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Leonard and Sheldon's Apartment

The living room of Apartment 4A

Apartment 4A is the primary permanent set for The Big Bang Theory and is the apartment where Sheldon lived til "The Cohabitation Experimentation" when he moved into Apartment 4B with his girlfriend, and eventual wife, Amy. At first it was only for five weeks due to Amy's apartment being flooded but Sheldon and Amy chose to live there permanently. Leonard Hofstadter has lived in this apartment since 2003 and currently lives there with his wife Penny. It is situated in an apartment complex at 2311 North Los Robles Avenue. By season 8, after Penny and Leonard's engagement, she was seen living there most of the time though not officially moved in. When viewed from the satellite photographs in "The Countdown Reflection" episode, it appears to be located at 215 South Madison Avenue. Due to the primary characters in the series, except Penny, being of the "nerd" social classification, the apartment has been dubbed as "Nerdvana" by Howard in season 1 episode 14 "The Nerdvana Annihilation".

Apartment 4A is located on the fourth floor of the building across the hall from Apartment 4B, where Penny lived and where Sheldon and Amy live now. Apartment 4A is known to be a corner apartment, being that it has windows facing outside on two sides. It may, in fact, be one of only two apartments on the floor, and may therefore have outside walls on all sides (other than the wall shared with the fourth floor hall and stairwell. The mailboxes in the lobby, however, indicate there are four units per floor, with only four floors in the building. The presence of unit 5A in season 2 however makes the mailboxes make absolutely no sense.

Apartment 4A is also a hidden Easter egg (apt 4A = foray) - either a "great raid" or the voice of Rocky the Flying Squirrel and Karen from Frosty the Snowman, June Foray.

For information on the actual view from their apartment see [1]

Layout[]

The apartment has one living room, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. A hallway links the living room to the bedrooms and bathroom. The kitchen is part of the main living area.

Sheldon leonard and penny apartment from tbbt

Apartments 4A and 4B


Immediately upon entering, the wall on the right houses Sheldon and Leonard's desks and the TV. The wall ends in the kitchen part. This wall is rarely visible, being the wall that is the view into the apartment from which the episodes are filmed, and has only been shown on two occasions (one is in "The Euclid Alternative", S2E5 and the other is "The Colonization Application", S8E17). The first was a view of the apartment from the hallway and the second had Leonard sitting at his desk during Sheldon's video. 

The Euclid Alternative 05

Rare camera view.

The wall immediately to the left after entering the apartment has a long bookshelf that ends at a small closet, with the wall itself ending at a large window with a desk and telescope. These bookshelves, behind the couch, serve to hold the boy's vast collection of books, some {w|software}, as well as an ever changing selection of their various collectibles. Pasadena City Hall can be seen from the window at the alcove, which has been used on several occasions:

After the window, there is a corner and the hallway that leads to the bathroom, as well as Sheldon and Leonard's bedrooms. The kitchen area is a small area that has an island with rarely used barstools since they usually eat in the living room area. A window is located at the end of the visible wall of the kitchen area (which can be clearly seen in several kitchen area scenes, one typical instance is in "The Loobenfeld Decay" (S1E10), when Toby Loobenfeld talks with Sheldon in the kitchen area). Presumably, this window is one of the two windows (the other being the large window described above) that Sheldon has stated "creates a cross breeze" when he describes his Spot.

Sheldon, at one point in time, had painted luminous glow-in-the-dark arrows on the floor pointing to the various nearest emergency exits throughout the room. He shows them to Rajesh Koothrappali in "The Roommate Transmogrification" (S4E24), but gets rid of them before "The Friendship Contraction" (S5E15) when he explains that they were "wildly carcinogenic".

Production-wise, the bathroom interior, Sheldon's bedroom, Leonard's bedroom and the connecting hallway are actually filmed on a different set than the rest of the apartment. The actual apartment set ends at a corner in the hallway immediately after the bathroom door which is for easier filming access and better view of the actors for the studio audience.

History[]

New Room

Leonard discovers how difficult it was for Sheldon's former roommate to live with him.

