My Take On The Morgendorffer's Residence

By Steven Galloway

Hello. I'm Steven Galloway, author of the 'Daria' fics "Revelations" and "Visitation". This is my take on the layout of the Morgendorffer home, draw from a computer on my job as a draftsman, a program called Autocad 14. Please keep in mind that this is not a plan set in stone, or anything, but simply just a harmless and realistic rendition of what I think of how it could have looked.

Many of the 'Daria' fans have speculated on how Casa Morgendorffer was built since the inception of the show, and I've decided it was high time for someone to lay it out and see what's what. I remember when somebody on the alt.daria site cleverly drew the floor plan with their computer keys. I wanted to add a little bit more of "detail".

Obviously, the house seems to have "changed" throughout the series. For example, when Helen and Jake's bedroom was seen on the *first* floor in the episode 'Daria!'. Yet, there doesn't to seem to be any bedroom on the first floor at all. The den/family room is almost surrounded by glass, so there couldn't possibly have been any other rooms that branched off from it, save for the kitchen.

Let's start with the first floor. I deliberately decided not to have added much furniture, for I wanted to concentrate solely on the layout of the rooms. I used only some of the familiar pieces of furniture that we see on the show that's used.

I have no den drawn in, since I don't think there's one to begin with, though I *do* have one in the house in my 'DF Continuum', but that's another story altogether. I conclude this because on many episodes, we see Helen either working on her papers in the family/living room, or in her bed when she's sleeping with Jake. If there was a den, wouldn't she be in there doing her work instead?

The family/living room is huge and window-lined, with a fireplace in the rear, which is beside two sliding glass doors that lead to a rear patio. Please keep in mind that I'm just speculating about the patio--the closest we've seen the back yard was in "That Was Then, This Is Dumb", and "Boxing Daria", I think, and they didn't really show anything like a patio. Oh, well...

The kitchen area is next, with the familiar bar counter, island stove, and nook that we've seen over the course of the series. There's two sliding glass doors that lead off to the side of the home. Other than the family/living room and Daria's room, I think it's been the most constant room in the series, design-wise. I'm relatively sure that I've gotten it laid out right.

Now, here's where it gets "tricky". Obviously, the clothes have to be washed and dried ("same" ones or not), and so I've drawn in a utility/mudroom for those dirty clothes that's right off from the kitchen--one of those two doors that you've seen in many episodes. There's also a half-bath, in which a toilet and sink reside. Both the half-bath and utility/mudroom are off the garage. Most large modern homes are designed like this, so I did the same.

Oooh, oooh! Where's the dining room, Steven? You know, what was seen in "The Lost Girls", and "One J At A Time"? Many fans have sworn that it's impossible to have one in the Morgendorffer's home, but I disagree! I believe it's right off the kitchen (obviously), where that "other" door is, complete with windows. Now, I *know* I've seen where the kitchen was shown through a crack in the door from the garage, but then again, I contribute that as the fault of the animators. I stick by my rendition here.

Now, let's leave the family/living room, and go upstairs. Oops, we can't forget the closet that's beneath the stairs (seen in "Depth Takes A Holiday", where Cupid and that leprechaun were tied up). Oh, and did anybody notice that high ceiling that exposes part of the upstairs above the front door? I think it's a high plant shelf of some sort, in front of the huge glass window that dominates the front of the house.

Let's go upstairs, shall we? At the top of the stairs, I've drawn a heating/air furnace closet. After all, the Morgendorffers have to keep cool and warm, don't they?

Directly in front of us, lies a full bath, more than likely the one shared by Daria and Quinn. The guest/third bedroom is beside that, and right across from it is the entrance to Helen and Jake's master bedroom, with a master bathroom and walk-in closet. A linen closet lies almost directly across from the hallway's bathroom.

Going down the hallway in the other direction, lies Daria's and Quinn's bedrooms. Some posters on the Paperpusher's board insisted that Quinn's room was over the garage, and after seeing "The Big House" and "Lane Miserables", I agreed with them. Quinn's room is larger than Daria's, which is located across from Quinn's, though Quinn's *door* isn't directly across from Daria's.

I've drawn stairs that can be pulled down so one could have access to the attic. Jake mentioned in "Is It College Yet?" about cleaning it out. This also added to my suspicion that the Morgendorrfer home is on a slab foundation, and does *not* have a basement. It doesn't look like it has one from the front, anyway. I ask that those who've written fanfics that it does please not be offended, since I've contradicted myself with the den idea... ;D

Well, that's the tour. What do you think? Did I come "close"? If so, please let me know either way at SGall23241@aol.com. Thanks.