Co-created by Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang, the first two seasons of Master of None followed NYC-based actor Dev, played by Ansari. This season, the series shifts focus to Dev’s childhood best friend, Denise, played by Lena Waithe, and her wife, Alicia, played by Naomi Ackie. Amy spilled the main things she learned from designing Denise and Alicia’s home this season—plus how to add a personal narrative into our own home decor. “I definitely was influenced by my surroundings,” Amy told us, noting that some of the flowers featured on-set were bought at the Columbia Road Flower Market in East London. “I had also scouted a few houses [in the English countryside] that I thought had some really interesting elements, so I kind of went back and startedresearching homes in upstate New York to make sure that the architecture linedup.” Amy also spent a lot of time browsing vacation rental sites like AirBnb and real estate listing sites like Zillow, studying homes in upstate New York as she tried to pin down the exact vibe of Denise and Alicia’s own cottage. “These are the details that tell a person’s story,” explained Amy. “I also love using unusual areas of a home to stack and place books. They add great color and texture, and you want to bring in as many textures as you can, especially if you want a cozy house.” Amy uses this sense of nostalgia when decorating her own home, too. “I try to keep a souvenir from every project I work on,” she said. “My house has a lot of memories from other shows! I’m just now trying to resuscitate a plant that I used in season one in Dev’s apartment and it’s coming back to life.” Amy first looked toward other on-screen homes. “We watched a lot of classic cinema and a lot of masters from across the globe,” Amy said. “A lot of the structure was inspired by other films. We watched quite a bit of [Yasujiro] Ozu’s films, because many of his films took place inside a home and with a very static camera." Other sources include Ingmar Bergman’s Scenes from a Marriage and Chantel Ackerman’s Jeanne Dielman. “I took a couple of furniture pieces and lamps and elements, and I incorporated them into our set as a bit of an homage, [as well as] wallpaper in one of the bathrooms.” Along with other invented worlds, Amy also looked to real life couples who might resemble Denise and Alicia. “There were a few articles about cottagecore lesbians and a few couples whose lives I researched, and what their decor was like,” said Amy. “It also really helped when Aziz and Lena decided to make Alicia an aspiring interior designer who worked at an antique store. That was a massive gift!” But as can be the case in a particularly dark home, adding plant life to her sets often presents a challenge. “I also love philodendrons because they’re so easy to maintain. They’re easy to put in a set because logistically we’re inside a studio where there’s no light! These poor plants really suffer. So, things like philodendrons and snake plants seem to survive.” “Put in pieces and artwork that feel special,” said Amy. “This really draws people to the space in this season–the art is so personalized and specific to the characters. Ireally wanted to include Carrie Mae Weems, the photographer, and it took a moment to get there because of the permissions and the restrictions. But we got there in the end, and it was so worth it.” “I found it very difficult because… with interior design, you have to lean into the function. I’m not used to making showers that work! I’m not used to making things that are up to code! I do it all for the visual story. So that, for me, was unexpected. But going through that experience will help me as a set designer because you need to factor in someone’s lifestyle and the functional elements that they need.” Most notably, she said, is the issue with incorporating televisions. “In film and TV, we don’t usually include televisions in our sets because they’re ugly! They’re just black squares on the wall and they’re not interesting and they create weird reflections. But in a real home, people need them!” Luckily, there are alternatives. “Use a real piece, like a [repurposed] armoire. In Denise and Alicia’s home, we thought about putting in a TV, and we found an antique dresser that we were going to use. But I think it’s great that projectors are becoming possible because that’s a screen you can hide away. They just tuck up into the ceiling.” As another way of enhancing the real-life feel of the home during production, Amyalso turned to music. “We also work really closely with the music supervisor, Zach Cowie, and Aziz always has records playing between takes.” Each of these elements elevate a real home, too. She applies the same in life. “Change it up and take risks—people will love it or hate it, or they’ll find inspiration in it.” Amy also notes that each risk they took came with careful consideration—and thislevel of time and consideration is worth it when designing your own space. “We had a lot of time because of the pandemic, and because of that we just had so many conversations about very specific things,” she said. “Everything you see is very intentional and well thought out. We were very lucky that we had that time.”
