“So no one told you life was gonna be this way
Your job’s a joke, you’re broke, your love life’s D.O.A.
It’s like you’re always stuck in second gear
When it hasn’t been your day, your week, your month, or even your year, but
I’ll be there for you”
Don’t we all remember this theme song from Friends, which is no doubt everybody’s favourite TV show till date and become like an anthem? There is one house in which every single member of the group has lived at some point or the other. Any guesses? Yes, you got it right – Monica’s apartment which later became Monica’s and Chandler’s Apartment, is one of the most used set homes in the show.
An inside view of Monica’s apartment
The walls of the living room are painted purple and the apartment has an open plan that mainly comprises of the kitchen and the living room. The apartment has two bedrooms, a bathroom and a balcony in addition to the main living area.
There is a door beyond the bathroom that is never opened (except in the sixth episode of season one where Rachel opened the door briefly while cleaning the apartment) but it is mentioned in the fourteenth episode of season eight where it is revealed that it is full of Monica’s disorganized junk.
Credits: friends.wikia.com
There is an old vintage French poster showcasing a rocking horse over the television area which is one of the most recognizable props from the show. It is one of the posters that Jules Cheret designed in 1885 for a department store in Paris that was known as “Aux Buttes Chaumont”. The French Jouets poster is specifically advertising children’s toys (“jouets” means toys) and features a beautifully decorated rocking horse, one of the most desired and expensive gifts a child could receive in those days.
There is a gold frame around Monica’s peephole (the door also is the same purple as the apartment) which was originally a mirror, and one of the crew members broke it. It was temporarily hung on the door, but since the crew loved it, the frame stayed there and has become an icon of Friends.
The following lived in Monica’s apartment but are never shown during the episodes
Althea(Nana) - Monica’s grandmother
Was the official tenant and lived there before Monica. After she moved to Florida, Monica stayed in the apartment, sub-letting the apartment illegally.
Ross Geller
He stayed there with his grandmother for a summer to attend dance classes.
These people have lived in Monica’s apartment at one time or another during the series
Phoebe
She was Monica’s room mate for some time before the start of the series. Monica’s obsessive cleanliness drove her crazy and she moved out. After a while she goes back to live with Monica after the destruction of her apartment due to fire (in the eighteenth episode of the sixth season), moving out to stay at Ross’ after Monica and Chandler’s engagement before eventually returning to her own apartment.
Rachel
She moves in with Monica after she leaves Barry at the altar in The Pilot. She is Monica’s longest-lasting room mate during the series until the sixth season; when she learns that Monica and Chandler will be living together, she moves in with Phoebe.
Chandler and Joey
They swap apartments with Rachel, Phoebe and Monica for a brief period during the fourth season. They eventually move back to their own apartment after a while. Chandler moves in with Monica at the start of the sixth season, where he stays until the end of the series, when the couple move out to their new house.
Jack and Erica Geller-Bing
They are probably the shortest-lasting residents of Monica’s apartment, residing for a few days before moving to their new house.
In The two-part series finale of Friends, Monica and Chandler’s apartment is where the last scene takes place. The apartment is empty as Monica and Chandler move out to their new house. Everyone leaves a copy of their keys on the counter on the way out, as all of them start a new chapter in their lives and the apartment finally becomes available for new residents.
Reference : friends.wikia.com
