Of the original cast, Jean Smart was the only one not born in the south or southeastern United States. She was born and raised in Seattle, Washington.
The exterior of Sugarbaker & Associates Interior Design is The Villa Marre, a Victorian mansion built in 1881, and located in the MacArthur Park Historic District of Little Rock, Arkansas. It is listed in the National Registry of Historic Places.
According to creator Linda Bloodworth-Thomason during the 2006 Designing Women Reunion the character of Anthony played by Meshach Taylor was supposed to be a one off. But fans loved the character of Anthony so much that he was offered a full time role on the show. He joined the main cast officially for the second season in 1987.
Jean Smart had decided to leave the series on her own accord, as she had grown tired of the role of Charlene. But her main reason for leaving the series was to look after her young family. Smart's final episode was the season 6 two part episode "The Big Desk" with over 30 million viewers tuning in.
Dixie Carter, being a Republican, didn't always agree with her character's liberal views. So she and the show's producers came to an agreement: whenever Julia would go off on something on which Dixie didn't quite agree, she got to showcase her singing in a future episode.