In "The Staircase Implementation", the story of how Leonard and Sheldon meet is revealed. Sheldon places an ad for a roommate after his former roommate, Sebastian, is driven to the brink of madness from Sheldon's antics. Leonard encounters Sebastian on his way to the interview with Sheldon, and he tells Leonard to run far away. Leonard is accepted by Sheldon as his new roommate and inherits Sebastian's former room, only to discover that Sebastian wrote "DIE SHELDON DIE" in red paint (like in a slasher film) on the wall.

At this time, the apartment also had significantly less furniture in the living room. Sheldon's only placement was two lawn chairs and cinder blocks as the TV stand. Even at this point in time, Sheldon's lawn chair was placed in the exact spot that he claims later on the couch. Their first major addition in furniture to the apartment was the leather couch, which Leonard buys for $100 from tenants on the first floor who were moving out; which is a great deal, since a new 4 Moroni Havana Leather Sofa retails for around $1,500. Careful watchers may recognize the style of sofa; while the boys utilize the full three-cushion sofa, defective detective Adrian Monk from the series "Monk" sports the smaller, two cushion model, of the line.

In "The Bozeman Reaction", the apartment got burglarized. Some of Sheldon and Leonard's game systems and various games were stolen. The police were also called to the apartment in "The Zarnecki Incursion", when Sheldon's World of Warcraft account was hacked.

In "The Staircase Implementation", an "apartment flag" is mentioned as a small blue flag with a coat of arms on it of a gold lion rampant on an Azure (heraldry)|field of azure on it. Flipping it upside down signifies that the apartment is in distress. In "The Roommate Transmogrification", Raj was given a lapel pin version.

Flag of Apartment 4A

Sheldon's apartment flag.

From "The Escape Hatch Identification" to "The Gyroscopic Collapse", Raj set up temporary residence in Sheldon's old room.

Bathroom[]

The bathroom is the first door down the hallway off the living room.

Check out The Bathroom.

Sheldon's bedroom[]

Sheldon's bedroom is located immediately after the bathroom. Sheldon usually keeps his bedroom locked, and supposedly rarely allows anyone inside, however, given the number of episodes where Leonard, Penny, his mother, Wil Wheaton, Amy, and others have been there, this appears to be more wishful thinking on Sheldon's part than actual practice. There was even the fact that Howard and Bernadette conceived their daughter in Sheldon's bedroom.

Sheldon eventually moved out, leaving his old bedroom vacant. This room was temporarily taken over by Theodore (who was hired by Sheldon to briefly stay there), Raj (until he got a new apartment), and even Sheldon (who used it for his work). With the news of Leonard and Penny expecting in the series finale, it can be safe to assume that they'll use the vacant room for their new child.

Check out Sheldon's bedroom.

Leonard's bedroom[]

Leonard's bedroom is the last room in the hallway. There is a ledge outside that runs by both bedroom windows. Sheldon uses this ledge during "The Bozeman Reaction" to access Leonard's room because he is too paranoid to go out of his bedroom because they were burglarized earlier in the episode. When Leonard married Penny, she eventually moved into his bedroom with him.

Check out Leonard's bedroom.

Kitchen[]

The kitchen of the boys' apartment features an open floor plan that lets action flow easily between the living room and the kitchen space. The large butcher block type table provides a separate sitting area, allowing interactions in a setting more intimate than the clutter of the living room. The fridge and Sheldon's tea box provide "busy work" as the actors interact within the kitchen space, and it occasionally functions as an area allowing characters to briefly leave the room and re-enter quickly, allowing the characters remaining in the living room to talk or interact at their expense. For example, the guys and Penny often laugh at Sheldon's quirks when he gets up to get a drink, and Penny famously touched Sheldon's food (taking and replacing an onion ring) when he left his spot on the couch for a brief beverage errand.

