If you grew up watching Greg, Marcia, and the rest of the crew, you probably have a mental map of 11222 Dilling Street etched into your brain. The floating staircase. The orange Formica. The horse statue that never seemed to stay in the same spot. But for decades, there was a massive, immersion-breaking secret: the inside of that house looked absolutely nothing like the show. Honestly, it wasn't even close.
While the world knew the exterior as the home of Mike and Carol Brady, the actual floor plan was a modest, split-level 1950s ranch. No grand staircase. No groovy attic. Just a normal house in Studio City. That all changed in 2018 when HGTV swooped in, outbid Lance Bass (yes, really), and spent millions on a renovation that defied logic. The brady bunch house before and after transformation isn't just a remodel; it’s a feat of "architectural forensics" that turned a real building into a Hollywood set.
The Massive Lie of the Original Floor Plan
For forty-odd years, the house was owned by the same family. When they finally put it up for sale, fans were shocked to see the "before" photos. It was... dated. Not "cool 70s" dated, but "my grandma’s floral wallpaper" dated.
The biggest issue? The house was too short.
The TV set we all know was a sprawling two-story layout with a high-pitched roof. The real house was a single-story ranch with a flat roofline. To make the brady bunch house before and after magic happen, the HGTV team had to literally sink the house into the ground. They dug out the foundation to add square footage and built a second story that was carefully hidden behind the original roofline so they wouldn't ruin the "iconic" street view.
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If you look at the house from the curb today, it looks exactly like it did in 1969. But step inside, and you’ve suddenly traveled through a wormhole into Paramount Stage 5.
Rebuilding the "Impossible" Staircase
The staircase was the biggest headache. In the show, the stairs are the center of the universe. It’s where the kids lined up for photos and where Mike gave his fatherly chats. In the real house, the front door opened into a cramped hallway.
Jasmine Roth and the rest of the HGTV crew had to gut the entire front half of the building. They moved walls that weren't meant to be moved. They installed steel beams to hold up a "floating" staircase that leads to a second floor that shouldn't exist.
What most people get wrong about the restoration:
- The Attic isn't an attic: Greg’s "attic" room? It's actually in the basement. They couldn't raise the roof high enough to fit a bedroom up there without changing the exterior, so they went down instead.
- The appliances are fake: You can't actually cook in that kitchen. The appliances are vintage-sourced shells that are "decorative only."
- The yard is plastic: To match the high-saturated look of the show, they used artificial turf that looks exactly like the 1970s TV grass.
Is It a Home or a Museum?
In 2023, the house sold again. This time to Tina Trahan, a fan and collector who paid $3.2 million. That sounds like a lot, but HGTV actually took a massive bath on the deal. They spent roughly $3.5 million to buy it and another $1.9 million on the renovation.
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Trahan has been very vocal about the fact that she doesn't plan to live there. "Nobody is going in there to make pork chops and applesauce," she famously told the Wall Street Journal. She views the house as a piece of art. It’s a "life-sized dollhouse."
Basically, the house is a time capsule. If you try to live in it, you'd realize there's no place for a flat-screen TV and the toilets are basically the only thing that actually works like a modern home. It's beautiful, but it's fundamentally unlivable by 2026 standards.
The Small Details You Might Have Missed
The level of obsession during the brady bunch house before and after process was borderline manic. The team didn't just buy "similar" furniture; they crowdsourced the exact items from fans across the country.
They found the original stuffed dog (Tiger's stand-in). They tracked down the exact floral print for the girls' room. Even the brickwork in the living room was hand-painted to match the specific shade of "TV beige" from the original film stock.
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- The Backyard: They had to shrink the backyard significantly to make room for the house expansion.
- The Fake Window: In Greg’s room, there’s a window with a backlight and a photo of the "outside" to mimic the studio lighting of the original set.
- The Floor: The stone flooring in the entryway is a perfect match, though finding those specific 1960s stones required scouring quarries that had been closed for years.
How to See the House Today
While you can’t exactly walk in and make yourself a sandwich, the house remains a staple of Studio City tourism. Trahan has mentioned using it for charitable events and fundraisers.
If you're planning a pilgrimage, remember that it's in a quiet residential neighborhood. The neighbors have been dealing with "Brady Mania" for over fifty years, so they aren't always thrilled about people idling their cars in front of the zigzag walkway.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Homeowners:
If you're looking to capture some of that Brady magic in your own "after" project, don't try to replicate the whole house. Instead, focus on the "Mid-Century Modern" staples that still work today. Think about natural wood paneling, open-tread stairs, and bold, saturated accent colors like avocado or burnt orange—but maybe skip the non-functional appliances.
The real lesson of the brady bunch house before and after story? Sometimes, the most important part of a renovation isn't making it "new"—it's capturing a feeling. HGTV didn't build a house; they built a memory.
To get started on your own retro-inspired project, your best bet is to look for "MCM" (Mid-Century Modern) furniture dealers in your area or search for "1970s architectural salvage" to find authentic textures that haven't been manufactured in decades.