A Very Brady Renovation - General Discussion

[MarkHB]

HGTV bought the San Fernando Valley house that was used as the exterior of the Brady Bunch's home and, with the help of a slew of their designers and the 6 original Brady Kids, are going to renovate it to look like the Brady house on the inside as well.

If you want to know what it actually looked like before the renovations, the Zillow listing is here. No, THAT bedroom was NOT made for TV (you'll know what I mean).

UPDATE: here's the opening...

 

[LexieLily]

Thanks for the thread.

Like I said in TBB thread, maybe the kids' bathroom will finally get a toilet!

[ByaNose]

Everyone on the stairs one last time. It’s pretty good picture. Although, Maureen & Eve look a little old lady in their outfits. They’re only 63 & 61.

[car54]

I watched the promo for this online and for a while I thought Eve was Florence Henderson--she kept looking so good for her age.

[CruiseDiva]

14 hours ago, car54 said:

I watched the promo for this online and for a while I thought Eve was Florence Henderson--she kept looking so good for her age.

I'm looking forward to seeing what the various HGTV designers do to renovate the house, but I hope they don't go all-Brady, all-the-time during the process. The promos are really silly and kinda off putting. A little of that goes a long way.

[Was-MArsenault]

I was at the car dealership today because the TV there was turned to HGTV, and they've really been promoting this a lot.

[car54]

I've only watched the first promo--where they all show up and see the house and the plans to change it inside to be more like the original set but I thought the designers said it was their job to exactly recreate the set as it was.

Edited September 9, 2019 by car54

[pep4]

I think this is an awesome idea for HGTV.  Looking forward to what they do, but a part of me is fuddy duddy enough that I liked how the previous owner decorated much of the house (except the pink bedroom and peach bathroom, of course!)  Thanks for the Zillow link.

Sold it to HGTV for $3.5 million!?!

Edited September 10, 2019 by pep4

[pep4]

On 9/7/2019 at 5:20 AM, CruiseDiva said:

The promos are really silly and kinda off putting. A little of that goes a long way.

The constant sidebar vids of the One of a Kind series are even more annoying, interrupting ever stinking show.  All those fake beauty contestant reactions and posing have me hating her!  What a great way to insure I'll change the channel when that show comes on.  Am watching less and less HGTV these days, not sure why they insist on bombarding obnoxiousness.

[BigBingerBro]

I have been seeing the promos for this and it sounds like it will be pretty good.  One thing I noticed is that while they were able to reproduce the different rooms, they appears a tad smaller than on the show.  I'm not sure if it's because they are all adults now or because of obvious size restrictions.

[ParadoxLost]

2 hours ago, car54 said:

I've only watched the first promo--where they all show up and see the house and the plans to change it inside to be more like the original set but I thought the designers said it was their job to exactly recreate the set as it was.

Its impossible to exactly recreate it.  The house was only filmed for exterior.  All of the interior was on a sound stage.

[suomi]

One of the factoids on screen provided a bit of interesting perspective:

"The Brady Bunch premiered on the same day the Beatles released Abbey Road." (September 26, 1969)

Mina's mom said she was 9 years old when the show debuted. (I was 19, and the only bad thing about my daughter learning to read was that she had access to the TV Guide and, clearly, no longer could we say "Brady Bunch? Oops, we missed it, it was on yesterday.")

[suomi]

OK, who shed a few tears during the reveal?

Didn't expect that. 

[pep4]

That was a lot of fun!

Cindy Brady on the kitchen:  "It would take forever to film in there.  They only had one camera."

[GHScorpiosRule]

9 minutes ago, suomi said:

OK, who shed a few tears during the reveal?

Didn't expect that. 

I did! This gave me SUCH FEELS!!! And made me wish that Bob, Florence, and Ann we’re still with us to see the AMAZING job everyone did to recreate the living room, dining room AND the stairs! 

I loved the little clips of the original show they edited in.

ETA: Shallow of me, but the original house was FUUUUGLYYYY! Maureen said what I was thinking, when she said it was very claustrophobic.

