A Very Brady Renovation - General Discussion

[MarkHB]

Per IMDB, the show was originally shot on 35mm film, and of course it was on a soundstage.  This show is being shot on HD video in an actual house, so the lighting and the color temperature of the medium are both very different.

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

They probably would have just stopped filming, informed the person that the color they had chosen was incorrect, and reshot the scene with the person choosing the right color.      

Exactly. They're all professionals fully aware that they're making a TV show, and they're being asked to remember 50-year-old details from their childhood.

[Shermie]

I think they're doing such a fabulous job in this recreation that a few colour/shade differences are inconsequential. 

I hope it's not an airbnb; I want it open to the public like a museum. Much easier to keep an eye on everything, and many more people can see it. If someone books it for a night or two as an airbnb, that's two days that no one else can see it. I travel a lot and rarely go somewhere twice, so when I get to California, I want to be able to see this hous and I don't want to have to spend 1000s of $$$ to sleep there and have to book it a year in advance. Open to the public makes way more sense.

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I think it's amazing they were able to find actual an working stovetop and refrigerator that matched the set.

Older appliances were built way better than the current overpriced shit we have now. My parents had avocado green appliances in the '70s and the stove still works! They have it in their basement in a second kitchen. It's no longer outdated, now it's vintage. I'm sure there would be more working versions in those '70s colours if people weren't so quick to throw perfectly good things in the garbage in the name of style.

[eel21788]

7 hours ago, MarkHB said:

. They're all professionals fully aware that they're making a TV show, and they're being asked to remember 50-year-old details from their childhood.

If I'd been asked to match the color of the drapes from the house I lived in 50 years ago, it would definitely be a lost cause.

[ChicksDigScars]

They were SO CLOSE to me! The shot of the Welcome to Michigan and Welcome to Indiana signs were on the U.S. 31 Bypass that goes around South Bend, IN and through southwest Michigan to I-94. I drive it regularly. Although I wish they would have mentioned the Michigan town that they got the lovely avocado fridge in (we had all avocado appliances in the 70's and early 80's). 

Sadly, that Welcome to Michigan sign was plowed over recently. They even messed up the field stone base. I'd hate to see the condition of the car that drove into it. And it wasn't exactly close to the road. They left the highway and did a little road tripping to hit it. 

[ChicksDigScars]

On 9/25/2019 at 4:55 AM, methodwriter85 said:

Now I'm just wondering if they added any other bathrooms besides the Jack and Jill one. LOL. I really hope they did. LOL. I hope they at least fit a powder room in that little hallway behind the staircase.

There had to be a bathroom in Mike and Carol's master right? I always imagined it was tucked behind the headboard and that decorative wall

[methodwriter85]

I'm just assuming that they're not going to bother showing any other bathrooms they built besides the Jack and Jill bathroom because they didn't factor into the show.

They showed the og house and the master bedroom bathroom had a really cool infrared light that was used for drying. It reminded me of the bathroom in the Poltergeist house.

[doodlebug]

4 hours ago, ChicksDigScars said:

There had to be a bathroom in Mike and Carol's master right? I always imagined it was tucked behind the headboard and that decorative wall

Alice would have had to have a full bath, too.  It would be very unlikely that she'd have trekked upstairs to use the shower in the kids' bathroom and the powder room downstairs would probably not have had one either.

[txhorns79]

32 minutes ago, doodlebug said:

Alice would have had to have a full bath, too.  It would be very unlikely that she'd have trekked upstairs to use the shower in the kids' bathroom and the powder room downstairs would probably not have had one either.

It's Alice.  I'm sure the kitchen sink was her bath and the washing machine, her toilet.   

[iMonrey]

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I hope it's not an airbnb; I want it open to the public like a museum. 

The problem is the neighborhood probably isn't zoned for a museum or any other commercial kind of property. And I'm sure the neighbors would hate living next door to something like that. 

But yeah . . . I'd love to go in and look around but I have no desire to stay there overnight.

[GHScorpiosRule]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

And I'm sure the neighbors would hate living next door to something like that. 

I think someone up thread mentioned that there's only like, one neighbor. It was brought up during the discussion after the first episode aired.

[QQQQ]

Can someone explain the LA River behind the house in this photo? My 9 lb. Pomapoo peed a bigger stream this morning... 