The Barbarian Sublimation 05

Penny Ordering Sheldon to get her an enchanted sword near the kitchen

For more info, check out The Kitchen

Living Room[]

The Big Bang Theory, Apartment 4A

The living room serves as the focal point for the majority of the "action" of the show. This is where everyone gathers, where gaming occurs, and where Leonard attempts to have intimate dinners with Leslie Winkle and Dr. Stephanie (constantly interrupted by Sheldon). The room serves not only to showcase Sheldon and Leonard's furnishings, collectibles, and artwork, but also serves as general storage space, given the number of partially assembled computer cases and other items around the area, including a vast collection of books.

Known rooms:

  • the living room
  • the kitchen
  • storage closet
  • the bathroom
  • Sheldon's former room (Raj moved into this room temporarily, before moving to Bert's garage)
  • Leonard and Penny's room (formerly just Leonard's room)

Notes[]

  • It is unknown when Sheldon moved into this apartment. In Young Sheldon, it will be unknown when he moves into the apartment.


Artwork[]

Vintageflight

Barewalls Vintage Flight III

Barewalls Vintage Flight III


CIATCS by Janet Van Arsdale


Seen to the left of the door in the pilot episode. Later replaced with the Captain Future poster. It is later seen atop the bookshelf to the right of Leonard's bed.


Robotexp-1-

Robots Exploring Desert

Robots Exploring Desert 


By Michael Saul. 


Located at right of the front door above the shelves since the pilot episode.


Forbidden

Forbidden Planet poster

Forbidden Planet Poster

From the 1956 sci fi cult film featuring Anne Francis and Robbie the Robot. 

Located on the closet door - replaced by a poster showing a telescope inside a hangar in S01E02 - The Big Bran Hypothesis .

Nikola Tesla Lab poster

Nikola Tesla Lab poster

Image shows Serbian physicist Nikola Tesla at his lab in Colorado Springs, circa 1899.

Located to the right of the closet, above the DNA helix.

Helixnebula

The Helix Nebula

Image by Hubble Space Telescope

Seen in the alcove.

Orionnebula

Orion Nebula

Image by Hubble Space Telescope

Seen in the alcove.

Pillars

The Pillars of Creation - Eagle Nebula

Image by Hubble Space Telescope.

Seen in the alcove.

Whirlpool
The Whirlpool Galazy M51 + Companion

Image by Hubble Space Telescope.

In the pilot it appears on its side in the alcove. Starting in episode two, it is most frequently seen on the side of the fridge on the blackboard organizer. By season five, it moves around again, replaced with a WMAP image.

Eschart
Electromagnetic Spectrum Chart'


Made by Boston Scientific and sold by American Educational Products. They update this chart every so often, so there are subtle differences with the one currently available today. The element chart portion in the one used on the set is in yellow, while the current version has it in orange . Seen leading from the living room into the hallway.


Captfuture

Captain Future poster

Character created by Mort Weisinger during the 1939 World Science Fiction Convention. Pulp character adventures published from 1940 to 1951.

Replaces vintage plane photo to left of front door in S01E02.

Issprint

International Space Station print

Solar panels against Earth's horizon.

This one is at a slightly different angle than the one on the show. Seen in the hallway just outside Sheldon's bedroom.

Warworlds
War of the Worlds poster

Painted by Frank R. Paul Seen in the hallway just before Leonard's room.

Trainwheels

Black and white photo print of train wheels

On the wall in the hallway.

Similar to this print.

Lego fight in ring

The Final Blow by Eric Joyner

Some people call this the "Rock Em Sock Em" poster.

Replaces a different poster, of a telescope, located in the living room on closet door.

Incident
The Incident by Eric Joyner

Framed artwork at the top left of the bookshelves behind the couch.

MercuryDTM
Beethoven basin region on Mercury

Digital terrain model from the MESSENGER mission. Appears on the blackboard organizer on the side of the fridge starting in S5 E21.

MercuryPhotos
Photos of Mercury

From the MESSENGER mission. Appears on the freezer door starting in S5 E21.

