“We eventually realized that we should do a kitchen that would make us happy, and that silly Brady kitchen always made us happy.”
In what’s certain to become a classic here on the blog: Duane and Wendy have recreated much of the Brady Bunch kitchen in their home, right down to Mike and Carol’s coffee cups. When I asked if they’d like to send a photo of themselves as well, they even got out their plaid double knit bell bottoms! Such a happy, creative story! Let’s take a look at their delightful kitchen project. >>
Duane writes:
Hello Pam! My wife and I have been following your blog/website for years now and have always found it a wonderful source for everything. It’s nice to see all of the projects, too! So we thought we’d send you ours.
My wife and both grew up on The Brady Bunch; I saw the shows during the early 70s, ready every Friday night at 8 p.m. (ET) to watch the shows as they aired. My wife (Wendy) saw them in syndication. I was born in 1963 so I could identify with the characters (mostly Peter), and had a crush on Marcia (what young boy didn’t!) Susan Dey was a close second.
We purchased this house near Milwaukee last year. The house suited our needs well, but the kitchen left a lot to be desired. U-shaped layout, original (but lousy) cabinets with useless corner cabs (lots of wasted space) and drawers with mechanical nylon roller glides. They long ago lost their ‘glide’ and were no mostly just squeaky and difficult. We felt we needed to eventually redo the kitchen, but what to do?
We eventually realized that we should do a kitchen that would make US happy, and that silly Brady kitchen always made us happy. We knew it wouldn’t be for everyone, and would pretty much kill any idea of recouping any value at resale, but we plan on being in the house a long time, so why worry about resale value?
We really didn’t know where to start our search for a kitchen remodeling company, so simply found someone local with good reviews. On their website were links to the cabinet company they used for all of their kitchens, so we checked out that website and found that they had colors and wood finishes that would work for what we were looking to do. Visited the kitchen remodeler’s showroom and met our contractor.
We all got to talking about our kitchen, and he asked what kind of a look we were going for. Wendy had already found the laminate color from the large sample chart on the wall. She set that down on the table, and said, “That’s the countertop we want”, then we placed down two cabinet finish samples next to it. “These are the uppers, these are the lowers” we said as we set down a Sage Green sample and a Walnut stained Oak sample.
He didn’t say anything at first, but I just said to him, “Do you see what we’re going for?” No answer, and then I said, “Think Brady Bunch”. That’s when he got it. He knew the countertop color (I mean, who doesn’t), and vaguely remembered the wood tone, but didn’t remember the green at all. We said that we looked at tons of photos of the set (and watched our full series DVD set), and they did indeed have green lowers. he got on board and thought it would be a fun and unique opportunity.
He laid out a useful arrangement of cabinets, swapping appliance from one side to the other, working in an 18” dishwasher (it’s all that would fit), and putting in a lazy susan that Wendy was dying to have. Now all we had to do was wait for the delivery! About two weeks later, the old kitchen cabinets were removed (and saved for later use by our cabinet guy, he does a lot of repairs and said the trim and hardware are hard to come by) and new cabinets installed.
Brown and avocado green kitchen cabinets + Bittersweet orange countertops
This is what we wound up using:
- Cabinetry is from Seville Cabinets, made in Wisconsin — Upper cabinets in oak, stained with a warm walnut stain to mimic the weird wood-tone Brady uppers. Lower cabinets in Sage green finish, mimicking the lowers on the Brady set.
- Countertop is Pionite “Bittersweet”, a color that our countertop guy said he’d only used once before in his 31 years doing countertops. And that was for a day care center!
- The Brady laminate backsplash wasn’t a possibility [Editor Pam notes: Duane said this was a code issue; readers, check with your own professional.] So we wound up doing standard 4.25″ x 4.25″ white tile, as it brought in some much-needed lightness to the design. We then added in a few splashes of color by placing some decorated tile every 16 inches or so. The tiles are all tiles that had once been used as trivets, most of them arriving still glued into the cast iron trivet surround. We tried to get as 70s a vibe as we could with the tiles.
- We considered an avocado fridge, but finding one proved futile. Our white fridge will have to suffice. (I’m a painter by trade, so I may eventually get the bug and drag it to the shop and repaint it.)
- The photos also show our matching Regal PolyPerk percolator and Hot Water kettle, our “Kitchen Gadgets” harvest gold canister (with the wood spoons in it), and our groovy new-in-the-package floral oven mitts (hanging over the oven). We’ll eventually change out the kitchen curtains, and I’m considering painting the oven hood from white to an avocado green.