I, too, hope it's not an AirBnB. I can just see some idiots ruining the furniture, counters, carpet, etc.

ETA: I see - it's a concrete flood control area. https://www.google.com/amp/s/la.curbed.com/platform/amp/2017/6/2/15731704/la-river-studio-city-bike-walking-path

Edited September 27, 2019 by QQQQ

[iMonrey]

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I think someone up thread mentioned that there's only like, one neighbor. It was brought up during the discussion after the first episode aired.

Technically only one house sits adjacent to the Brady house, but it's in a regular neighborhood, and is across the street from a road with houses on both sides of that street. The traffic, parking, etc. would be a real nuisance if it were even more of a tourist attraction than it is now.

[ByaNose]

If you do Google Earth it plainly shows it’s a regular neighborhood. They’ve had passerby’s for years. Now, it could triple or fruple (as Jan said). 

[txhorns79]

19 hours ago, QQQQ said:

I, too, hope it's not an AirBnB. I can just see some idiots ruining the furniture, counters, carpet, etc.

In fairness, any use for the house that involves people regularly using the home is going to eventually mess things up.  That's just normal wear and tear.  I think of my grandmother's home.  She had a family room, and a formal living room.  The family room had to have the furniture and carpet replaced after about a decade, while in 30 years, the living room never changed.  This was, in part, because most family gatherings took place in the family room.

[QQQQ]

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

In fairness, any use for the house that involves people regularly using the home is going to eventually mess things up.  That's just normal wear and tear.  I think of my grandmother's home.  She had a family room, and a formal living room.  The family room had to have the furniture and carpet replaced after about a decade, while in 30 years, the living room never changed.  This was, in part, because most family gatherings took place in the family room.

Except most people don't treat short-term rentals with the delicacy (?) a one-of-a-kind place like the BB house might require. And your grandmother's replacement carpet probably wasn't discontinued 50 years ago (same with counters, furniture upholstery,  etc,). 

I could see the BB house as a museum/photo op place. To solve the traffic issue, people could park elsewhere, be picked up by a bus/shuttle, and taken there at specified times. Rooms could be roped off, carpets could be protected with clear mats, etc. Put a gift shop in the garage! 

Edited September 28, 2019 by QQQQ

[MarkHB]

21 hours ago, QQQQ said:

Can someone explain the LA River behind the house in this photo? My 9 lb. Pomapoo peed a bigger stream this morning... 

I, too, hope it's not an AirBnB. I can just see some idiots ruining the furniture, counters, carpet, etc.

ETA: I see - it's a concrete flood control area. https://www.google.com/amp/s/la.curbed.com/platform/amp/2017/6/2/15731704/la-river-studio-city-bike-walking-path

Remember the drag race scene in Grease? Same idea, same river AFAIK. 

[QQQQ]

11 minutes ago, MarkHB said:

Remember the drag race scene in Grease? Same idea, same river AFAIK. 

Wow! I had no idea that's what that was in Grease. Thanks!

[LemonSoda]

On 9/11/2019 at 7:53 AM, msrachelj said:

How are they getting away with that in a residential area? I'd hate to be their neighbors. Are there any articles about what the town thinks, it would be interesting.

Long term it'll be interesting to see what happens. A co worker lived on the same street as a Frank Lloyd Wright house and there was constant drama due to fans clogging the already narrow street, or when they'd open the house for events or filming created a circus. She told a funny story about how she once abandoned her car in the middle of the street and ran to her house to pee because she had to go so bad and traffic on her tiny street was so bad. 

I like Maureen. I loved how bubbly she was on that singing reality show. My mind is blanking of the title. 

All I think of when I see Eve are those Dawn TV movies. 

[rmontro]

22 hours ago, QQQQ said:

I, too, hope it's not an AirBnB. I can just see some idiots ruining the furniture, counters, carpet, etc.

Plus someone might be tempted to play ball in the house, and end up smashing a vase - or the horse, or whatever.  

Maybe they should just bury the whole place as a time capsule.

[sheetmoss]

Ree Drummond/The Pioneer Woman  prepared a Brady inspired meal in the Brady kitchen  on her show today.