Edited September 10, 2019 by GHScorpiosRule

[mmecorday]

I grew up watching "The Brady Bunch" in reruns and I still watch it faithfully every Sunday on MeTV. I am loving this series so far. I'm glad that all six of the actors who played the kids were able to participate in this. But it is sad that Robert, Florence and Ann are not here to be a part of it.

The one thing missing from the coffee table was the 8x10 picture of the kids. I hope that when they recreate the parents' room that someone remembers to put up the portrait of the kids Mike and Carol received for their anniversary.

[GHScorpiosRule]

4 minutes ago, mmecorday said:

I grew up watching "The Brady Bunch" in reruns and I still watch it faithfully every Sunday on MeTV. I am loving this series so far. I'm glad that all six of the actors who played the kids were able to participate in this. But it is sad that Robert, Florence and Ann are not here to be a part of it.

The one thing missing from the coffee table was the 8x10 picture of the kids. I hope that when they recreate the parents' room that someone remembers to put up the portrait of the kids Mike and Carol received for their anniversary.

Same here! Even though I have the full series on dvd with that ‘70s shag cover!🤪🤪😄😄

And Maureen was wrong when she said that Mike and Carol were the first married couple to sleep in the same bed. Nope. Ozzie and Harriet were.

[nexxie]

Even though we all had to know the show was shot on a set, it was still somehow surprising to see how different the house was inside. Really fun to see them recreating the house - and to watch the “Brady kids” helping and interacting with each other. Blast from the past!

On edit: Guess I should say “recreating each set” rather than recreating the house.

Edited September 10, 2019 by nexxie

[absolutelyido]

"Recreating" the Brady house that never really existed is a ridiculous thing to do. But I had a big smile on my face the whole time watching it! It was much more interesting than I expected. I'm glad they told the whole story of how the plan came to be. 

[seasons]

I thought this was just a one time thing, didn't realize it was extended as they continue renovation throughout the house!

[ByaNose]

I watched the first few minutes & DVR’d the rest. So many people texted me because they know I’m a Brady Bunch geek. I’m 55 & watched it in the original run. I’ve seen every episode at least 100 times. I heard they were on Today Show this morning. Andy Cohen was singing with them on Instagram. Not shockingly Eve wanted no part of it. She stood in the back with Chris (who can’t sing) and, just stood there. She is such a stick in the mud.

[Kitty Redstone]

I enjoyed it and will definitely be watching the whole series.  The Brady house has always been a favorite (especially Mike's den).  

Maureen seems like a lot of fun. 

One of the best parts was all the people gifting furniture and decor. 

[debbie311]

1 hour ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

Same here! Even though I have the full series on dvd with that ‘70s shag cover!🤪🤪😄😄

And Maureen was wrong when she said that Mike and Carol were the first married couple to sleep in the same bed. Nope. Ozzie and Harriet were.

Except Ozzie and Harriet were married in real life. Mike and Carol were the first actors not married to each other in real life to sleep in the same bed.

[LittleIggy]

This was so much more fun and interesting than I expected it to be. I always liked that horse statue! I look forward to the rest of the series. BTW, Susan Olsen looks older than Maureen and Eve! Loved Chris Knight going all out to get the right color for the exterior.

[sheetmoss]

<Fun video to watch:

[sheetmoss]

2 hours ago, pep4 said:

That was a lot of fun!

Cindy Brady on the kitchen:  "It would take forever to film in there.  They only had one camera."

What's funny, many people today dislike 3 camera comedies and prefer the one camera ones

Edited September 10, 2019 by sheetmoss

[Sarah 103]

On 9/6/2019 at 3:41 PM, car54 said:

I watched the promo for this online and for a while I thought Eve was Florence Henderson--she kept looking so good for her age.

Nice to know I'm not the only one who had that reaction. I know Florence Henderson is dead and no relation to Eve Plumb, but when I saw Eve I thought "she looks like Florence."

2 hours ago, GHScorpiosRule said:

This gave me SUCH FEELS!!! And made me wish that Bob, Florence, and Ann we’re still with us to see the AMAZING job everyone did to recreate the living room, dining room AND the stairs! 

