Here’s the story, of a lovely lady… and a house we’re still in love with to this day!
A man named Brady might have been busy with three boys of his own but he still managed to carve out enough time to build the dream ’70s family home.
More than 50 years on, that quintessential retro housestillgives so many of us the warm and fuzzies, so we, of course, had to track it down and find out more!
Especially since the very real — and charming — home that served as filming location for all exterior shots has seen quite a bit of activity in recent years. Its high-profile former owner restored it to match its on-screen look to perfection — with the help of serial renovators Drew and Jonathan Scott, Jasmine Rooth, and even the original Brady Bunch kids. But first things first…
Is The Brady Bunch house real?
Yes, the Brady Bunch house is 100% real. It was built in 1959 and shot to fame exactly a decade later when The Brady Bunch aired the first of its 117 episodes on ABC on September 26th, 1969.
However, though the exterior shot of the home is certainly one of the show’s most used and most recognizable, it’s the only one actually filmed here. All of the action that takes place inside the house and in the garden was recorded on stage five at Paramount Studios in Hollywood.
Unsurprisingly, that hasn’t stopped it from becoming one of the most visited, most photographed, and most beloved TV homes in America.
In fact, according to the home’s former real estate brokerErnie Carswell, it’s the second most photographed house in the United States after 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington, D.C. (the White House)!
Where to find it in real life
If you ever happen to find yourself in California, Studio City to be exact, make sure to swing by11222 Dilling St.where you’ll find the Brady Bunch house standing proudly on a perfectly mowed front lawn.
That’s roughly a 20-minute drive from downtown Los Angeles and 11 minutes from Hollywood Blvd’s Walk of Fame. Universal Studios is merely 2 miles away, so it only makes sense to include this memorable TV home on your sightseeing tour if you’re ever in the area.
HGTV paid $3.5M to buy The Brady Bunch house in 2018
As you might imagine, when the house at 11222 Dilling St first went up on the market after a lengthy 45-year ownership (the previous resident sadly passed away in 2018), plenty of eagle-eyed buyers were ready and waiting with their figurative bidding paddles held high, hoping to become the proud new owners of the iconic home.
Initially, it seemed former NSYNC star and self-proclaimedfrosted tips survivor, Lance Bass, had secured the house with a winning bid that he tweeted was “WAY over the asking price” of $1.885 million.
Unfortunately, his victory was short-lived when no more than 24 hours later, he was informed that a corporate buyer (Discovery on behalf of HGTV) had trumped his offer with an eye-watering sum of $3.5 million.
SEE ALSO: The real-life homes from Modern Family — and where to find them
Alas, Bass’s dreams wentbye bye byeand a new renovation series was born…
HGTV’s series ‘A Very Brady Renovation’ brought the house back to its glory days
Soon after HGTV bought the Brady Bunch house, HGTV took us a trip down memory lane with the limited series A Very Brady Renovation which brought together the actors from the popular TV show to renovate their fictional childhood home.
Actors Susan Olsen (Cindy Brady), Barry Williams (Greg Brady), Mike Lookinland (Bobby Brady), Christopher Knight (Peter Brady), Maureen McCormick (Marcia Brady), Eve Plumb (Jan Brady) joined expert renovators and TV personalities like Jonathan and Drew Scott, Jasmine Roth, Steve Ford, Mina Starsiak, Leanne Ford, and Lara Spencer to breathe new life into the 1959-built home.
Stepping back in time
If you’re yet to catch the reno series, let me catch you up. Firstly, I can’t stress enough the painstaking detail that went into bringing the original Brady Bunch house back to life in just 307 days. Everything has been recreated down to the finest detail and I mean the absolute finest.
According to writer Joel Stein(who was lucky enough to get a private tour of the home) even the famous horse statue, found in a Paramount storage facility and promptly mended with a 3D printer, made an appearance.
Meanwhile, other original props from the show were sourced from adoring fans who had acquired them over the years.
The kitchen toaster, the huge stuffed giraffe in the girls’ bedroom, a miniature bust figurine on Mr. and Mrs. Brady’s headboard, and even a set of oversized plastic orange grapes were displayed neatly on the living room coffee table.
As you’ll see in tourvideos available online, the house has also been made to feel lived in. They even placed era-appropriate clothing in the bedroom closets, plenty of nostalgic knick-knacks on nightstands, and colorful hairbrushes (I’m guessing ‘Marcia Marcia Marcia’s’) lined up next to the bathroom sink.
As for the kitchen where the Bradys shared their breakfast and their woes every morning before skewl, it stands proud in all of its sage green and tangerine orange glory, with complimenting floral glassware and a fully stocked fridge.
