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The ‘Brady Bunch’ Home Renovation Needs Your Help! Check Your Attic

Attention “Brady Bunch” fans! As you’ve no doubt heard, HGTV has purchased the Studio City, CA, home that was used for exterior shots in the original show. Now, the network plans to renovate both the exterior and interior, to match the backdrops we all came to know and love, in a new reality show slated to air in September, “A Very Brady Renovation.”

Yet apparently, finding those iconic furnishings that played a supporting role for the family’s shenanigans is proving to be a real needle-in-a-haystack hunt—and HGTV needs your help! So start sifting through your attic, basement, local flea market, eBay, and otherwise to find these hidden gems. The Very Brady Scavenger Hunt is on!

“Many of these 1970s items are very rare and hard to find,” Abbi McCollum, vice president of convergence and social media for HGTV, explained in a press release. “We’ve seen an incredible response from ‘Brady Bunch’ fans across social media since we first announced the series. Now, we need their help to get the renovation of the house just right.”

While HGTV has provided a full list of what it’s looking for, here’s a sampling that is sure to inspire a TV flashback or two:

• The avocado-and-cream flowered sofa that was the seat of many a family conference
• The credenza under the staircase and the horse statue on top of it
• Greg’s old-fashioned attic radio
• Alice’s matchy-matchy bedroom furniture suite
• Those fish trivets that were hung on the kitchen wall by the green refrigerator—and the green refrigerator itself
• The stainless-steel double wall oven
• The stuffed giraffe in the girls’ bedroom
• A vertical, trapezoid shaped curio cabinet
• The handles on the front door

Where to look for ‘Brady Bunch’ furnishings

If you want to get involved in this treasure hunt, or are just interested in scoring a few iconic ’70s pieces for your own (fill in the blank) Bunch House, we have a few ideas on where to start looking (that is, once you’ve exhausted digging through the junk collection in your parents’ garage).

Los Angeles interior designer, blogger, and collector Colette “Coco” Shelton of Cococozy.com loves using vintage pieces in her designs, and this Brady scavenger hunt is right up her alley.

“My first stop to find the items they are looking for would be a flea market,” she says. “Each month here in Southern California, for example, there is either the Rose Bowl Flea Market in Pasadena, or the Long Beach Flea Market, where there are so many California classic retro items for sale from different vendors. I feel like I’ve seen the bedroom set, the credenza, the starburst clock, and more there.”

Southern Californians may have the edge in terms of finding these items. “Since the show was shot here in the ’70s,” Shelton continues, “the likelihood is that the items were sourced locally and not necessarily one of a kind.”

Which means they may be lying around awaiting stardom if only the right fan spots them.

But what if you don’t live in Southern California? Fear not—you still have a chance.

“Another resource, of course, is online,” advises Shelton, mentioning sites like Chairish.com, 1stDibscom, Ebay, Etsy, and EBTH.com (or Everything But The House), where vintage items can be searched out and then bid on or bought outright.

Shelton thinks that the sofa will probably be the hardest piece to find, since it might have been custom-made, but she recommends that you not give up. The ’70s are an era that hasn’t yet been completely picked over for furniture and accessories by designers and collectors.

“This is a super fun challenge,” says Shelton. “I can’t wait to see how it turns out!”

Where these Brady furnishings will end up

OK, then. Once you’ve located the perfect items for the Brady home, just what are you supposed to do with them? What are HGTV’s plans for them? Will you be paid? Will HGTV cover shipping? Those details are not clear right now, but all will be revealed in due course to those who’ve got the goods.

“Fans who own vintage furniture and decor items true to the original TV series are encouraged to contact HGTV via social media for a chance to see the special items featured in the series,” according to the HGTV press release. Fans are asked to post a photo or video of the item on HGTV’s Facebook, Instagram, or Twitter using the #verybradyreno hashtag. A quick glance at those links reveals that they are also good places to check and see what other people have already located.

And the nationwide scavenger hunt begins.

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