It must be so strange for the actors who played the Brady kids to be working on this project. I think this is the first major Brady project (like a documentary or a reunion special) featuring the original actors without any of the adults. 

2 hours ago, absolutelyido said:

"Recreating" the Brady house that never really existed is a ridiculous thing to do. But I had a big smile on my face the whole time watching it! It was much more interesting than I expected. I'm glad they told the whole story of how the plan came to be. 

The major thoughts going through my head while watching this were, "this is completely insane" and "this is totally awesome." 

[Grrarrggh]

What are they going to do with the house after they've spent all the money on it? And I really hope someone points out the Open Concept brothers and their HGTV cult members that the Brady family managed to have tonnes of fun and togetherness without open concept. 

[Was-MArsenault]

My parents wanted to watch this. We couldn't watch the whole thing unfortunately and only watched a few minutes of it, but my mom is really looking forward to seeing what the house looks like once its all done.

[QQQQ]

Unless I misunderstood,  I was wondering if they really brought the Bradys back for a reveal as each section of the house is finished, or if that part was faked and the reveals were all filmed at the end. Because 1) I can't imagine making parts of the house pristine, including breakable vases, one-of-a-kind furniture pieces, etc., in the middle of a construction site; 2) during filming of a reveal other work has to come to a halt - not good on such a tight timeline; and 3) the Bradys all said their schedules were packed - coming back to film one reveal would be so much more manageable than 3 or 4.

[ByaNose]

6 hours ago, debbie311 said:

Except Ozzie and Harriet were married in real life. Mike and Carol were the first actors not married to each other in real life to sleep in the same bed.

Actually, Samantha and Darrin from Bewitched are the first (actors) to be in the same bed.

[Was-MArsenault]

1 hour ago, QQQQ said:

Unless I misunderstood,  I was wondering if they really brought the Bradys back for a reveal as each section of the house is finished, or if that part was faked and the reveals were all filmed at the end. Because 1) I can't imagine making parts of the house pristine, including breakable vases, one-of-a-kind furniture pieces, etc., in the middle of a construction site; 2) during filming of a reveal other work has to come to a halt - not good on such a tight timeline; and 3) the Bradys all said their schedules were packed - coming back to film one reveal would be so much more manageable than 3 or 4.

That's what my parents said too, and they thought some parts of it were faked and staged.

[Blergh]

OK, so far so good! However; I'm wondering what HGTV is going to eventually DO with the BB House when all the reno dust finally gets settled. I seriously doubt just keeping it as a reunion spot for surviving cast members until the last one heads to the  Sunshine Day in sky would be worth all the time, trouble and expense the network's put into it!  

 Yes, Miss Plumb now has an uncanny resemblance to the late Miss Henderson but I can't help but think that Miss McCormick is closest to their late TV mom in the feistiness department!  

[SamBeckett]

Although I am the "right age," I never watched the show. I was aware of it, and saw bits of it, and am familiar with the house. But I didn't watch it. However, like others noted above, I was oddly moved by the episode last night. Yes, I know -- nothing but nostalgia. 

Turning to more practical matters: I echo the question — Who the heck is going to buy this thing? I assume when we get to the kitchen, they will insist in using "period" appliances. How's that going to go over with a 21st century family? I know there are "retro" fridges, stoves, coffee makers . . . but do they work? Are they built to last? Did they have microwave ovens in the late 60s?

One last thing: The couch was butt-ugly and didn't look particularly comfortable.

So?????????

[Shermie]

The Flintstones slept in the same bed eventually. 😁 So did the Munsters. 

Actually, the first couple to be shown in a double bed on tv was very obscure. According to Snopes...

"Would it surprise you to find out that the answer is a show that antedates even I Love Lucy? A program that was, in fact, television’s very first sitcom?

