Thursday, June 17, 2010
How to achieve the garish look of the "Real World: New Orleans" house
Posted by Lauren LaBorde on Thu, Jun 17, 2010 at 7:43 PM
Less than two weeks after the critically successful first season of Treme ends, pop culture will return to propagating ideas straight from the "K-Ville" Book of New Orleans Culture in the form of MTV's The Real World: New Orleans, which airs June 30. According to the show's trailer, which mostly features cast members falling over, the season seems to primarily take place on Bourbon Street and in the house's bath tub.
- Incidentally, the last great season of the once-groundbreaking reality show took place in New Orleans. The first Real World: New Orleans aired in 2000, and cast members lived in the gorgeous Belfort Mansion in the Garden District. The show featured perhaps the last batch of interesting characters — right before the Las Vegas season established rampant sluttiness as a prerequisite for inclusion in the cast — like the conflicted Mormon Julie, the hilariously inappropriate Melissa, and Danny, the token gay cast member who had a strict father and was dating a member of military. These days, Real World casts typically feature young people with names like "Ayiiia" and occupations such as "aspiring model" or "Hooters waitress."
- The new Real World: New Orleans cast is no different, and MTV's stringent policy against nuance — both in terms of the show's characters and depiction of the location — is most apparent in the decorating scheme of the cast members' house. The house, which we know a little about thanks to this incident, looks like a combination of those sad stores along Decatur Street that sell overpriced Voodoo dolls and the dorm room section of Target. The MTV website has a full gallery of the home's garish interior.
- 1. (Entryway) Mardi Gras beads collected from trees lining St. Charles Avenue, then draped over banister. Fake moss from "Swamp Party" section of Party City. Neon signs on loan from fraternity house basement.
- 2. (Pool table room) Blue zebra-print rug from Walmart. Collection of stolen shutters glued to wall. Lamp from closed-down Applebees restaurant.
- 3. (Living room) Rug from Baton Rouge-area LSU merchandise retailer. Furniture on loan from Monkey Hill Bar. Window treatments made with net and objects from the Louisiana Children's Museum's pretend grocery store.
- 4. (Office) Sundry bedroom furniture items found discarded in front of people's houses, then piled along the wall as if a flood is imminent (perhaps it's an homage to hurricane evacuees).
- 5. (Wall) Plate of food that doesn't necessarily have anything to do with New Orleans culinary tradition preserved in shadowbox frame.
- 6. (Voodoo prayer room??) Room based on scene from The Skeleton Key, furnished by Jazz Funeral store on Decatur Street.
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Interview: Willie Robertson of A&E's Duck Dynasty
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Comments (14)
Showing 1-14 of 14
WOW. The shutters and the bureaus just smashed up against the wall: "This is sort of New Orleans-y, isn't it?"
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Apparently, Rooms To Go got up and went to the toilet in every room of the house (except maybe in the actual toilet). Do all the owners of all those t-shirt shops on Decatur Street have conventions? Because this looks like their Showroom Of Tomorrow.
Wow, pretty over the top. That's ashame considering how stately the outside of the home is.
I understand that in lieu of an interesting cast they need to make the rooms more colorful and hip, but most of this is hideous. However, I don't understand why you didn't feature the effing faux streetcar that they have installed inside the house. It's big and bizarre-- what is it-- a hallway? an optical illusion? confessional? Why is it there? How'd they make it? http://www.mtv.com/photos/real-world-new-orleans-house/1639645/4878457/photo.jhtml
You're right, oyster. I was indeed remiss to not include the streetcar, which I assume will function as the confession/drunken hook-up area.
When you look at the photos of the home on the Sotheby's website (http://www.sothebysrealty.com/en/PropertyDetails.aspx?R=104175936&WT.mc_id=GBase), you really get an idea of how garish the "design" is. Although, I do kind of like that wallpaper in the stacked furniture room photo.
Kate: Seeing the Sotheby's listing makes this whole thing that much sadder. Thanks for sharing.
As if one tiger print rug was not bad enough, the designers decided to include two different shades of hideous.
I remember when Real World used to promote social consciousness among its cast members like with Pedro Zamora's role back in the 1990s: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pedro_Zamora Now its just as sleazy as every reality show out there. I am glad I don't watch anymore.
