‘Frasier’: Designers Spared No Expense On Frasier’s $3 Million Apartment
Frasier may be getting a reboot. Although rumors have been swirling for years that the gang will get back together, this spring fans came close. The stars of the hit sitcom held a video reunion for charity. The chemistry is still there. The actors still get along great, so a reboot would probably be an easy sell. Unfortunately, any new Frasier show would be missing an important piece. John Mahoney, who played Frasier’s dad Martin, passed in 2018. He often provided comic relief on the show, so his character would definitely be missed in a reboot. Another thing that may be different in the new version is the set. It’s not clear whether or not the studio still has everything that made Frasier’s apartment so special.
Frasier’s apartment on ‘Frasier’ was almost its own character
Although fans first met Frasier Crane in a dingy bar in Boston, that was hardly his aesthetic. The hit sitcom based in Seattle actually started thanks to Boston-based sitcom Cheers. Frasier was a regular at the bar, Cheers, on the show. When the network gave Frasier Crane his own spinoff, they also gave him a much more Frasier-approved set. Although the bar that Frasier frequented was pretty low-brow, Frasier’s apartment in Seattle is the epitome of high-end style. Frasier lives in the lap of luxury in his Seattle high-rise.
It has a view of both the infamous Seattle Space Needle and the Seattle skyline. The only thing missing from Frasier’s fictional window was a view Mount Rainier. Frasier decorated the place with a minimalist style, but even though there isn’t a ton of stuff in the unit, everything is carefully curated. The only thing out of place? Frasier’s dad’s recliner. The ratty chair is such a contrast to the rest of the pristine furniture that it makes a clear statement. It’s a symbol of the differences between Frasier and his dad Martin’s personalities.
Frasier’s apartment would be worth millions today
Unfortunately for fans with a huge real estate budget, Frasier’s apartment isn’t real. The pictures for the window backdrop were taken in a park. There are no condos there, so it’s impossible to get that view. But there are comparable apartments out there. When real estate agents were asked how much Frasier’s apartment would go for, their numbers were jaw dropping.
The agents priced Frasier’s apartment as being worth between $2.95 million and $3.5 million as of September 2018, according to Curbed Seattle. There was some good rationale behind those price points. First, as one agent pointed out, Seattle is home to a lot of big-name businesses, and the Crane condo is in the perfect location. If it were real, Frasier’s condo would be within spitting distance of Google and Facebook offices. A high-powered tech exec may want to snap up Frasier’s condo for a premium. A new buyer may change the decor a little, but it turns out Frasier could sell most of the items in his condo for a hefty sum, too.
The furniture in Frasier’s apartment would sell for a pretty penny
As Frasier said in the pilot episode, everything in his apartment was carefully selected. “You know, every item here was carefully selected. The lamp by Corbu, this chair by Eames, and this couch is an exact replica of the one Coco Chanel had in her Paris atelier.” That was true in real life, only instead of Frasier picking out everything, it was the prop department.
The prop team spent around $500,000 on the furniture in Frasier’s apartment, according to Mental Floss. Some of the items were rented because buying was simply too expensive. One of the highest-priced items was the sofa Frasier mentions in the first episode of the show. It was indeed a replica of Coco Chanel’s couch. The show bought it for $15,000. In fact, even Martin’s ratty chair was expensive. The producers couldn’t find one that they liked, so they bought a new one and beat it up.