On Tuesday, 18 November 1947, a 15-minute program entitled Mary Kay and Johnnymade its debut on the Dumont network. Like the more famous I Love Lucy series that followed it, Mary Kay and Johnny starred a real-life couple, actors Johnny and Mary Kay Stearns. Mary Kay had been modeling junior wear on a weekly TV show when her husband pitched the idea of a television-based domestic comedy to a sponsor. (Many such domestic shows, often featuring real-life couples, were playing on radio, but none had yet made the transition to television). Johnny got the go-ahead to produce a single episode, so he wrote a light comedic script about a newly-married couple who lived in a Greenwich Village apartment, just as he and Mary Kay, also a newly-married couple, did. The show caught on, and Mary Kay and Johnny, performed live, became television’s first sitcom, eventually running for three years on three different networks (Dumont, NBC, and CBS)."

But if you want the first tv human couple that was not married in real life? I think the Brady's win.

As for the house afterwards? I hope it's open to tours, although the neighbours might not like having a tourist attraction in their residential area. Zoning, parking, and all that. Maybe it will be somewhere you can book to stay overnight.

[LoveIsJoy]

1 hour ago, Blergh said:

Yes, Miss Plumb now has an uncanny resemblance to the late Miss Henderson

Many years ago, I saw an interview with Eve Plumb. She mentioned that one of the main reasons she was cast to play Jan, was because the casting director/producers thought she bore a striking resemblance to Florence Henderson. I remember at the time that I didn’t really see anything beyond a superficial similarity, so it’s interesting to me that a few posters have said they can look at Eve and see Florence Henderson!  I'll have to take another look.

[alexa]

My understanding is that HGTV is selling the house when they are done.  I think I read that somewhere around the time they bought the house.  The plan was to restore it for the show/the network, and all of the Brady fans, assuming that someone that loves the Bradys will buy it.  

Honestly, it would be kind of fun to live in the Brady designed house 🙂

Edited September 10, 2019 by alexa

[nexxie]

1 hour ago, alexa said:

My understanding is that HGTV is selling the house when they are done.  I think I read that somewhere around the time they bought the house.  The plan was to restore it for the show/the network, and all of the Brady fans, assuming that someone that loves the Bradys will buy it.  

Honestly, it would be kind of fun to live in the Brady designed house 🙂

It’ll be interesting to see who buys it!

[nexxie]

11 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

This was so much more fun and interesting than I expected it to be. I always liked that horse statue! I look forward to the rest of the series. BTW, Susan Olsen looks older than Maureen and Eve! Loved Chris Knight going all out to get the right color for the exterior.

Chris Knight was great with the color detective work and with the 3D horse stuff - really enjoyed him! (‘Course he was my fav way back when, so...)

12 hours ago, ByaNose said:

I watched the first few minutes & DVR’d the rest. So many people texted me because they know I’m a Brady Bunch geek. I’m 55 & watched it in the original run. I’ve seen every episode at least 100 times. I heard they were on Today Show this morning. Andy Cohen was singing with them on Instagram. Not shockingly Eve wanted no part of it. She stood in the back with Chris (who can’t sing) and, just stood there. She is such a stick in the mud.

Eve will have a bigger part later - they were assigned different rooms.

[Frost]

I'm impressed with all the effort they are going through to recreate the exact interior, but I'm not gonna lie...the interior is BUTT UGLY!  And I grew up in that period with the shag carpeting and colored appliances and formica kitchens.  All the different types of stone work: brick and stack stone and whatever you call that stuff on the wall by the entry door!  Stick to one, for goodness sake!  And that couch!  The fabric was hideous!

[3 is enough]

Does anyone know how many episodes there will be?  I was surprised that it was 90 minutes.

I appreciate the effort to recreate the original home as seen on tv, but the 70's had the ugliest home decor trends ever.  I can't imagine someone paying multi-millions of dollars for that home and leaving it as is. 

I did enjoy it, but I am fed up with all the promos. 

[mmecorday]

Quote

I watched the first few minutes & DVR’d the rest. So many people texted me because they know I’m a Brady Bunch geek. I’m 55 & watched it in the original run. I’ve seen every episode at least 100 times. I heard they were on Today Show this morning. Andy Cohen was singing with them on Instagram. Not shockingly Eve wanted no part of it. She stood in the back with Chris (who can’t sing) and, just stood there. She is such a stick in the mud.

I guess Geri Reischl wasn't available to replace her. 😉

You have to admire the staying power of a 50-year-old show that ran for five seasons and never cracked the top 20.