SEE ALSO: The Real-Life Home Alone House: Then and Now
My favorite detail though? The drawing tools and blueprints placed in Mr. Brady’s office. Speaking of which…
Re-designing 11222 Dilling Street
I know what you’re thinking, from the outside, the Brady House looks like a one-story property. Well, that’s because it is!
Yes, the reno team had to dig down into the foundations and add over 2,000 square feet of space to the back of the property to make that iconic staircase happen. They also had to add a few Plexi glass panels to bring its questionable slatted ’70s design up to code for 2019!
So, whilst the kids’ rooms on set were originally located behind the front door, now, they’re on the second story of the house for real.
As for the rest of the space, amazingly, the team didn’t have any of the original plans so had to design the interiors from images and video of the set.
They even went so far as to sketch the stone entryway by hand and project those sketches onto the wall to make sure each and every stone was the exact same size and color as in the original home!
A massive success that attracted the largest audience in HGTV history
In 2019, standing outside 11222 Dilling St where a staggering renovation of The Brady Bunch house was nowcomplete,Los Angeles mayor Eric Garcetti officially recognized May 23rd as ‘Brady Bunch day’.
He also renamed the street Clinton Way after the Brady family’s address on the show (4222 Clinton Way), though only for the day.
Heartwarmingly, all six actors who played the Brady kids were present for the ribbon-cutting ceremony after having rolled up their sleeves to assist with the renovation itself. Funnily enough, since they shot all their scenes on a set, it was the first time any of them had ever stepped foot inside the house!
But the renovation series also banked a huge win for HGTV.
According to The Hollywood Reporter,A Very Brady Renovationis the highest-rated series inHGTV’s history with 3.36 million people tuning in for the opening episode alone.
Now we know why they practically doubled poor Lance’s bid!
The Brady Bunch house was recently put up for sale (again)
When HGTV bought the classic TV home in 2018, many people wondered what the TV network planned to do with the house. The Brady Bunch house renovation series partly answered this question but left fans wondering whether HGTV and Discovery planned on keeping it for future shows.
We soon had an answer on the fate of the iconic TV home, when it was listed for sale again in late May 2023, with a $5,500,000 asking price.
The price amounted to $1,070/sqft, and marked a staggering 191.8% price increase from when it was last listed in 2018, factoring in the extensive renovation and expansion it underwent.
Sold again for $3.2M in 2023
Unsurprisingly, two months later, the TV-famous property was already under contract — though it did take a while for the sale to go through.
In September 2023, HGTV sold the Brady Bunch house for $3,200,000, or about 42% less than what they first listed it for ($5.5 million).
The new owner is Tina Trahan, an art collector and self-proclaimed superfan of the early 1970s show. Trahan, who’s also the wife of former HBO chief executive Chris Albrecht, admitted to buying the house as a piece of artwork, and does not plan on ever living on the property.
“No one is going in there to make pork chops and applesauce in that kitchen,” Tina Trahan toldThe Wall Street Journal. “Anything you might do to make the house livable would take away from what I consider artwork.”
Not that the property would be suitable to be lived in, even if Trahan so desired.
According to the new owner herself, the house isn’t truly a functional residence, with the kitchen being mostly decorative. “None of the appliances work,” Tina Trahan says. I guess HGTV’s renovation focused solely on elevating the design, with less focus on functionality.
Can you visit the TV-famous house?
Yes and no. While you can definitely drive or stroll by the home (making sure not to bother the neighboring residents of course — please remember that this is a private property), it seems there’s no plan to open the renovated Brady Bunch house to the public. Trust me, I’m as sad about that as you are.
That said, back in 2019, HGTV did runA Very Brady Contest,the winners of which won $25,000 and a 6-night stay at the property.
I’m holding out hope for another of these competitions and keeping everything crossed that one day 11222 Dilling Street pops up for rent on Airbnb.
How about the house from ‘The Brady Bunch’ movies?
If you’re wondering whether they used the same home forThe Brady Bunch Moviein 1995 andA Very Brady Sequelin 1996 (yes, it’s been almost 30 years since they came out… gulp!), on closer inspection, you’ll see the movie house is quite different to its ’70s counterpart.
The five-bedroom home is still an absolute dream however andvery much existsat4439 Firment Avenue, Sherman Oaks, California.
More stories
Mrs Doubtfire’s house is hiding in plain sight in San Francisco
Where is the Griswold house from National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation?
Where to find Edward Scissorhands’ house, castle, and town in real life
