'Sirens' Production Designer On 'The Shining' Inspirations

Sirens production designer John Paino talks about designing the series’s fantastic and fantastical New England island mansion.

Sirens production designer John Paino is no stranger to creating worlds for the ludicrously wealthy.

You perhaps best know his work from both seasons of HBO’s Big Little Lies. His recreation of the exclusive world of Monterey, California, netted Paino an Emmy nomination for season two. He again dabbles in extravagance with Sirens, but this time, he leaves behind the West Coast aesthetic for a more traditional, but no less extravagant, New England vibe.

“They have more traditional New England style, federal style coming from colonial architecture. Like a salt box. Very simple structures,” Paino explained. “When people see a show about Nantucket or New England, you have to have the cedar shakes. You have to have the traditional eyelash windows. We embraced all of that, but we looked at how architects and interior designers who are more postmodern, but still do residences, incorporate classical or Greek architecture.”

Sirens stars Julianne Moore as Michaela “Kiki” Kell, the second wife of billionaire Peter Kell (Kevin Bacon). The social queen of the unnamed New England island, Michaela fashioned a world centered around her fantastic, mythically large island castle. Every detail feels exceptionally scrutinized by her from the massive kitchen to the cavernous foyer and entry hall to Peter’s private getaway. Paino’s gorgeous production design underscores her personal tastes while conveying themes of the series.

For example, Michaela loves to collect both objects and people within her palatial estate. As Paino describes it, she’s a collector of objects and of souls. She is, in essence, a modern day manifestation of the ancient Greek myth of the sirens.

Paino and team expanded a pre-existing mansion to make it even more fantastical for the series. Traditional New England structures would boast a widow’s walk, yet he added a massive cupola which double’s as Peter’s above-ground “man cave.” He added an enormous anchor in the front yard as a sign of Michaela bringing the history of the island into her decor through a massive statement piece.

He also created a footprint for the interior that deliberately feels too large to be contained within the building’s exterior. That’s something he creatively borrowed from one of the greatest horror films ever made.

“It is a bit like The Shining. I think our house was kind of as big as, you know, part of the Overlook Hotel. We wanted it to feel like also like the Winchester House, like they kept adding rooms,” Paino revealed. “We had a lot of niches and things like that. Is this leading to a door? Is this leading to another part of the house? There’s a scene when Simone (Mily Alcock) comes for her interview. We wanted that to be like Xanadu — that atrium walkway that fills up the entire house.”

Here, in a podcast interview with The Contending, John Paino talks about his process in designing for the unique world of Sirens. He describes Michaela’s influence on the property from the interior to the landscape. He talks about creating the outstanding kitchen which stems from real-world examples of extravagant architecture. Finally, he elaborates further on The Shining and Greek influences on his work.

Click below or here to listen to my full conversation with Sirens production designer John Paino.