The Big Bang Theory: Things That Make No Sense About Leonard & Sheldon’s Apartment

Most sitcoms tend to have one location that the series hinges around. In Cheers, it was Sam Malone’s bar. In Golden Girls, the show spent most of the time in the ladies’ house. And in Night Court, it was … well, it was the night courtroom Judge Harry Anderson was in charge of.

But on The Big Bang Theory, the key venue was the apartment that Leonard and Sheldon shared together. It was the place that the entire crew congregated. That being said, there were more than a few things that just didn’t make sense about their apartment – things that were never really cleared up.

10 The Apartment Had A Doorbell No One Used

Keeping in mind that Sheldon had a seemingly endless, almost unnavigable array of quirks, one of his most infamous was needing to knock on a door three times, and any time anyone tried to break the pattern, he had to finish it.

But the strange part was that their apartment, like all others in the building, had a doorbell that no one ever used. Sheldon’s influence could easily be the reason why no uses the doorbell or it may have also have been broken, like the elevator.

9 Why Sheldon Picked It In The First Place

Calling Sheldon “particular” is an incredible understatement. While this was off-putting to some people, anyone who took the time to get to know him found his foibles to be quite endearing. Sheldon was a truly good person, after all.

Throughout the series, it was heavily implied that Sheldon had lived there for a long time, but why he chose this apartment was never really explored. Knowing Sheldon, there were probably some very specific reasons.

8 The Size Of The Living Room

Leonard and Sheldon’s apartment seems like a pretty straightforward place. It has two bedrooms, one bathroom, a kitchen and a living room. Honestly, it’s a pretty nice place.

But the weird thing about the layout is the absurd size of the living room area. It seems like an incredibly massive space, though the fact that it’s actually a TV show set probably contributed to its odd dimensions.

7 The Other Apartments On The Floor Are Missing

The apartment that belongs to Leonard and Sheldon is on the fourth floor of their building, as was Penny’s old apartment, which is right across the hall from them. During the course of the series, other residents are mentioned, though few of them actually appear.

But given the known size of the building and the number of mailboxes in the lobby, there should be at least two more apartments on the fourth floor. But somehow, they never appear, nor do the residents, though it wouldn’t be a surprise to find out their neighbors had moved out.

6 It Only Has One Bathroom

It’s not odd that a two-bedroom apartment only has one bathroom. In fact, it’s very common.

What makes this odd is the sheer size of the open concept area that consists of the living room, office and kitchen. Given the large amount of open space that the architects obviously had to work with, they easily could have easily slipped a half bath in there.

5 The View Is Reputedly Quite Nice

The apartment was located in Pasadena, which is part of Los Angeles County in California.

Being on the fourth floor, Leonard and Sheldon’s place reputedly had some exceptional views of the city, but fans rarely got to see them. Showing them more frequently may have helped give some context to the setting of the series.

4 How Long Sheldon Lived There

While the reasons for Sheldon moving into the apartment in the first place are never made clear, how long he lived there was an even bigger mystery.

It’s heavily implied that he lived in the apartment for a long time, even before Leonard showed up. But no date has ever been firmly established for when Sheldon made the leap. Honestly, it might just be equidistant to work and his favorite restaurants.

3 The Stated Address Appears To Be Incorrect

Like virtually every other building in the real world, most fictional buildings in TV shows have street addresses. In the case of the Pasadena apartment building that Leonard and Sheldon live in, that address is stated on the show as 2311 North Los Robles Avenue.

But one episode that features satellite images of the building seems to indicate the address might actually be 215 South Madison Avenue. That address makes more sense, as 2311 North Los Robles Avenue is in the middle of an intersection near a Dominos Pizza.

2 How They Afforded It

One of the biggest mysteries of any TV series is how the characters afford the places they live in. Friends was a great example of this, as Monica’s apartment was incredibly nice for someone with her salary working in New York, rent-controlled or not.

The same is true of Leonard and Sheldon’s home. While they both had reasonably good jobs, the apartment was huge. It was hard to wrap one’s mind around how they managed to afford it and still load it up with all manner of geek collectibles.

1 The Layout Of The Furniture Is Illogical

When moving into an apartment, the layout of the furniture is usually defined by the floor plan of that apartment. One set of furniture doesn’t necessarily work in two different floor plans.

But in the case of Leonard and Sheldon, the layout of their furniture was defined by the fact that their living room was the set of a TV series. It made no practical sense whatsoever and would likely be quite awkward in the real world.