Blade Runner Inspired Office Build: Deckard's Apartment
- Thread starter Trooper_trent
- Start date
I can half-ass a lot of things.
Well, it’s official…
My home office—which I was really very happy with before running across this thread—officially sucks.
My home office—which I was really very happy with before running across this thread—officially sucks.
LimeyBuilds
Well-Known Member
You play beautifully.
Now, tell me you love me.
Next up is this little light up display of various glass/crystal pieces.
For the film, the set designers and prop department salvaged a matching couch and lounge chair from an old casino. The lounge chair has a light on the backrest (we'll talk more about that later) and the couch has a lighted table built into the arm.
To replicate this display in the small space I have available, I decided to use an ottoman foot stool that matches the chair I found, so that the color and material would go together but would be the right size to display everything while fitting in the corner. The idea is to convert the ottoman into a side table for the chair with the same look and feel as the one in Deckard's apartment.
Being that it is a foot stool, it's a bit low. So the first thing I did was add taller legs, raising it up to an appropriate table height for the chair it'll sit next to.
I specifically bought a "storage" ottoman that features a removable top which would allow me to place the light down inside it.
I found a round LED panel light that fit perfectly inside so it was fairly easy to wire the light up to a dimmer and run the cord out the bottom of the ottoman.
I then screwed some square dowels against the inner wall of the ottoman to provide surface for the light to rest on.
A little more about the glass items on the table. The amazing internet sleuths on the Facebook group and PropSummit forum had identified the ashtray and the clear paperweight with the amber center to its left as both being Blenko brand; popular in the 60s for handmade glassware and decorative pieces.
While rare and a bit difficult to find, I lucked out on both and found them relatively quickly
The paperweight is a Blenko #68b in "wheat". they made different colors of the twisted glass inside
The square piece is a Blenko 7" ashtray in "citrine", which was also manufactured around the same time.
inside the ashtray is another paperweight. This one has a specific faceted pattern. There's lots of options for this and many are very close. I don't know for sure if the exact one has been identified. I ended up buying three different ones on ebay, trying to find the closest match in size, shape, and facet pattern. I ended up going with one from Tiffany & Co. that I found for around $30.
There are also a pair of lucite quarter circle bookends behind the ashtray. I found several of these made around the 80's but they usually had some kind of engraved design or image. It proved fairly difficult to find blank ones like these for a while. The other tricky thing about them is that no matter how many times I scaled the images to the known Blenko items, I kept coming up with 5.5 inches in height for the bookends but every one I found was 6 inches or taller, and they were all insanely expensive. Finally, I stumbled upon a random furniture store website that makes 5.5" quarter circle bookends that are absolutely perfect, and the best part is they were quite cheap.
The thickness of these is deceiving. They look rather thin in the film but they're 2" thick. This behind the scenes photo of Rachel has them sitting behind her and you can tell how thick they really are.
The last item is the glass cone. This one also proved quite difficult to nail down. There are a pair of glass cone sculptures on Deckard's piano that have a captured air bubble, made by Barbini, so initially I assumed it was one of those but the sizing and proportions were way off. It's much thinner. Not to mention a set of Barbini cones will run you $2,400! I searched high and low for quite a while. I found vintage glass cone wall sconces that were similar, but nothing identical. I had just about given up on finding something with the correct dimensions when userd1402, the genius behind the Asian Man run listed one in the junkyard that was perfect so I snagged it immediately.
So here's the final result! I still need to laser cut a sheet of frosted plexiglass to go on top of the light to give it a more polished look, but otherwise I think it turned out pretty nice and definitely looks the part!
For the film, the set designers and prop department salvaged a matching couch and lounge chair from an old casino. The lounge chair has a light on the backrest (we'll talk more about that later) and the couch has a lighted table built into the arm.
To replicate this display in the small space I have available, I decided to use an ottoman foot stool that matches the chair I found, so that the color and material would go together but would be the right size to display everything while fitting in the corner. The idea is to convert the ottoman into a side table for the chair with the same look and feel as the one in Deckard's apartment.
Being that it is a foot stool, it's a bit low. So the first thing I did was add taller legs, raising it up to an appropriate table height for the chair it'll sit next to.
I specifically bought a "storage" ottoman that features a removable top which would allow me to place the light down inside it.
I found a round LED panel light that fit perfectly inside so it was fairly easy to wire the light up to a dimmer and run the cord out the bottom of the ottoman.
I then screwed some square dowels against the inner wall of the ottoman to provide surface for the light to rest on.
A little more about the glass items on the table. The amazing internet sleuths on the Facebook group and PropSummit forum had identified the ashtray and the clear paperweight with the amber center to its left as both being Blenko brand; popular in the 60s for handmade glassware and decorative pieces.
While rare and a bit difficult to find, I lucked out on both and found them relatively quickly
The paperweight is a Blenko #68b in "wheat". they made different colors of the twisted glass inside
The square piece is a Blenko 7" ashtray in "citrine", which was also manufactured around the same time.
inside the ashtray is another paperweight. This one has a specific faceted pattern. There's lots of options for this and many are very close. I don't know for sure if the exact one has been identified. I ended up buying three different ones on ebay, trying to find the closest match in size, shape, and facet pattern. I ended up going with one from Tiffany & Co. that I found for around $30.
There are also a pair of lucite quarter circle bookends behind the ashtray. I found several of these made around the 80's but they usually had some kind of engraved design or image. It proved fairly difficult to find blank ones like these for a while. The other tricky thing about them is that no matter how many times I scaled the images to the known Blenko items, I kept coming up with 5.5 inches in height for the bookends but every one I found was 6 inches or taller, and they were all insanely expensive. Finally, I stumbled upon a random furniture store website that makes 5.5" quarter circle bookends that are absolutely perfect, and the best part is they were quite cheap.