Electronics[]

SpiritofStLouis-2valve
DellXPS1710
MeadeTelescope

Spirit of St Louis radio

Two valve model

Red Dell XPS M1710 laptop

Note: (special edition)

Meade 70mm Telescope

Model: 20218 NG-97SM

SpiritofStLouisVintage
LogiTechStation
AlienWare

Spirit of St Louis radio

Standard model

[ LogiTech iPod Speaker Station

(on the bookshelf by front door)

[Alienware M17 Nebula laptop

(replaced Sheldon's stolen Dell XPS)

CelestronTelescope
DysonAirMultiplier

Celestron 102 SLT Telescope

NexStar computerized model

Dyson 10" White Air Multiplier

(later seen in blue also)

Dell XPS Adamo

(replaced Leonard's stolen XPS)

Cordless phone

(since pilot episode)

aircraft vertical compass

(left of the front door since S01E04)

two antique phones with ringers

(on cardfile in alcove since S01E04)

Amazon kindle

(unknown which model)

Apple iMac

(unknown which model)

Furnishings[]

Ektorp-chair 27116 PE088333 S4-1-
Thinker
Restoration Hardware(newer model)

(with Sheldon's spot)

Ektorp armchair

 from Ikea

"The Thinker" bookends seen on Leonard's desk and in the bookshelves behind the couch

BluePillow
ChenilleThrow
Candlestick Lamp
Blue "Button Down" pillow

Seen on the couch in the pilot and early episodes.

Wedgwood Rayon Chenille Throw

Seen on the couch in the pilot and first several seasons 

Better Homes & Gardens 

Candlestick Lamp 

SilkenShade
Pillow Perfect Roxen Striped Pillows
GurliOrange

Better Homes & Gardens 

Silken Toast lampshade

Pillow Perfect Roxen Striped Pillows

Seen since [S01E14]

Gurli Orange throw pillow

Seen since [S01E17], usually on the Ektorp armchair

Camel Plush
BeigePillow
Vi-pendant-
Camel colored plush throw blanket by Simple Deluxe

Replaces the blue throw blanket in [S02E07]

Gurli solid beige 20x20 throw pillow from Ikea

Replaces the blue button down pillow in [S02E07]

Volume International Pendant Light Model V-4801-2

Seen hanging in the alcove

Bankerschair
Wallswitch
Outletcover
Walnut banker's chair

Seen since S01E02

Black wall switch covers by Leviton Black outlet accent covers by Leviton
  • [pilot] Round glass over large gear coffee table (where the gang usually eats and plays games)
  • [pilot] desks (for the laptops and iMac near the back window)
  • [pilot] Pubmaster dartboard by Sportcraft
  • [pilot] swing arm floor lamp in silver/nickel finish
  • [S01E02] marble-topped island vegetable bin with 2 drawers and towel bar, to the left of the front door (you can tell this is a veggie bin because of the dual hinges on the front of the drawers, the drawers don't pull out, but rather the front of the drawer pulls down/away, usually used for storing potatoes, onions, and other root veggies
  • [S01E02] 30 drawer library card file

Games[]

  • Gaming is a huge part of the boys' lives and constitutes the major aspect of their social lives. Gaming is SO big, in fact, that it now has its very own section on the wiki. See Games


Sheldon's Desk[]

Sheldonsdesk3
Blackmeshcup
Silvermeshcup
Meshorganizer
[pilot]  black mesh pencil cup by Rolodex [S01E03] silver mesh pencil cup by Design Ideas [S01E03]  silver mesh desk organizer by Design Ideas
Meadnotebooks
Pencils and case
Connection item
[S01E03] college-ruled composition books] by Meade Products [S01E08] silver mesh pencil cube] by Design Ideas [S01E08] 3-D Space Navigator mouse
Bazic-calculator
S02E12MousePad
Metromeshfile
Bazic large desktop calculator model 3001-48 [S02E12] Water droplet mouse pad [S03E06] Black metro mesh magazine files] by OfficeDepot
Smeagol
Blackmeshpaperclip
Silvermeshpaperclip
[S03E09] Smeagol figurine] special item included with the Lord of the Rings, Two Towers DVD [S03E06] Black wire mesh paperclip holder by OfficeDepot [S03E06] Silver wire mesh paperclip holder by OfficeDepot
SilvermeshCDtower
[S03E06] Silver mesh CD Tower by Design Ideas
  • [pilot] silver/nickel z-bar lamp
  • [pilot] silver robot*


