Friends: 10 Hidden Details About Ross Geller’s Apartment

Ross Geller changed his place a few times in Friends. At first, he lived with Carol in a one-bedroom apartment. He stayed there from his divorce up to his subsequent marriage to Emily. The whole ‘I-take-thee-Rachel’ fiasco, ultimately cost Ross his second marriage but before his divorce with Emily was decided, she made him change apartments because she didn’t want to be near anything that Rachel had touched. They moved into her cousin’s apartment but when their marriage was finally over, the cousin kicked out Ross. When it’s family, who needs a lease agreement?

Ross then moved in with Chandler and Joey briefly before he finally landed Ugly Naked Guy’s former place. This is the place we’ll be talking about as it was seen the most in the show. It’s across the street from Monica’s, it’s breezy and it stores Ross’s geeky-stuff. Here are ten hidden details about the apartment.

10 He Changed The Color Of The Walls

One of the first things you notice about Ross’s new apartment is the changed color of his walls. It was deep blue when Ugly Naked Guy resided there. In a span of four episodes, the apartment changed colors from blue to a deep shade of red.

When Ross moved in, the apartment remained blue for a while, but in “The One With Rachel’s Inadvertent Kiss,” the walls are colored to red. We think Ross decided to paint the apartment red after a while. The color of the walls was a perfect contrast to all the pottery, figurines, and dinosaur stuff lying around.

9 The Apartment Number Kept Changing

Ross’s apartment kept magically changing numbers, just like Monica’s apartment. It was first numbered as 201, as seen when Ugly Naked Guy answers the door. When Ross finally gets the place in “The One With The Girl Who Hits Joey,”  the apartment is numbered 3B.

The two incidents are slightly one after the other. It is confusing how in such a short span of time, the apartment numbering has changed. Later, Ross’s door is seen without an apartment number.

8 He Loves Dragonfly Wall Art

The Dragonfly Wall Art is one of Ross’s constants. It seems like this wall art was difficult to get rid of, even in the wake of the getting-rid-of-anything-Rachel-ever-touched-sale. To be fair it may not be one of those things that Rachel has ever touched, sat on or slept on.

Ross takes the Dragonfly Wall Art with him from apartment to apartment and from marriage to marriage. It is seen in Ross and Carol’s apartment in season 1. It is such a prized possession, Ross wouldn’t let Carol have it, either. We mean, she got all the good stuff but not this Dragonfly plaque item.

7 The Ottoman

Like brother, like sister. Ross and Monica both owned Ottomans. Monica’s was green in color. Whereas Ross’s Ottoman was printed, brown and red and was more of a contemporary footstool, round in shape.

Ross’ ottoman is placed in the living room, by the side of the table. Ross doesn’t make much use of the footstool, though. Since the guys rarely hang at his place, it just sits vacant. Monica, on the other hand, gives Rachel a hard time over moving her green ottoman.

6 He Collects Mythological Artifacts

Throughout the series, a number of mythological artifacts can be seen in Ross’s apartment. In “The One With The East German Laundry Detergent,” a Ganesha idol can be spotted in Ross’s bedroom.

In his third apartment, (the one that we mostly talk about), there hangs a Chakra Meditation Painting on the wall. In “The One With The Stripper,” Mona sees an Indian artifact on Ross’s table and asks what it is. Ross replies, “That’s an 18th-century Indian artifact from Calcutta.” When Mona accidentally breaks it, Ross says the artifact is actually from Pier 1. Other than that, one could spot way too many terracotta, white and clay figurines in Ross’s apartment.

5 The Bookcase

Chandler and Joey helped Ross unpack his new stuff after Carol moved out. In the pilot of the show, Joey and Chandler built Ross’s bookcase. Considering Ross was a paleontologist, he needed sturdy bookcases for his literature. After Ross moved out of his apartment to Ugly Naked Guy’s, you could see the same bookcase in the new apartment.

Later, this bookcase was replaced by a smaller one. The similarity between the two is uncanny. Both the bookcases sported show items and a table clock at apartment 3B.

4 He Had A Lot Of Emma’s Stuff

Rachel moved in with Ross during her pregnancy. It was easier and more convenient for the two to stay together. After Emma, their daughter was born, you could see baby stuff all over Ross’s apartment.

There was a white crib, an Emma blankie. her prams, bassinets, etc. Rachel has a pair of baby monitors, one lying on the apothecary table and one with her. Not to forget the stuffed t-rex that she couldn’t sleep without.

3 He Loves His Apothecary Table

The apothecary table holds a lot of importance for Ross, so much so that there’s an entire episode dedicated to it (“The One with the Apothecary Table.”)

Ross and Rachel bought the same apothecary table. The table was mahogany in color and it had cute sturdy drawers, you could almost smell the opium coming out them. Ross said his table was the real thing, and why ever not? He bought it from pottery barn, after all. He also got some great sheets from the same place. We do not see Rachel’s table so often since she switches places. But we do see Ross’s apothecary table become a regular item on the show.

2 The Unlocked Doors

Even though Ross lived in NYC, he never locked his door. It’s a rare event to see Ross, Monica or Joey’s place locked. The gang witnessed Joey and Chandler get robbed, yet their doors were unlocked, almost always. Guess, Ross was always in a state of total awareness, also known as Unagi. More so after the time, Rachel and Phoebe knocked him down.

In “The One Where Ross Is Fine,” Charlie opens Ross’s door without knocking on it, prompting Ross to go, “Oh, I thought I heard voices!” Similarly, you notice his unlocked door in “The One With The Male Nanny.” Ross opened an unlocked door to Freddie Prinze Jr’s Sandy.

1 A TV Too Far

The location of Ross’s TV is deeply unsettling. It’s never in the picture like Monica’s. It’s not in an entertainment unit, like Chandler and Joey’s. His furniture may point to his television but the thing is far from the eye.

The TV is placed on the second table from the couch. Which would have been okay, had a giant apothecary table not increased the distance. Its odd location would have only added to strained eyesight and discomfort. How Ross manages to enjoy watching TV is beyond comprehension.

About The Author