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A Very Brady Renovation

TV nostalgia meets renovation, and room reveals that put a smile on your dial.

Sorry Block, House Rules and Selling Houses Australia… there’s a new reno in town. At least for 4 episodes.

And A Very Brady Renovation just happens to marry those eternal before & after reveals with TV nostalgia. What’s not to love?

When HGTV go wind of the “Brady” house exterior, at 11222 North Dilling Street in North Hollywood, was going on the market for the first time since the 1970s they simply had to get their hands on it. Sorry Lance Bass.

It was an inspired idea to renovate the inside to resemble the TV interiors, but pulling it off is a major build. After all, there isn’t even a second storey on this thing. Enter HGTV’s Property Brothers Jonathan & Drew Scott and their crew. They design an extra wing to help make this dream come true without letting changes impact its instantly recognisable street view. Genius.

But the real masterstroke is in convincing Barry Williams (Greg), Maureen McCormick (Marcia), Christopher Knight (Peter), Eve Plumb (Jan), Mike Lookinland (Bobby) and Susan Olsen (Cindy) to assist. It’s the first time all 6 have reunited without Robert Reed (Mike), Florence Henderson (Carol) & Ann B. Davis (Alice). Normally one is a hold-out. But all 6, now in their 50s and 60s (eeek) were won over by this left-of-field approach that did not entail them reprising their characters.

Watching them arrive at the house and stepping into the actual house for the first time is magic.

“Everything is completely different. There is nothing the same!” declares Christopher Knight.

In the first episode Maureen McCormick helps source items including matching couch patterns and building that floating staircase.

“The stairs are everything, they have to be right!” she insists.

If you remember her on I’m a Celebrity Get Me Out of Here she is continuously kooky with a heart of gold. I blame Jan.

They even find a lookalike vase. Mom always said never play ball in the house.

Christopher Knight helps put an actual window into the space where a fake one hung on the exterior wall, and goes positively Matrix to get that horse statue perfected.

This is the brilliance of the show… the attention to detail is staggering. If one might expect American television to cut corners or settle for near-enough-is-good-enough it doesn’t happen here. The whole damn thing is impeccable right down to the stonework and ’70s colours.

The end of the first episode where the 6 kids get a room reveal on the living room is a guaranteed crowd-pleaser. I had a mile-wide smile at this moment. Damn you, HGTV, this house is now on my bucket list.

8:30pm Monday on TLC.

6 Responses

  1. This was a great watch – for anyone who grew up watching the Brady Bunch – I am sure you will enjoy.. What was also good is that each episode concentrates and zone and the reveal at the end, then for the next episode – They rewind to the first day and concentrate on another zone with another corresponding reveal. There are also Tidbits about the original show production as recalled by the “Kids”

  2. This was a great series, really enjoyed every episode. Although I was not a fan of the show, everybody knows the Brady house, and I wanted to see how they managed to pull this renovation off. For those people who cannot stand The Property Brothers, don’t worry, they are not prominent in every episode, and don’t make every scene about themselves. It was a concern I had too, as I can’t tolerate their programs.
    In addition to the 4 week season, HGTV will have at least one behind the scenes “what you didn’t see” special commencing this week in the US. This will be followed up later in the year with a Very Brady Renovation Christmas in the completed house.

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