Yahoo Movies New “Brady Bunch” house owner says she bought it as art: 'None of the appliances work'
Here's the story of a woman who bought The Brady Bunch house and doesn't regret it at all — despite the fact that none of the appliances work. Sure, Jan!
Art collector and property owner Tina Trahan recently bought the Los Angeles residence from the iconic sitcom that HGTV spent millions renovating over the past five years to match the interior sets (as documented in the network's 2019 series A Very Brady Renovation). In an interview with PEOPLE, Trahan said the home wasn't a "bad investment" because she didn't buy it as a property investment. Instead, she bought it as a piece of art.
Ryan Lahiff for Eklund/Gomes Tina Trahan posees in her 'Brady Bunch' kitchen
"When I was buying it, I wasn't thinking, 'Oh, it was a great investment,'" Trahan said. "When I buy art, it's because I love the art. It's not because, 'Oh, I'm going to make money on this.' If you're going to make money in art, you have to sell it. I buy art, and then I don't sell it."
And even though the property isn't exactly functional as a real home, she's still satisfied with her purchase. "None of the appliances work," she revealed. "The range doesn't work, the stove doesn't work, the oven doesn't work. There's literally nothing [that works]... Nothing is functioning. It's all decorative. So I think that's pretty funny. You couldn't make anything if you wanted to."
But that doesn't mean Trahan is planning to renovate or update the house (and its appliances). "Never will I ever touch one thing," she said. "I was telling someone, 'If you bring a flat-screen TV into the house, it's no longer The Brady Bunch. There's a lot of value in this for a lot of people that care about it. And HGTV put in a lot of time, effort, and money into the house to make it the way it is... I find that incredibly valuable."
As a Brady Bunch fan, Trahan had no doubts about buying the Brady's abode. "It was like, 'I need this house. I have to have the house,'" she said. "I loved the movie... and I watched the show growing up after school. I just felt like it was just part of America and the culture."
Ultimately, Trahan wants to share the house with others, potentially for charity. "That would be a huge revenue stream for charities," she noted. "It brings so much joy, and it makes so many people happy, just like The Brady Bunch did."
According to The Wall Street Journal, the five-bedroom, five-bathroom house in L.A.'s Studio City neighborhood was sold for $3.2 million, which is $2.3 million less than the $5.5 million asking price. HGTV originally bought the house in 2018 (famously outbidding NSYNC member and Brady Bunch superfan Lance Bass) for $3.5 million and spent almost $2 million during the renovations, meaning the network has taken a big loss with the sale.
The network, along with the actors who played the Brady children — Barry Williams (Greg), Maureen McCormick (Marcia), Christopher Knight (Peter), Eve Plumb (Jan), Mike Lookinland (Bobby), and Susan Olsen (Cindy) — proceeded to gut the property to transform it into the perfect piece of nostalgia by matching the interiors to the designs of the TV show's sets, which filmed on a soundstage. The house is now an exact replica of the '70s sitcom's main location.
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