Jasmine Roth was her dinner guest

Edited September 29, 2019 by sheetmoss

[suebee12]

On 9/26/2019 at 4:49 PM, ChicksDigScars said:

There had to be a bathroom in Mike and Carol's master right? I always imagined it was tucked behind the headboard and that decorative wall

I just watched the episode where Mike and Carol changed places for a day with the kids. Carol took over the boys baseball practice and Mike "helped" Marsha cook dinner for her girl scout badge. The trade was not successful and both parent ended up stiff and sore. We didn't actually see the bathroom but we did see Carol in the dressing room while Alice ran a nice, warm bath for her so yes, there was a bathroom behind the wall where their bed was.

I also saw two episodes with Alice's bedroom. The first was the one with  Carol going to take care of her sick aunt and Alice's spraining her ankle and the other was where Alice sent the locket to Jan because she understood how it felt to be the middle child.

Edited September 29, 2019 by suebee12

[Deskisamess]

On episode 2, it bugged me a little that they didn't design the bathroom vanity correctly. They made the sliding doors below the sink straight up and down. That style of vanity actually tilted in at the bottom, which is why they used those thin sliding doors.

Instead of a regular toe-kick just at the bottom, the whole face of the cupboard slanted in from top to bottom. 

I don't know if this was meant to look cool and modern, or what the reason was. It made the floor of the cupboard much smaller and cramped. I looked at a house for sale not long ago that still had that cupboard design in the bathroom.

And shouldn't the shower head be on the same end as the tub faucet and handles?

[QQQQ]

1 hour ago, Deskisamess said:

I don't know if this was meant to look cool and modern, or what the reason was. It made the floor of the cupboard much smaller and cramped.

I, too, am curious how these types of vanities came into vogue... 

[CruiseDiva]

I remember living in an apartment with a cabinet below the mirror that had sliding doors. It was very handy for storing toiletries and make-up.

[LittleIggy]

22 hours ago, sheetmoss said:

Ree Drummond/The Pioneer Woman  prepared a Brady inspired meal in the Brady kitchen  on her show today.

Jasmine Roth was her dinner guest

What was on the menu? 

[rmontro]

If they did make a time capsule of the house, can you imagine 3,000 years from now when archaeologists dig up the Brady House?  They'll be like "Omigosh, it was all real!".  They'll probably be confused about that extra step on the staircase.  I'm assuming The Brady Bunch will be in reruns until after cockroaches have become extinct.

[sheetmoss]

59 minutes ago, LittleIggy said:

What was on the menu? 

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-pioneer-woman/episodes/the-pioneer-woman-a-very-brady-edition

Sticky pork & apple slaw  was an homage to Peter's Pork chops & applesauce

Edited September 30, 2019 by sheetmoss

[rmontro]

1 hour ago, sheetmoss said:

https://www.foodnetwork.com/shows/the-pioneer-woman/episodes/the-pioneer-woman-a-very-brady-edition

Sticky pork & apple slaw  was an homage to Peter's Pork chops & applesauce

Lol at Greg's Groovy Green Beans and Marcia-mellow Pie.

[Deskisamess]

16 hours ago, QQQQ said:

I, too, am curious how these types of vanities came into vogue... 

So cool looking...we had a pink sink and toilet in our house. The master bedroom had been added on during the 60's, so the bathroom was pink and the half-bath below was gold. We redid the master-bath a while ago, and I hated getting rid of the pink toilet and sink. It's a very small bathroom, nothing like that picture.

They missed an opportunity to carry the slanted look on that wall between the toilet and vanity. 

Edited September 30, 2019 by Deskisamess

[rmontro]

Is it wrong that I now want to redo several rooms in a 60s/70s style?

[Shermie]

That was a fun show, well done! Too bad Robert Rred, Florence Henderson and Ann B. Davis weren't around to see it; I think they would have loved it.

Such an interesting concept - to recreate an entire house base on a studio set. I can't think of many other TV houses that are so iconic and recognizable that they could do this. Maybe old timey stuff, like the Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. 

Mike Lookinland looks like Jack Nicholson, what with the dark glasses and joker grin. Once I figured that out, I couldn't unsee it

[mmecorday]

I had an attic room growing up. Sadly, it was nothing like Greg's beaded bachelor pad.

They did a fantastic job on Greg's room. I loved the detail of the mismatched carpet squares. Remember when Marcia wanted the room for her own, her mother said the floors were in bad shape and Marcia said she would cover them up in rugs. I always liked the fact that Greg's room looked a little unfinished because he knew that the other kids would be moving in eventually after he left the house and each would want to decorate it the way they wanted. Poor Cindy lamented the fact that she had to wait until almost the year 2000 to take over the attic.

