When the Brady Bunch house went up for sale in mid-July, fans of the classic TV show and potential buyers alike pondered who would eventually get the deed to the home.
In an unexpected twist suitable for a ’70s sitcom, HGTV, the home of such shows as Masters of Flip and Love It or List It, ended up purchasing the house and the network intends to refurbish it to its “1970s glory.”
The home was originally listed for US$1.885 million; the final sale price that HGTV paid has not been released.
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Records show George and Violet McCallister bought the 2,477 square foot, two-bedroom, three-bathroom split-level home in the Studio City neighbourhood of Los Angeles in 1973 for US$61,000 (about US$346,000 today).
The inside of the home isn’t the same as we saw on the show; all interior Brady Bunch scenes were shot in a studio. Real estate agent Ernie Carswell told the Los Angeles Times the house has been updated and upgraded, while the outside still looks like it did during the show’s heyday.
It will be spruced up entirely, contends David Zaslav, the chief executive officer of Discovery, HGTV’s parent company.
“One example of our new project for HGTV will speak to those Brady Bunch fans,” Zaslav said during a company-wide earnings call, according to a Discovery spokeswoman. “You may have heard that the house from the iconic series was recently on the market in California. I’m excited to share that HGTV is the winning bidder and we’ll restore the home to its 1970s glory as only HGTV can. More detail to come over the next few months, but we’ll bring all the resources to bear to tell safe, fun stories with this beloved piece of American TV history.”
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Carswell said a rock-wall fireplace and wood-panelled walls are vintage touches of what homes looked like in the ’70s. Pictures featured in the Times show a decorative house trapped in time, and it already has a very strong ’70s feel, replete with golden doorknobs and floral wallpaper.
The agent said the home attracts 30 to 50 visitors a day.
Ex-N*Sync boy band member Lance Bass expressed his disappointment on social media after he missed out on purchasing the home. According to Bass, he was the leading high bidder when an unidentified “corprorate buyer” swooped in with a larger bid.
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The Brady Bunch ran from 1969 to 1974, and is widely considered to be one of the most memorable family TV shows of all time.
As of this writing, HGTV’s detailed plans for the refurbishment have not been released.
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