Science Stuff[]

Vostok
Celestial globe
Plasmaball
, [Pilot] Vostok Soviet Orbital Launch Vehicle on the bookshelves behind the couch [pilot]  Universal Celestial Globe stars to the 5th magnitude, on the bookshelves behind the couch [pilot] Nebula plasma ball (invented by Tesla), on top of the bookshelves behind the couch
DNAhelix
Wmapball
MeadeTelescope
[pilot] Two 17 base pair DNA helix (stacked) from Indigo.com. Less expensive teaching models can be found online as well. [pilot] WMAP beach ball from the Astrophysics Division at Goddard Space Flight Center (NASA Blueshift) [pilot] Meade 20218 NG-79SM 70mm Altazimuth Refractor Telescope (usually in the alcove)
Trex
Spaceshuttle
S01e10 armillary sphere
[pilot] Tyrannosaurus (T-Rex) First seen on top of a bookshelf in the alcove, but moves around to the desks, and the shelves behind the front door [S01E02] Space Shuttle Atlantis on top of bookshelf behind the couch - 1/100 scale from Tamiya - kit requires assembly and painting [S01E02] Armillary sphere on the card file (and in Leonard's bedroom), used in medieval times to calculate the hours of prayer
Parasaurolophus
Carousel-1-
Robosapien
[S01E08] Parasaurolophus figurine by YTC - on top of the card file [S01E09] RS Media robot by WowWee - on the cardfile in the alcove (eBay is your best bet here) [S01E08] RoboSapien figurine, usually seen in the bookshelves behind the couch
Wimshurst
Wimshurst machine by American Educational Products - a static electricity generator - seen on the shelves behind the couch
  • The Meade 20218 NG-79SM 70mm Refractor Telescope gets replaced with a Celestron NexStar 102 SLT Computerized Telescope
  • Sheldon's reverse osmosis machine


Star Wars items[]

Luke
  • Han Solo & Luke Skywalker, Heroes of the Rebellion in Stormtrooper Disguise Sixth-Scale Figures, Luke appears on top of the bookshelves behind the couch in [S03E09]. Han appears in Leonard's bedroom in [S03E12]. These appeared in VERY limited edition.
  • In season 7 on the book case behind the sofa in the living room is a replica of the Yoda Lamp from The Empire Strikes Back. (First shelf down, far right side in the Scavenger Vortex episode. These are available from the manufacturer.)


Superhero Figurines[]

DCDBatman
DCDRobin
DCDCaptMarvel
pilot]  Batman DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the alcove [pilot] Robin DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the alcove [pilot] Captain Marvel DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the alcove
DCDGreenLantern
DCDAquaman
Batgirl
[pilot] Green Lantern DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the alcove [pilot] Aquaman DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the alcove [pilot] Batgirl DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the kitchen
Black canary
DCDSuperman
Supergirl
[pilot] Black Canary DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the kitchen [pilot] Superman DC Direct 13-inch collection, above the kitchen [S01E14] SuperGirl figurine 10 inch figurine by Japanese manufacturer, Kotobukiya
Super Friends Superman
BASbatmanrobin
S02E11Superman
[S01E15] DC Direct 3: Super Friends Superman is on the trunk by the fridge, Wonder Woman and Batman are on the bookshelf by the front door, Flash not seen [S02E02] DC Comics Build-A-Scene, Part 1, All Star Batman and Robin on the shelves behind the couch next to the plasma ball [S02E11] DC Universe Classic Superman on shelf by front door
[[File:S02E11DCUBatman.jpg|thumb|center|208x208px [[File:S02E11Bizarro.jpg|thumb|center|220x220px
[S02E11] DC Universe Wave 3 Batman on shelf by front door [S02E11] Bizarro Sold as part of a special DC vs Masters of the Universe set, on shelf by front door
Apartment 4A - Toy - Firestorm
Apartment 4A - Toy - Green Lantern and Sinostro
Toy - Batman figurine 1
[S02E12] DC Direct Infinite Crisis Series 2: Firestorm on the bookshelves behind the couch, later by the front door [S01E12] DC Direct Ultimate Showdown: Green Lantern vs. Sinostro] two piece statue set - GL is on the shelf behind the front door, Sinostro appears in a later episode [S02E13] DC Comics Gotham Knight statue on the shelves behind the front door, moves behind the couch in [S02E13]
The Work Song Nanocluster 27 - BatmanBWmini
Flash and Green Lantern
Batman figurine 2
[S02E14] Batman Black & White Mini Statue by Neal Adams, far right on the bookshelf next to the front door [S02E16] DC Comics Build-A-Scene, part 3, Green Lantern and Flash] on the bookshelf behind the front door [S02E17] Batman ArtFX Statue] Seen in the bookshelf next to Sheldon's bed
BASSuperman
DCDSupergirl
Bat Dark Crusader
[S02E18] DC Comics Build-A-Scene, part 2, Black Canary & Superman on the bookshelf behind the couch, limited edition of 2,200 [S02E22] DC Direct 13-inch Supergirl figure seen at far right of kitchen area [S07E08] Batman: The Dark Crusader Mini-Statue, on the bookshelf behind front door