The thickness of these is deceiving. They look rather thin in the film but they're 2" thick. This behind the scenes photo of Rachel has them sitting behind her and you can tell how thick they really are.
The last item is the glass cone. This one also proved quite difficult to nail down. There are a pair of glass cone sculptures on Deckard's piano that have a captured air bubble, made by Barbini, so initially I assumed it was one of those but the sizing and proportions were way off. It's much thinner. Not to mention a set of Barbini cones will run you $2,400! I searched high and low for quite a while. I found vintage glass cone wall sconces that were similar, but nothing identical. I had just about given up on finding something with the correct dimensions when userd1402, the genius behind the Asian Man run listed one in the junkyard that was perfect so I snagged it immediately.
So here's the final result! I still need to laser cut a sheet of frosted plexiglass to go on top of the light to give it a more polished look, but otherwise I think it turned out pretty nice and definitely looks the part!
yep! It's on the list! Real ones can be quite difficult to care for, especially in low light environments, which this definitely is.Beautiful transformations and great results
I've been on the lookout for a nice looking artificial (replicant?) one but so far haven't found what I want.
"Do you like our bonsai?"
"Artificial?"
"Of course it is"
"It must be expensive."
"Very"
"Artificial?"
"Of course it is"
"It must be expensive."
"Very"
You sir, just won a free tour of the office when it's done, along with a complementary JW black label out of a Cibi glass.
I will absolutely take you up on that one day.You sir, just won a free tour of the office when it's done, along with a complementary JW black label out of a Cibi glass.
RPF project of the year. So good it hurts.
Also, about 10 years ago I Deckard Tiled up my fireplace in Austin. Plaster casting all those squares was way more work that I thought it was going to be but it was worth it. I really wish I had done the antiquing wash but I never pulled the trigger and just kept it all clean and crisp looking.
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You sir, just won a free tour of the office when it's done, along with a complementary JW black label out of a Cibi glass.
What the Duck!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Sir, I have bought no fewer than one props from you. What does a total stranger have to do to get an invite to your home.
All kidding aside this is really an amazing build. Your putting in details I have never noticed and I have studied his apartment pics until my eyes went blurry.
This really looks like you walked into his apartment.
joberg
Legendary Member
Not a huge update today but this evening after work I weathered the final wall.
I still have to weather the ennis tiles on the overhang, but that requires masking paper and a ladder so I'm being lazy and procrastinating. The weathering makes such a huge difference in person. I have to admit I was really dreading this part after the first few test tiles took so long. But after watching a few youtube videos and revisiting some of asavage's weathering techniques it started going much faster and turning out more consistent. Weathering is such an unnerving process at first. putting that first dirty sponge/brush on a clean tile for the first time can be quite stressful. But once you just let go (you almost have to quit caring so much) and dive in, it starts going faster and faster. I think this last wall only took about 50 minutes to maybe an hour.
It's also strange how little of the weathering shows up in photos. I guess that's why screen used props are usually much more heavily weathered than you'd expect when you see them in person.
Up close these tiles look pretty gnarly. Lots of gunk all in the cracks, but zoomed out in the photo, it all kind of just blends together.
I think once I add the darker contrasting wash in the gaps between the tiles they'll stand out a bit more.
Next up is the ceiling light, which will be a faux skylight like Deckard has in his restroom. I slapped together a quick model while talking it out with hdtheater to get an idea of how to build it, but I'll go back and redo it more accurately now that I have the LED panel light in-hand to take measurements from.
I still have to weather the ennis tiles on the overhang, but that requires masking paper and a ladder so I'm being lazy and procrastinating. The weathering makes such a huge difference in person. I have to admit I was really dreading this part after the first few test tiles took so long. But after watching a few youtube videos and revisiting some of asavage's weathering techniques it started going much faster and turning out more consistent. Weathering is such an unnerving process at first. putting that first dirty sponge/brush on a clean tile for the first time can be quite stressful. But once you just let go (you almost have to quit caring so much) and dive in, it starts going faster and faster. I think this last wall only took about 50 minutes to maybe an hour.
It's also strange how little of the weathering shows up in photos. I guess that's why screen used props are usually much more heavily weathered than you'd expect when you see them in person.
Up close these tiles look pretty gnarly. Lots of gunk all in the cracks, but zoomed out in the photo, it all kind of just blends together.
I think once I add the darker contrasting wash in the gaps between the tiles they'll stand out a bit more.
Next up is the ceiling light, which will be a faux skylight like Deckard has in his restroom. I slapped together a quick model while talking it out with hdtheater to get an idea of how to build it, but I'll go back and redo it more accurately now that I have the LED panel light in-hand to take measurements from.
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Tiny update!
Been busy at work so not a ton of time to work on it but I was able to mount the Technics SL-7 turntable to the wall and confirm that it still works mounted vertically. Crazy that it was actually designed to work that way!
I'm not going to leave it wired up until I can figure out how to run the wires where they're invisible but still have it play through the integrated sound system in the ceiling. So for now, the wires are just tucked in the recess at the top.
I just need to find an appropriate LP to put in it. Anyone Vinyl enthusiasts recognize this label?
Been busy at work so not a ton of time to work on it but I was able to mount the Technics SL-7 turntable to the wall and confirm that it still works mounted vertically. Crazy that it was actually designed to work that way!
I'm not going to leave it wired up until I can figure out how to run the wires where they're invisible but still have it play through the integrated sound system in the ceiling. So for now, the wires are just tucked in the recess at the top.
I just need to find an appropriate LP to put in it. Anyone Vinyl enthusiasts recognize this label?
I think you're seeing the part of the turntable that presses the record down onto the plate so that it can play vertically.Seems to me that it's a half crescent Moon on the label
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