In the Brannock’s new dream home at 657 Boulevard in TV series The Watcher we witness some strange goings on, but also some rather inspiring interiors, furniture, lighting and wallpaper.

The series follows married couple Dean and Nora (played by Bobby Cannavale and Naomi Watts) who, after moving into their new home in Westfield, New Jersey, are harassed by creepy letters signed by a stalker who goes by the pseudonym “The Watcher”. Created by Ryan Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix, the mystery thriller is loosely based on a 2018 true story article by Reeves Wiedeman for New York magazine’s website The Cut.

The Watcher allows us to gawp at some serious real estate eye candy: Dean and Nora Brannock’s new house is on a grand scale and beautifully designed.

The real house that inspired this story still stands at 657 Boulevard, Westfield, although the series was filmed in a Rye mansion in New York’s Westchester County. Production designer Kristi Zea chose the house from a possible 150 candidates. Built in 2016 by Vanderhorn Architects and Significant Homes, this ‘shingle-style’ house has four floors and features six bedrooms, seven bathrooms, a chef’s kitchen, a movie room, a games room, an indoor basketball court, a gym, a golf simulator, a three-car garage, six fireplaces and a swimming pool with spa. What’s not to like? 

The Rye house plays 657 Boulevard’s exteriors and ground floor entrance, with the remainder of the house being built on a sound stage for filming. Zea says, “Dean Brannock was a gambler, and Nora Brannock was a ceramist, so the interior had to be a blend of artful downtown elements and pure audaciousness.”

 

Let’s take a look around the interior details of The Watcher house.

The walls feature detailed painted wainscotting (wood-panelled walls) and the floors are mainly dark wood in a herringbone/chevron design.

The entrance hallway features a gilded iron Darlana Pendant Lantern designed by EF Chapman which sets of a visual conversation with the dark floor and decorative iron work around the windows.

Hanging from the living room ceiling is a Visual Comfort Lido Chandelier (see above) designed by Niermann Weeks. This sophisticated light is available in various sizes and is finished in antique mirror and hand-rubbed antique brass. You can also find similar at Lights.co.uk.

 

On the walls we find the Bryant Large Tail sconce in brass.

The kitchen white marble countertop is where many debates are held and here we also find a large square green marble (or quartz) dining table with some eye-catching midcentury chairs upholstered in animal print. Here the Brannock family read the first letter from “The Watcher”.

Tables such as the Plec family from 2Modern would fit a similar bill. The Plec tables are actually made of steel, a tough, strong, heavy and totally stable material. In its sheet format, steel is both malleable and flexible which allows it to be moulded into interesting shapes and the folds as seen in the Plec table.

Or you could introduce a more subtle hint of the beauty of green marble with the Green marble end/side table from Etsy (£955.86) or a block coffee table in real Verde Guatemala marble also from Etsy.

The wallpaper in the living room features a series of sepia-toned landscapes of trees. This wall covering is most likely a custom mural created in the grisaille style.

The Mural Works based in Seattle, USA have created very similar murals for private clients.

You can find similar “off-the-shelf” mural wallpaper such as the Misty Pine Forest Beige design from Photowall. This design, which can be customised to the size of your own wall at £37 per square meter, features tall pine trees in a foggy forest in calming white and grey, so it can beautifully blend with any interior design scheme. The haziness of the forest adds to the serene vibe. 

For a more modernist effect take a look at the Woods wallpaper – a classic design from Cole & Son featuring a forest of silver birch trees, or the Woodland Toile design from Sanderson, both from from Wallpaper Direct.

The Hackfall light grey forest wallpaper mural from Hovia or the trees photo mural from Etsy (which can be customised to any size) are also options to create a similar effect to the wall covering in The Watcher.

Despite the spooky goings on in this house, there’s a lot to take home from watching The Watcher.