How Nancy Meyers’s Production Designer Wound Up in Vanderpump Rules Land

Season 11 of Vanderpump Rules starts with Ariana Madix and Katie Maloney entering girlboss territory post-Scandoval. Having both undergone complete Tom-ectomies, the pair are now opening a sandwich shop together just down the street from SUR. Much like every other business on this show, it’s a slow journey. At the time of writing, Something About Her has yet to open after being announced more than two years ago. The restaurant is facing delayed permits, along with other necessary paperwork, because West Hollywood is turning Robertson Boulevard into a pedestrian thoroughfare.

But moves have been made — merch for the shop has been spotted in the wild, and Katie and Ariana hired Jon Hutman, one of Nancy Meyers’s go-to production designers, to create the interior of their sandwich shop. That’s right: The guy who made the kitchen in Something’s Gotta Give also did the tables at Something About Her. We spoke to Hutman about working with the very “professional� and “positive� women (he didn’t know they were reality stars), the definition of a “baller move,� and why everyone remembers the kitchen in a Nancy Meyers joint.

How did you come to design everyone’s favorite sandwich shop in potentia?
Unbeknownst to me, Katie and Ariana are huge fans of Nancy Meyers movies’ production design — which is me. Almost a year ago, I was working on a new Nancy Meyers movie for Netflix. There were some budget issues, and they pulled the plug on the movie on a Friday. Two days later, I get this random email on my website. It’s this girl saying, “Hi, my friend and I are opening this sandwich shop in West Hollywood, and we love Nancy Meyers movies. Is there any way that you might be able to help us out with this?� And I’m thinking, As a matter of fact, yeah. As of two days ago, I’m unemployed.

So we set up a meeting. We’re in this empty store, and they show me their Pinterest board and I Google a couple things, and they’re like, “Yeah.� And that was it.

Did you know who they were? 

I don’t follow reality TV. Pretend I’m a guy who lives in a cave. I had no idea who Katie and Ariana are. They’re really sweet.

We were well into the project before somebody said to me, “Wait, you’re doing that?� Someone sent me a thing Katie was on. Somebody described hiring Nancy Meyers’s production designer as a “baller move.� I said, “Is baller good or bad?�

How were Katie and Ariana during the design process?

I have to say it was really smooth and easy from my standpoint. They had an idea about a feeling. They were super responsive, they liked my ideas, and it was a very positive process for me.

What was the feeling that they wanted?

Feminine. I wouldn’t say a romantic comedy, but they showed me these cafés they liked. They have this sandwich menu and a plan of what they were gonna serve. They weren’t gonna have coffee; they were gonna have tea. I said, “How about if it has a little bit of this Frenchy feeling?�

Something I noticed was this buttery yellow on the awning and ceiling. It reminded me of what you said about rom-com apartments often being a warm yellowy white. 

Design, for me, is super intuitive. There’s yellow on the ceiling. The upholstery is basically different whites with blues and greens, and there’s a little bit of this kind of pale minty green.

What’s a detail you think people will be surprised to see when the shop opens?

If you have English afternoon tea, they wanted those kinds of sandwiches. So I went to Etsy, and there are these people who make kits to make these tiered sandwich things. And when it got to the art, initially I pitched black-and-white photos. But I said, “Wait a second. It’s Something About Her. Couldn’t it be images of women? Not necessarily suffragettes or whatever, but images of women?� And they’re like, “That’s really cool.�

What are the differences between designing a film set, which is fleeting and sometimes built from scratch, and working in an existing building to design a space meant to be lived in?

A lot of times on a film, we shoot in practical locations. So it’s not that different of a thing. Most of the films that I do take place in the real world. Even if it’s a period film, it takes place in the real world. I’m not so much a spaceship guy. I would like to believe that I could do anything, but I have to say I’ve kind of fallen into a pattern.

You’re always telling a story. Even when I’m doing somebody’s house, it’s telling a story. There is definitely a way that you could do a sandwich shop that serves tea on little tiered ceramic plates that feels like Grandma. But I could tell just from meeting them that wasn’t it. And this doesn’t have to do with how many Instagram followers they have. They were clearly not just trying to sell sandwiches, but they were trying to tell a story and create an environment. The clients may not even be aware that they’re telling a story. I think Katie and Ariana were.

Why do you think Katie and Ariana came to you?

I would say if there’s a brand that I’m known for in relation to my work with Nancy, it’s this kind of casual elegance, which really started with Something’s Gotta Give and the house in the Hamptons. I didn’t invent that aesthetic in any way. I went to the Hamptons, I had spent time there before, I did a lot of research. I always do. I brought a lot of observed detail into the house. The kitchen in the house has a lot of similarities to Nancy’s actual kitchen. There’s a plate shelf in the dining room that I found in a magazine, and years later, I met the woman whose house it was. She’s like, “You did my plate wall!� We pull these little things in because it’s observed. It’s not just, Give me a shelf and put some plates on it. It’s like, What’s the detail of the shelf? What’s the texture of the plates?

How do you feel about the fixation some people have with Nancy Meyers kitchens? She’s said before that she can find it sexist, like it takes away from her directorial prowess. But the way you’re describing the process shows how intentional each detail is.

Here’s my theory. People love that house and that kitchen because of the story that takes place there. I can’t believe how it stood the test of time and all of that stuff, but I’m telling you the reason that people remember the kitchen is they remember the story.

Nancy is very involved in that process. What makes her movies so resonant is that they’re very personal, each in their own ways. When you invest real emotion, people identify with it.

Have you tried any of the sandwiches?

I have not, but I’m looking forward to it. It’s fun for me, when I design a set, to see it come to life. I would love to go to the sandwich shop after it opens, and sit in the corner with a little sandwich, and just watch people come in and react.

Have you seen the show since finding out?

I haven’t. Is that bad?

This interview has been edited for content and clarity.