I loved the parents' room. It really looked like an exact replica of Mike and Carol's boudoir. And yes, the master bedroom did have its own bathroom because the goat Greg and his classmates kidnapped from the rival high school ended up in the bathtub and somehow Mike ended up wrapped in the shower curtain when trying to retrieve the goat. Now I want those rice paper panels in my house. I always liked those.

I was off by two years on the make and model of Greg's first car. Instead of a "souped up" version of Carol's station wagon, I would have appreciated a close replica with the detail of the dented fender.

I wish they had been able to recreate the carport/garage but I realize they ran out of room in the backyard. They could have stacked the space with cardboard boxes from Driscol's Toy Shop and included a ruined copy of the portrait of the children that was supposed to have been Mike and Carol's anniversary gift.

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Is it wrong that I now want to redo several rooms in a 60s/70s style?

Nope, not at all! One of the big selling points of my house was the vintage 1960s kitchen with the Formica countertops and backsplash. The cabinets are in excellent shape -- and there are so many of them!

Edited October 1, 2019 by mmecorday
Answering a question

[ByaNose]

I want Rob & Laura Petre’s bedroom, living room & kitchen. It would be so easy since it’s nothing more then a ranch style house.

The bedroom was spot on. The paint color & screen looked amazing. I do think it’s funny that the whole premise of the show was to stick with Season 1. Why then build Greg’s bedroom attic from Season 5. It looked great but I didn’t think it was needed but I guess they wanted some more “current”. LOL!!!!! It was a great mini series and I’m glad The Brady 6 all happily appeared. It will probably be the last time they are together in one room. I’m now okay with that and at peace. Let them live their lives without having to always be together. They gave us a great 50 years  and maybe now they can quietly walk away if they choose to. 

[alexa]

4 minutes ago, ByaNose said:

I want Rob & Laura Petre’s bedroom, living room & kitchen. It would be so easy since it’s nothing more then a ranch style house.

The bedroom was spot on. The paint color & screen looked amazing. I do think it’s funny that the whole premise of the show was to stick with Season 1. Why then build Greg’s bedroom attic from Season 5. It looked great but I didn’t think it was needed but I guess they wanted some more “current”. LOL!!!!! It was a great mini series and I’m glad The Brady 6 all happily appeared. It will probably be the last time they are together in one room. I’m now okay with that and at peace. Let them live their lives without having to always be together. They gave us a great 50 years  and maybe now they can quietly walk away if they choose to. 

There is an upcoming Christmas special advertised after the show...I think they are all in it.  🙂

[ByaNose]

22 minutes ago, alexa said:

There is an upcoming Christmas special advertised after the show...I think they are all in it.  🙂

I must have deleted before the whole thing before it ended. Wow! They’re really milking it now. LOL!!!

Edited October 1, 2019 by ByaNose

[LexieLily]

1 hour ago, mmecorday said:

They did a fantastic job on Greg's room. I loved the detail of the mismatched carpet squares. Remember when Marcia wanted the room for her own, her mother said the floors were in bad shape and Marcia said she would cover them up in rugs. I always liked the fact that Greg's room looked a little unfinished because he knew that the other kids would be moving in eventually after he left the house and each would want to decorate it the way they wanted. Poor Cindy lamented the fact that she had to wait until almost the year 2000 to take over the attic.

Even as a child watching this Cindy's lamentation on being the last to take over the attic made no sense to me because the entire point of the attic bedroom was because Greg/Marcia wanted privacy from their younger siblings, and by the time Jan got the attic Cindy would have her own room. (Same with Peter/Bobby). The two youngest actually made out the best in terms of getting a room to themselves for the longest in terms of years. The four oldest kids are were all within one-three years of age so Greg, Marcia, Peter and Jan would only get the attic each for a year or two before heading to college. And I have thought about this more than the show ever did, I'm sure. 

Is the series over? My guide shows Episode 5 next week. 

[Fellaway]

23 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Is the series over? My guide shows Episode 5 next week. 

My DVR has an ep scheduled to record next week.  Then there's the mentioned Christmas ep in December, but I don't think we have a date for that yet.