[CruiseDiva]

2 hours ago, mmecorday said:

You have to admire the staying power of a 50-year-old show that ran for five seasons and never cracked the top 20.

I never followed The Brady Bunch. I wasn't their target audience when it first aired (I was in college) and when I did see it, it was a bit too saccharine for my taste. That said, this "recreation" of the TV home within in the actual house used for the exterior is interesting. I hope the Property Brothers aren't front and center on the remaining episodes, but I'm afraid they are the "narrators" so we just have to put up with them popping up all over. The grown up actors are interesting and their enthusiasm for the project is refreshing.

I have to agree with previous comments. Those interiors are really ugly. The set designers for the show must have been going for every interior decorating cliche of the era.

[Frost]

Why would big plastic grapes ever be in style?  Seriously.  Why?!?!?  My grandmother had a clump of them in a bowl on her coffee table in the 60s.  Even as a kid all I could think about was how dusty they were.  The rubbery plastic material they were made from attracted and held onto dust like nobody's business.

On the other hand, I too coveted that horse statue.  I wonder what it is actually made from?

[Homily]

16 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

BTW, Susan Olsen looks older than Maureen and Eve!

Once she outgrew the cute little kid phase I thought she became a middle aged woman really fast.  Possibly hard living but more likely just didn't get the lucky dip in the genetics department.

I have this PVRd and am looking forward to it.  I was definitely the target audience for Brady Bunch back in the day and still remember that the first season it aired we didn't have cable so all I had was the episode description in the TV Guide.  I don't think there has ever been a show since that I wanted to see as badly as I wanted to see the Brady Bunch.  

[StatisticalOutlier]

On 9/5/2019 at 6:54 PM, ByaNose said:

Everyone on the stairs one last time. It’s pretty good picture. Although, Maureen & Eve look a little old lady in their outfits. They’re only 63 & 61.

I'm 62, so right between them, but at the time, I definitely considered myself Marcia's age, and nowhere near Jan's.

The hippo that's on the wall in the girls' room?  I had the same one, only in pink. 

[ByaNose]

3 hours ago, mmecorday said:

I guess Geri Reischl wasn't available to replace her. 😉

You have to admire the staying power of a 50-year-old show that ran for five seasons and never cracked the top 20.

I think Fake Jan was working on The Partridge Family House. LOL!!!!!!

[nexxie]

4 hours ago, Frost said:

I'm impressed with all the effort they are going through to recreate the exact interior, but I'm not gonna lie...the interior is BUTT UGLY!  And I grew up in that period with the shag carpeting and colored appliances and formica kitchens.  All the different types of stone work: brick and stack stone and whatever you call that stuff on the wall by the entry door!  Stick to one, for goodness sake!  And that couch!  The fabric was hideous!

I love the lines and light of mid century design, but today’s updated nod to the era uses brighter colors and sleeker pieces than the ugly ones in the Brady house. (Still, fun show!)

These are cool imo:

[Waterston Fan]

I liked the episode and I admit, somethings I thought was strange like the grapes, I never noticed it. lol 

I would have thought they would have updated it to what it looked like from 'The Bradys'. 

I don't see anyone keeping that house the way it is now but the kitchen will be tough but I thought they said they would not be able to replicate somethings like the oven. 

[foxfreakinmulder]

17 hours ago, LittleIggy said:

This was so much more fun and interesting than I expected it to be. I always liked that horse statue! I look forward to the rest of the series. BTW, Susan Olsen looks older than Maureen and Eve! Loved Chris Knight going all out to get the right color for the exterior.

I agree, I wasn't looking for it when it came on after a show I was watching I let it run and was surprised how fun it was to watch.

I also agree about Susan. Maureen is 3 years older then I am and Susan is 2 years younger then me but I couldn't get over how their necks looked. Susan's neck looked like someone that has lost a lot of weight and still had neck fat but Maureen's was really wrinkled. I think out of the guys Christopher Knight looked the best and Mike Lookinland looked older than him.

I would absolutely love living in that house in all it's 1970's glory, and I want those glass table lamps that are in the front room. I love that house!