Here’s a story of a lovely house, that was dreaming of a very lovely owner.
And found one.
After fears a developer would buy the iconic house from The Brady Bunch – and public devastation from ‘N Sync singer Lance Bass when he missed out on the keys – a US home improvement network has snapped it up.
Discovery CEO David Zaslav announced HGTV is the proud new owner of the three-bedroom, three-bathroom retro home at 11222 Dilling St in North Hollywood.
The network makes how-to shows with a focus on home improvement, gardening, crafts and remodelling. Groovy!
Used in the exterior shots for the popular sitcom, the home is reportedly the second-most photographed in America, topped only by the White House.
Its listed starting price was around $2.5 million.
The new owners “will restore the Brady Bunch home to its 1970s glory,” Mr Zaslav promised.
“More detail to come over the next few months, but we’ll bring all the resources to bear to tell safe, fun stories about this beloved piece of American TV history.”
It was welcome news for fans but posed other questions.
Will the restoration include installing a giant middle staircase? Will the attic bedroom annexed by Greg Brady during his Johnny Bravo phase be recreated? Will there still be room for Alice?
The news was manna from heaven to unlucky bidders including Bass, who announced on Twitter on August 3 he would soon be having far out times – exploding volcanoes, pork chops and apple sauce, teeter totter championships – as the home’s new owner.
His big news was rated by actor Maureen McCormick, aka Marcia Brady.
But Bass was then “heartbroken” to hear his fun times were over before they began, and that the deal he thought he’d struck fell through after the sale deadline.
“This was a dream come true for me and I spent the night celebrating amongst family, friends and fans alike,” posted Bass, who smelled a rat and a developer’s heavy equipment.
“Here’s a story of a shady Brady.”
An undisclosed corporate buyer wanted the house at any cost. He said he was told: “How can I compete with a billion-dollar corporate entity?”
A post shared by Lance Bass (@lancebass) on
Amid a welter of commiserations for the singer’s crushed dreams and demands to know the identity of the mystery buyer, HGTV came forward.
And just like that, the big-hearted Bass was cheered up.
“I can smile again,” he said.
HGTV??! Aw man. I’d be pretty upset if it were anyone else, but how can you be mad at HGTV?? My television is stuck on that channel. Kudos HGTV, I know you will do the right thing with the house. That was always my biggest worry. I can smile again. 😁
— Lance Bass (@LanceBass) August 7, 2018
While the house’s interiors are different to the Brady family’s home because the show was shot on a sound stage, its listing insisted it’s still a fabulous time capsule and possible fixer upperer with “lush backyard gardens” and two master suites.
“Whether inspired by the TV family or the real-life surrounding neighbourhood, this residence is a perfect postcard of American ’70s style and its special culture,” selling agents Ernie Carswell promised.
The Brady Bunch creator Sherwood Schwartz selected the house for its approachable but contemporary look that fitted Mr Brady’s station in life.
“We didn’t want it to be too affluent. We didn’t want it to be too blue collar,” Schwartz told the LA Times in 1994, adding that set designers created a fake window to the top of the house to give the illusion of a second storey.
“We wanted it to look like it would fit a place an architect would live.”
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