Other film, television, pop culture[]

  • [S01E14] Dr. Who: a black dalek appears on the shelves behind the couch in The Nerdvana Annihilation
  • [S03E10] The Lord of the Rings; Weta Gollum figurineā€” seen on Sheldon's desk in "The Gorilla Experiment"[1]
  • [S05E05] Game of Thrones: "Longclaw" sword (Sheldon and Leonard buy it at the comic book store in "The Russian Rocket Reaction") ā€” see this blog by the maker, Valyrian Steel, regarding their sword's appearance on the show
Rubiks

Rubik's Cube tissue box


Miscellaneous[]

  • [Pilot] Cutaway model of a DC-7 airplane. After the pilot episode, it gets swapped for a model of the space shuttle Atlantis.The plane shows up again in Leonard's room in S01E09, "The Cooper-Hofstadter Polarization".
  • [pilot] Leonard's high school yearbook (read by Amy in "The Pulled Groin Extrapolation")
  • [pilot] Sheldon's and Leonard's whiteboards
  • stuffed animal "Timmy", the ThinkGeek.com monkey, can be seen sometimes on the end table next to Sheldon's spot, other times on top of the bookshelf behind the couch
  • [S02E11] Magic 8 ball by Mattel
  • Rubik's cube tissue box  (seen in many episodes, but featured in "The Rhinitis Revelation" where Leonard holds it out to a sick Sheldon)
  • Christmas stuff
    • Batman/Bat Signal ornament
    • Superman logo ornament
    • Yoda stocking
    • R2D2 stocking
    • Darth Vader stocking

See Part 7: Shedding Light on Dark Matter of the book Unraveling the Mysteries of the Big Bang Theory by George Beahm (2011, BenBella Books, ISBN 9781936661312) for more fantasy, sci-fi, pop culture, and other items mentioned on the show in general.

Trivia[]

  • Sheldon plans to never stop living with Leonard, which eventually happened in Season 10.
  • After the death of Carol Ann Susi, who provided the voice of Debbie Wolowitz, the producers added a small photo of her on the side of the refrigerator facing the audience as a tribute to her.
  • Throughout the time Penny dated Leonard, she often slept in Leonard's bedroom with him. Even after their marriage, they usually have to stay here because of Sheldon as he often gets lonely and he might have abandonment issues.
    • They still use this room, even after Sheldon left.
  • According to Sheldon, there is a floor safe, a wall safe, and an Aquaman security camera, which he has had since 2012.
  • The final scene in the series takes place in Apartment 4A, specifically the main characters eating take-out after returning from the Nobel Prize ceremony.

References[]

  1. ā†‘ Gee, look, a Kindle on the The Big Bang Theory, Matt Burns, TechCrunch, 8 December 2009

Gallery[]

See also[]

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