Catch a Glimpse at the Real Inside of Beth’s House from ‘The Queen’s Gambit’

The Wheatley residence first shows up in the second episode of “The Queen’s Gambit,” titled “Exchanges,” when Allston and Alma bring a teenaged Beth home after adopting her from the Methuen Home Orphanage for Girls. (Filming of the orphanage scenes took place at Schloss Schulzendorf, a private manor located outside of Berlin in Dahme-Spreewald). The Wheatley house goes on to appear regularly throughout the remainder of the series.

According to the Cambridge, Canada website, filming at the property took place on August 30th and 31st, 2019. It was quite a short shoot considering the amount of footage shot on the premises, which included scenes lensed on the street out front, in the yard, and on the porch. Pre- and post-production took considerably longer being that, per the real estate listing, the exterior of the pad was painted a powder blue for the series and then returned to its original white after filming wrapped.

Only the exterior of the home was utilized in the filming. Interiors were lensed on a soundstage-built set created by Hanisch and set decorator Sabine Schaaf at CCC Filmstudios in Berlin.

The extensive set bears virtually no resemblance to the design of the actual house. The Wheatley home appears quite sprawling on the series, with interior arches and wide-open rooms, while the Cambridge dwelling is much smaller and more closed off.

Beth’s kitchen, with its countertop that forms a narrow central peninsula, is the only space that even slightly resembles the actual house, but the similarities are in layout only.

Though even that room is decidedly different from its real-life counterpart being that it has an adjacent dining area, while the actual kitchen is closed off.

The décor and design schematic of the set are also a vast departure from those of the Cambridge house. While the Wheatley pad is busy, vibrant and covered in wallpaper, the home’s actual inside is much more subdued and plain. Of the set’s elaborate conception, Schaaf told Architectural Digest, “We jumped into these patterns and put layers and layers on top of each other.” Even when Beth redesigns the home in episode six, “Adjournment,” stylized patterns remain plastered in every nook and cranny – so much so that seeing the ordinariness of the house via MLS images after spending seven episodes immersed in Beth’s colorful world is truly jarring.

Most disappointing of all is the fact that the sloped rooflines of both Beth and Alma’s bedrooms are nowhere to be found in real life. Alas, it is a set designer’s job to create environments that draw audiences in and make them never want to leave, and Hanisch executed Beth’s onscreen world perfectly. Her home is a spot I could have stayed in forever.

Two other “Queen’s Gambit” locations can be found in the same neighborhood as the Wheatley residence. Beth’s classmate Margaret’s (Dolores Carbonari) house, where Beth attends an Apple Pie pledge party in “Doubled Pawns,” is right around the corner at 93 Salisbury Ave.

And the residence where Beth’s mother, Alice (Chloe Pirrie), confronts her father, Paul (Sergio Di Zio), in the series finale, titled “End Game,” is just a few blocks away at 16 Blenheim Rd.

Until next time, Happy Stalking! 🙂

Stalk It: Beth’s house from “The Queen’s Gambit” is located at 15 Brant Rd. S. in Cambridge, Ontario. Disclaimer: Please remember this is a private home. Do not trespass or bother the residents or the property in any way.

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