Based on the standup comedy of Tim Allen, Home Improvement ran for eight seasons on ABC. It focused on Tim Taylor, a former tool salesman turned TV host, and his family. They lived in suburban Detroit with a neighbor that was full of great advice and didn't show his full face until the series finale. But the Taylors' house was filled with more than a few subtle details many fans might have missed.
The House Is In Burbank
Detroit pride factors heavily into the series, which is no surprise since Tim Allen moved to Michigan with his family when he was 11. Allen's TV alter ego Tim Taylor is incredibly proud of living in Detroit but that's not where the Taylor home actually was. The set was in Burbank, California. But like most TV series, it doesn't matter where you actually are as long as you act like you're somewhere else.
Decor Came From Everywhere
The Taylor residence is filled with the typical odds and ends that you would expect from a series firmly entrenched in the 1990s. The set designers brought those pieces in from two specific sources.
First, they raided the Disney prop house since it was right there. Second, they hit flea markets, looking for item that would give the home a Taylor vibe.
Intentionally Ordinary
The set designers set out to make the home as normal as possible. It needed to be as middle of the road as possible to appear to be the house of a middle class family living in a suburb during that era. They definitely achieved that goal. The Taylor house has a few personal details but it could easily be anyone's home, a key part of making the series relatable to audiences.
Old School Milk Bottle
Three ways to learn a lot about a home is by rifling through their garbage, opening their mail and checking out what's in their fridge. Since sitcoms rarely spend time going through each character's respective garbages and opening mail every week would be boring, fans are left with the fridge.
In the case of the Taylors, the most interesting object in it is a retro glass milk jug. Getting milk that way wasn't common then but Pat Richardson, the actress who played Jill Taylor, really wanted to promote recycling whenever possible.
Michigan Opera Mug
There are a lot of objects around the Taylor home that scream Tim "The Toolman" Taylor but only a few touches that appear to be Jill's. One of the most obvious Jill related objects is her Michigan Opera mug. There's really no chance that it belongs to Tim. Given the amount of sports memorabilia and model cars around the house, it's important for Jill to assert her presence, too.
Fridge Worthy Photos
Like most families, it can be hard to decide what is fridge worthy in the Taylor home. It can be sub par art from your kids or report cards that are only 40 percent disappointing. But family photos are often a dominant resident of any family fridge.
On the Taylor's fridge are a series of photos that never get a close up look. The images are a mix of Taylor family members as well as the crew that worked on Home Improvement.
Car Toys Everywhere
Tim Taylor has a lot of passions in his life. Home improvement. Tools. Sports. But one of his favorite hobbies is rebuilding classic cars, something he does in the garage of the house. But the living room has several models of classic cars around it, as well as an antique car poster above the mantle. Tim Allen even picked out a specific car model to have ordered and placed on the set. Those personal flourishes are key in establishing a character's personality.
Detroit Sports Pride
If you're going to play a Detroit resident, you had better be a Detroit sports fan. Tim Taylor was certainly that. Memorabilia related to Detroit's various sports teams are all over his home.
This included things like a Detroit Lions pennant near the fireplace. Detroit Pistons legends Grant Hill and Isiah Thomas actually both appeared on the series.
Mismatched Dishes
Possibly the most classic move to make the Taylor home feel like a normal home were the mismatched dishes in their cupboards. It seems like a small detail, and it is, but it's also an important one. This happens as kids break dishes and you pick up new ones, slowly leaving you with a strange melange of plates, bowls and such. Having these mismatched dish sets around was a key step in making the Taylor house feel like a home.
Jill Versus Tim
At the core of the series was husband and wife squaring off against each other. Nowhere was that more apparent than the decorating of their home. There are a lot of obvious flourishes that belong to Tim Taylor but all of the core pieces were selected primarily by Jill. He might have gotten a few car models and sports pennants out but she's the one calling the shots on big items like the table and couch. It was a core battlefield in what was an otherwise loving relationship.