[LexieLily]

Just now, Fellaway said:

My DVR has an ep scheduled to record next week.  Then there's the mentioned Christmas ep in December, but I don't think we have a date for that yet.

Thank you. I think there is an Episode 6 as well but it's only the generic show description, so no idea what it's about. Aren't they finished with all the rooms/spaces?

[rmontro]

2 hours ago, Shermie said:

I can't think of many other TV houses that are so iconic and recognizable that they could do this. Maybe old timey stuff, like the Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. 

I'd like to see them do the Munsters house.  I'd like to see how they build the staircase that raises, with a firebreathing Spot underneath.

The Little House was pretty small, so you wouldn't think it would be that difficult.  I guess the details would be hard, the old stove and whatnot.   

[Fellaway]

8 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Thank you. I think there is an Episode 6 as well but it's only the generic show description, so no idea what it's about. Aren't they finished with all the rooms/spaces?

I just had a look at my guide and it has an Episode 6 listed as well, with the generic description.  Next week's ep is a behind-the-scenes type of thing, I believe.  I have no idea what they'll have left to do for a sixth episode!  Maybe they're padding the schedule with extra eps, after the fact, because the ratings have been so good.

[LexieLily]

2 hours ago, Shermie said:

Such an interesting concept - to recreate an entire house base on a studio set. I can't think of many other TV houses that are so iconic and recognizable that they could do this. Maybe old timey stuff, like the Waltons or Little House on the Prairie. 

They could do the Full House house and see if they can solve that staircases-on-opposite-sides-of-the-house-lead-to-the-same-place problem.

9 minutes ago, Fellaway said:

I just had a look at my guide and it has an Episode 6 listed as well, with the generic description.  Next week's ep is a behind-the-scenes type of thing, I believe.  I have no idea what they'll have left to do for a sixth episode!  Maybe they're padding the schedule with extra eps, after the fact, because the ratings have been so good.

BTS sounds interesting. There were some "extras" on my On Demand of an Aftershow, with some random host guy (no one from HGTV) talking to the six Bradys around the dining room table. Maybe something like that?

Edited October 1, 2019 by LexieLily

[LittleIggy]

I teared up when Lara gave Maureen that heart paperweight that Florence’s daughter gave her to put on Carol’s dressing table. Very touching. I wasn’t a huge BB fan, but I really enjoyed this series since I grew up in that era. 

[answerphone]

"Older appliances were built way better than the current overpriced shit we have now. My parents had avocado green appliances in the '70s and the stove still works! They have it in their basement in a second kitchen. It's no longer outdated, now it's vintage. I'm sure there would be more working versions in those '70s colours if people weren't so quick to throw perfectly good things in the garbage in the name of style."

And why do we all dispose of these items? 

Because we all watch HGTV!😆😆

[Waterston Fan]

I didn't care for the attic for some reason but loved Mike and Carol's bedroom. 

I really hope they won't make the new street name and address permanent. I wished they kids had done a rendition of 'Its a sunshine day'. 

I really hate it when my DVR ends a few seconds earlier than I wanted it to. 

[alexa]

I loved this episode.... I loved the rooms, I loved the tour and the reactions of the Bradys throughout, and the little bits of them singing, etc.  This has definitely been a favorite HGTV series for me.  

[MarkHB]

7 hours ago, answerphone said:

And why do we all dispose of these items? 

Because we all watch HGTV!

Well, except for random old pieces of wood out in someone's yard where a turkey house fell down.  Those get renamed as "shiplap"!

[Frost]

I was disappointed by the last episode.  Yes, the point of the show was the re-do the house so the interior matched the sets, but I assumed the house would be livable and 'practical' as well.  In order to make Greg's "attic" bedroom, they actually took out a bathroom and sliding glass doors to the backyard, closing off the entire level!  I know they added an access door, but they turned a bright space into a fake attic.  It just hit me wrong.

I was also not happy about Mike and Carol's bedroom because the only way to get to it is via a small, closed off stairway that has a door at the bottom of it to hide it because it's in the wrong place.  And did they include a master bathroom?  Or is there just a small space behind the bed wall to fake the space for one?  The bedroom itself was a beautiful reproduction.  It's just from a livability standpoint, I wouldn't want to have to go up a narrow, closed off stairway to get to my master suite. 

