An Iconic Victorian

Jessica Fletcher’s white Victorian is an iconic element of Murder, She Wrote. It’s a pivotal location for many episodes set in Cabot Cove. The Blair House in Mendocino, CA, was used for the exterior shots.

Many of the scenes in the Cabot Cove episodes are set in and around Jessica’s house. The floor plan below is a work in progress, and is based on the exterior and interior shots so far presented.

MSW did a very good job of marrying the layout of the set used for the interior with the shots of Blair House used for the exterior. This isn’t always the case. (I’m looking at you, Brady Bunch House.)

So far, the most noticeable departure is the elevated floor used for the front entry. While it’s not impossible that this is true to the original building, it’s almost certainly a change made for ease of staging. You often see elevated entries on interior sets during this era of television.

There are a few differences between the footprint of Blair House and the MSW set, mainly on the right side of the house. I’ve tried my best to find a happy blend.

The Kitchen

Jessica’s kitchen is truly the heart of her home in Cabot Cove. It’s far and away the room that appears most frequently, and it’s the room in which we see her typewriter, so we can imagine the many hours she spends in her kitchen writing.

The Dining Room

Jessica’s dining room is modest in size. It’s often used as a pass through from the kitchen to the parlor. A couple of Season 1 dinner parties offer a detailed look at the dining room:

The Parlor

Many dramatic scenes take place in Jessica’s parlor over the course of the series. Like the rest of the house, it is full of cozy maximalist details.

The Entry

Jessica’s elevated entry is an architectural feature well suited to staging scenes:

Rare Nooks and Crannies

Some of the lesser-seen corners of Jessica’s home:


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Author: Fiona May

Tending, minding, mending murdershewroteshewrote.com

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