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\nRay Romano and Phil Rosenthal spoke exclusively with PEOPLE about reuniting for the Everybody Loves Raymond 30th Anniversary ReunionThe pair revealed which unexpected set pieces they took home after the series initially wrapped in 2005The upcoming special will air on CBS on Monday, Nov. 24<\/p>\n
Twenty years ago, Ray Romano<\/a> snuck a large piece of furniture home from the Everybody Loves Raymond <\/a>set.\n<\/p>\n Romano, 67, and the sitcom series co-creator Phil Rosenthal<\/a> spoke exclusively with PEOPLE following the taping of the Everybody Loves Raymond 30th Anniversary Reunion.<\/a>\n<\/p>\n Romano and Rosenthal, 65, explained that the production crew had to rebuild the original set completely for the reunion, so Romano had to return one key piece of furniture: the floral couch.\n<\/p>\n \u201cThat’s the first thing I took. That’s the only thing I wanted to take was the couch,” Romano tells PEOPLE.\n<\/p>\n Brad Garrett, Ray Romano, Doris Roberts, and Patricia Heaton on ‘Everybody Loves Raymond’.<\/p>\n Hbo\/Worldwide Pants Inc\/Kobal\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n \u201cI took the couch and it’s in my home theater,\u201d he adds, noting, “I hate saying that I have a home theater, but yeah, it’s in the theater.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n As for where the couch is now, he says, \u201cThey came and got it and they brought it back.\u201d\n<\/p>\n He shares that \u201cnot many people sit on it,\u201d because \u201cit’s not gigantic,\u201d and he already has 12 theater seats in the space.\n<\/p>\n “The couch is kind of on the side there upfront,” the No Good Deed actor says, adding that when his sons, Joseph, 27, and twins, Matthew and Gregory, 32, are there with their friends, he catches “some of their crew members lying on it” \u2014\u00a0prompting Rosenthal to joke that he should \u201cput some plastic on it!\u201d\n<\/p>\n Romano wasn\u2019t the only one to grab an unexpected set piece, as Rosenthal admits he took home Marie (Doris Roberts<\/a>) and Frank Barone\u2019s (Peter Boyle<\/a>) kitchen table and chairs after the series finale.\n<\/p>\n The pieces live in Rosenthal\u2019s guest house, acting as “the kitchen table and chairs,” which he confesses don\u2019t get a lot of use.\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt’s in the same disrepair that it was when we had it 30 years ago,\u201d he jokes.\n<\/p>\n The pair also talked to PEOPLE about reuniting with the cast and crew for the 30th anniversary milestone. Rosenthal, who describes the taping as \u201ca total high note,\u201d says, \u201cIt was exactly what I could have hoped it would be.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \u201cIt wasn’t sadness, but it was a little bit of nostalgia and missing and reminiscing. And it was emotional being on the set again,” Romano chimes in, adding that he had “definitely missed those days” of being on set.\n<\/p>\n Rosenthal says that they “appreciated” the show “when it was happening, which is very lucky to be able to do.\u201d\u00a0\n<\/p>\n Monica Horan, Ray Romano, Brad Garrett, Peter Boyle, Doris Roberts, Phil Rosenthal, Sullivan Sweeten, Sawyer Sweeten, Madylin Sweeten and Patricia Heaton on April 28, 2005 in Santa Monica, California.<\/p>\n Kevin Winter\/Getty<\/p>\n The producer notes that they were in their 30s while filming the sitcom, and had already \u201clived some life,” which helped them recognize the show’s impact.\n<\/p>\n \u201cSo when the success came, it was really sweet. It wasn’t expected. It wasn’t taken for granted ever,\u201d he says. \u201cIt just has increased in my heart over all the years.\u201d\n<\/p>\n The beloved sitcom \u2014 which also starred Brad Garrett,\u00a0Patricia Heaton,\u00a0Monica Horan,\u00a0Madylin Sweeten, Sawyer Sweeten and Sullivan Sweeten \u2014\u00a0premiered in September 1996 and ran for nine seasons before its finale in May 2005.\n<\/p>\n