What's on the main level behind the iconic stairs?  If you go past the landing and to the right, you end up in Mike's den.  But I always thought there was a hallway off to the left back there.  I thought that's where Mike and Carol's bedroom was.

Why did they bother making sure all the kitchen appliances worked if all they cared about was the look and not the function?  I don't know, I really enjoyed the first three episodes and they somehow lost me at the end. 

[alexa]

13 minutes ago, Frost said:

I was disappointed by the last episode.  Yes, the point of the show was the re-do the house so the interior matched the sets, but I assumed the house would be livable and 'practical' as well.  In order to make Greg's "attic" bedroom, they actually took out a bathroom and sliding glass doors to the backyard, closing off the entire level!  I know they added an access door, but they turned a bright space into a fake attic.  It just hit me wrong.

I was also not happy about Mike and Carol's bedroom because the only way to get to it is via a small, closed off stairway that has a door at the bottom of it to hide it because it's in the wrong place.  And did they include a master bathroom?  Or is there just a small space behind the bed wall to fake the space for one?  The bedroom itself was a beautiful reproduction.  It's just from a livability standpoint, I wouldn't want to have to go up a narrow, closed off stairway to get to my master suite. 

What's on the main level behind the iconic stairs?  If you go past the landing and to the right, you end up in Mike's den.  But I always thought there was a hallway off to the left back there.  I thought that's where Mike and Carol's bedroom was.

Why did they bother making sure all the kitchen appliances worked if all they cared about was the look and not the function?  I don't know, I really enjoyed the first three episodes and they somehow lost me at the end. 

I see your point, but I think they did what they set out to accomplish, and for many people, this is exactly how they would want the house to be.  HGTV will have this house for a while, and from there who knows what will happen, but it is a pretty cool house with all of the changes. 

As for the bathroom in Mike and Carol's room, it sounds like they just took the existing doorway out, and changed that up, but the bathroom is still there.  I actually thought the back stairway up was really cool...kind of fun.  

I think it is one of those things that you have to be into it for what they were doing and trying to accomplish, and that they did.... I think they were very creative and effective in making that happen.  

[iMonrey]

The only part of the attic they didn't recreate was the top of the stairway leading up to it. Now, I realize it's actually on a lower level but they could have made a fake stairway just like they made the fake window. 

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 In order to make Greg's "attic" bedroom, they actually took out a bathroom and sliding glass doors to the backyard, closing off the entire level!

I also thought they should have left the extra bathroom. They could have enclosed it. I never got a real sense of what Greg's attic room looked like in the original series, there could have been a bathroom on the side of the room we never saw.

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I was also not happy about Mike and Carol's bedroom because the only way to get to it is via a small, closed off stairway that has a door at the bottom of it to hide it because it's in the wrong place.

The hidden staircase is definitely weird. But then the priority of this remodel wasn't resale. I honestly don't know what HGTV will end up doing with the house, and they probably aren't sure either yet. 

Quote

I'd like to see them do the Munsters house.

The difference is that the Munster house wasn't a real house, it was a facade on the Universal back lot. It was eventually cleaned up and re-purposed as one of the houses on Wisteria Lane in Desperate Housewives.

In fact a lot of exterior shots of family homes in early sitcoms are facades of houses on studio back lots with fake neighborhoods for that very purpose (the Bewitched house, the I Dream of Jeannie house, the Partridge Family house, etc.). The Brady Bunch house was a rather rare exception in that an actual house was used.

What's so odd is how wrong a choice it was. You can clearly see that only the left side has an upper floor from the front view of the house yet the studio set placed the upstairs on the right side of the house. It's like they couldn't have picked a house more backwards.

That's what makes it so impressive they somehow managed to make this work. Crazy . . . but impressive.

[ByaNose]

In thinking (and, watching HGTV) is how big the Brady first floor set was. From the front door to the other end of the family room was a long walk. I remember one scene in particular where Maureen had to run from the front door to the kitchen and she was booking. There was so much room. Most sitcoms like Partridge Family, Leave it to Beaver, My 3 Sons, Growing Pains et all, the sets were so much smaller and cookie cutter. The Brady Bunch set was huge. That's why I was always so fascinated by it as a kid (55 now). I had always want to visit the actual set. I'm sure it was smaller in person but in general it was one of the bigger sitcom sets that I can recall. Of course, the stairs is a whole other story. I don't know who created it in 1968/1969 but they did a great job.