Brady Bunch homeowner says her husband was furious $3.2M was spent – as it’s made designated landmark
The Brady Bunch house, the two-story single-family home that served as the main setting for the television series “The Brady Bunch” in the Studio City neighborhood of Los Angeles. AP
Still, the emotional pull of the house was undeniable.
“I have to have it,” she said.
Not everyone felt the same way at first.
Her husband, former HBO chief Chris Albrecht — who oversaw hit shows such as The Sopranos and Sex and the City — initially thought the idea made no sense.
“He said, ‘Have you lost your mind?’” Trahan recalled in an interview with LAist. “He thought I wanted to move into it.”
Living there, she said, was never part of the plan.
“What if someone drops a meatball on the sofa or something?” she joked. “I would have a nervous breakdown.”
Instead, Trahan transformed the home into a carefully curated pop-culture time capsule.
Over the past two years she has added around 400 props and hidden references to memorable moments from the show. Among them are the flashlight Greg once used to fake a UFO sighting and a stuffed giraffe like the one seen in the girls’ bedroom. In fact, she commissioned three different giraffes before finding one that matched the right size.
The home’s interior already looked strikingly similar to the TV set after HGTV renovated the property for its 2019 series A Very Brady Renovation, rebuilding the iconic floating staircase and other recognizable rooms.
Even so, Trahan began worrying about what might happen to the house in the future.
“What if I get hit by a bus tomorrow?” she said. “Is there anything I can do to preserve this?”
That concern led her to seek official landmark status — a process she said took about two years and required several layers of city approval.
Architectural historian Heather Goers helped prepare the nomination and guide it through the Cultural Heritage Commission, the City Council’s Planning and Land Use Management Committee, and eventually a final vote by the full council.
The designation is significant: the house is the first property in Los Angeles to receive landmark protection specifically for its importance as a filming location outside a studio lot. Although the home was built in 1959 and only its exterior appeared in the sitcom, city officials ultimately extended the landmark protection to the interior as well.
Trahan said she was surprised by that decision.
“I’m sure some people will say, ‘But wait — that’s not historical,’” she said.
But the ruling reflects the lasting influence of the show, which debuted in 1969 and has remained in near-constant syndication since its original run ended in 1974.
Today, the house attracts a steady stream of visitors to its quiet San Fernando Valley street, with fans regularly stopping by to take photos.
Trahan has also opened the home for charity tours and special events called “The Brady Experience,” sometimes featuring cast members like Christopher Knight and Maureen McCormick.
Owning an official Los Angeles landmark hasn’t changed much for Trahan — except for one unexpected problem.
Her insurance company dropped coverage once the landmark designation became public. Historic homes, she said, can be more complex and costly to insure.
Even so, Trahan considers it a small price to pay.
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