believe that he'd been duped and that Robert Swan is real. 

(I just loved this picture of the living room area)


It's all a mess and Chantal's in her bedroom, where Robert's luggage is, so she snoops and finds that Robert Swan is really Adam Wright: her father-in-law. There's another attempt at screwball comedy here, when Chantal plans to move out, but sufficient groveling is done, so she stays, and it turns out that the fainting spell earlier in the kitchen means she's pregnant and that their baby will be reared in a gorgeous apartment! 

THE END!

___

I took all the screencaps in this post.

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