5 EMMY NOMINATIONS SPAN CLASSY CAREER : TOM TRIMBLE SETS THE ‘DYNASTY’ STYLE

Tom Trimble says he prefers to keep things simple.

This may seem like a contradiction, coming from the man responsible for “Dynasty’s” regal look, but it’s Trimble’s philosophy of simplicity that he believes garnered him yet another Emmy nomination this past season for art direction--his fourth for the ABC soap and fifth over all in his 27-year career as an art director.

“I’ve always liked the high style and good taste,” Trimble said. “I have a certain judgment of rooms and a certain taste that has formed the basis for what I’m doing now. . . .”

And it’s Trimble’s interpretation of high style and good taste that is embedded in one of television’s most popular nighttime drama series.

As art director for Aaron Spelling Productions, Trimble works out of a second-story office at the Warner-Hollywood studio in West Hollywood. The work area of the man who coordinates the lavish “Dynasty” sets is surprisingly plain. The only tell-tale signs of artistic inclination are a bulletin board covered with blueprints and fabric samples, and a drafting table with Trimble’s tools. The beige walls are practically bare and the sparse furnishing is nondescript.

But it’s here that Trimble has created sets that have captured the imaginations of viewers who mentally escape each Wednesday night (at 10 on ABC) to the luxury of the Carrington life style. The canvas of his prime-time masterpiece is the Carrington mansion, designed to reflect the wealth, power and elegance of the elite fictional characters.

Ideas for decorating the rooms come from the script and from consultations with the producers and writers, Trimble said. “The set decorator (Brock Broughton) and I discuss the character we’re doing the set for, the general color we want to use to enhance this character and the type of furniture which should be involved,” he explained.

He maintains that it is not an abundance of furnishings and lavish decorating that give rooms an elegant appearance but rather how the ingredients are used--a philosophy he credits to his father, a commercial artist.

“Basic simplicity is the best way to approach any job,” he said. “You do something simple and the style will follow. My father’s theory was from the Greek philosophy (to do things simply). If one is being simple in what one does, one has to be selective in what one uses . . . then the elements one does use become more important. That’s the way I approach everything I do.”

Trimble’s latest project for “Dynasty” is a new living room set for the devious but stylish Alexis (Joan Collins). “(It) has a grand look to it,” Trimble said. “It’s very opulent. The way it turned out exemplifies Alexis. . . . Alexis has a very dramatic flare.

“The style is reminiscent of the glamour period of the ‘40s. It has somewhat of an Art Deco look--light coloring, that chic look popular in the ‘30s and ‘40s. You’ll see it in the coloring, unusual shapes in furniture, the artwork (such as contemporary Japanese paintings) and sculptures.”

Style has become synonymous with Trimble’s name following more than 25 years as an art director and set designer. He began his career at NBC in New York, where he worked on “The Merv Griffin Show.” After 15 years with NBC, Trimble moved to Los Angeles to do “The Tim Conway Show.” He joined Aaron Spelling Productions in 1979, designing sets for “The Love Boat,” “Family” and several movies of the week.

Trimble stepped behind the scenes of “Dynasty” after the pilot was shot and the producers were not satisfied with the look of the show. The pilot had been filmed at the historical Filoli House in Northern California, but then George Peppard, who was originally cast as Blake Carrington, left the show and the company ran out of time to reshoot in the house.

“In order to use the original footage,” Trimble said, “we had to copy the floor plan of the house and reconstruct the house on-stage.”

Since the first season, the Carrington house has gone through some changes to facilitate filming on a sound stage, Trimble said. The most noticeable difference on-screen is the entryway, which in its original setting was awkward to film. The staircase is now adjacent to the front door, rather than set back as in the original house.

“I also added a conservatory with a bay window--where the grand piano is--and added a small room under the staircase, a solarium,” Trimble said. “I felt the house needed more interesting playing areas (for scenes to be filmed).”

With four Emmy nominations in his seven years as art director of “Dynasty,” Trimble wasn’t discouraged when it was announced last month that the new, slick-looking “L.A. Law” won this year’s award for art direction.

Winning a nighttime Emmy remains his goal--to go along with his Daytime Emmy Award, which he won in 1974 for “The Young and the Restless.”

“They are definitely a morale booster,” he said. “When one does receive one, it’s something one is very proud of. The way I look at it, it’s a byproduct of the job, essentially a reward for doing something you like and doing it very well.”

Yet the nomination is important in itself, he said, because it is voted by his peers. “They’re saying, ‘Yes, we do see what you’re doing and like what you’re doing,’ ” Trimble said.