The Untold Truth Of HGTV's A Very Brady Renovation

According to the Los Angeles Times, the split-level ranch-style home seen in The Brady Bunch and renovated in HGTV's A Very Brady Renovation was built in 1959, designed by architect Harry M. Londelius. Londelius died in 1960, and he wouldn't live to see his home become a cultural touchstone.

When actor Christopher Knight first learned of the plan to renovate the house, he was skeptical the home could accommodate the iconic Brady Bunch stairway, given that there was no second level. As Knight explained, "You had to have the stairway, and if you had the stairway, how do you not destroy the front elevation — which is what America thinks of the Brady house," he told CNN. "I thought it was absolutely impossible." Added co-star Mike Lookinland, "I said, 'You guys are crazy, and this is the best idea I ever heard.' And it turned out that both of those things are true."

In order to achieve that, reported the Times, an extra 2,000 square feet of space was added to the 2,500-square foot home. In addition, the entire structure had to be lowered one foot — "a massive undertaking" — in order to add a second story and allow room for the staircase without altering the home's now-famous front facade.