The smaller details that we added in are:
NOS Oster ‘Osterizer’ blender in Harvest Gold, a beauty! The Bradys had an avocado green Osterizer, but we felt this one wasn’t so matchy-matchy, and it’s also very pretty.
Carol and Mike Brady’s hard-to-find Otagiri coffee mugs
Coffee mugs that are exactly the same as the two used by Carol and Mike on the show. These were an almost impossible find, as I spent over four months trying every search term I could think of to find them. Finally, about two weeks before the project started, I got ‘em! They are made by Otagiri, but have long lost the paper stickers that were placed on the bottom of the mugs.
These are the decorative tiles we added into the backsplash to add some color to it. (There are two of the rooster tiles on either side of the window, facing each other).
Some of the things we decided against were the basket weave cookie jar, the avocado bread box (both of which would take up precious counter space), the spice rack, and the countertop appliances. But we are looking out for the brass fish trivets (that oddly are hanging on the wall!) and a small blackboard so we can write things like “Eggs Bananas Milk” or “Peter, Call Owen” (my favorite).
Thanks for choosing to do a story about our kitchen, how awesome!
Duane and Wendy
How many readers were original fans of the Brady Bunch? Or, watched it in syndication? My brothers and sisters and I watched every episode in real time, and that house — surely had an indelible effect on my decorating psyche.
This kitchen: Absolutely wonderful! Thank you, Duane and Wendy, for sharing your Very Brady story!
Cyndi says
I absolutely love your kitchen and that you did one to make you happy!! Life is too short to worry about things like resale! On a garage sale trip with my son this past summer, I found a pair of dreamy avocado green mugs, not quite as cool as Mike and Carol’s Otagiri mugs–but I am happy to have at least a little dose of 70’s happy in my kitchen!! I look forward to seeing another post when you paint the fridge and oven hood in avocado green and I agree that a cool 70’s print curtain would really tie it together–maybe something to match those awesome oven mitts? Great job!!
Kimberly says
Kitchenaid now makes a green color in major appliances. The color is called Avocado Cream. This like also has a baby blue, yellow/orange, cobalt blue and maybe a few others.
Pam Kueber says
Thanks for the tip, Kimberly, I’ll check it out!
carolyn says
I liked when they referenced the Brady Bunch kitchen to the countertop guy and THEN the light dawned. We’ll have to use “frame of reference” for our contractors to “get” it. sometimes you DO have to draw a picture.
I, too, like breaking up the white tiles.
And Oster- a Racine, WI company. In 1978, my in-laws bought both me and their daughter the Kitchen Center for $179 – that’s STILL the same price on eBay!
lynda davis says
This must have been such a fun project! You did a great job. I loved watching the show on HGTV where they restored the California house. I enjoyed watching the show when I was young too–many, many years ago.
Julie says
I watched after school when it was in syndication. I remember thinking it was ancient then, even though I was only a decade orJ so behind. I LOVE the idea of using the tiles out of the trivets! Is there a secret to getting them out unbroken? Heat?
Pam Kueber says
Hi Julie, FYI, someone tried to answer your question, and I did not approve the comment. You know how I am when it comes to safety/environmental issues — look for professional advice. Good luck!
Laura Ainsworth says
Love the close-up photo of your beautiful Harvest Gold Osterizer. I have one just like it — it belonged to my parents. My dad used to make super-thick chocolate milk shakes in it. Such a fun, happy kitchen. (Yes, you’ll have to do the avocado fridge!)
Kai says
I think it’s a great idea to paint your range hood avocado green! Then when you upgrade your stove you can go for a stainless steel or even a black one, either would blend in better! Looks great!
Daniel says
Nice work. I can’t wait to see your backyard…
Duane says
It’s full of astroturf, a teeter-totter, and Tiger’s dog house 🙂
Retroski says
This is really fun! My sister was a huge Brady Bunch and Full House fan, so thanks to her I got to see almost every BB episode. Who knows, maybe the next folks to own your house will love the kitchen too. What amuses me is your U-shape layout is almost just like mine, but it’s more a generic 80s style, but I plan to gently retrofy it with a blue/green/brown color scheme inspired by some salt and pepper shakers I found in MKE. Thanks for the cabinet company tip. Is your house a ranch?
Wink says
From 2000 to 2003, I lived in an apartment building that had been built in 1973. The dark-stained wood cabinets and Avocado green vent hood hinted at what had once been, but over time what turned out to be ivory *paint* slowly wore off the Bittersweet orange countertop and I realized what a dream that kitchen had been in its day! Alas, maintenance came by and repainted the countertop, and I eventually moved…
Tarquin says
What a fun couple!!! I lOVE that they thought outside the gray box & took a great risk!
They should not give up trying to find an avocado fridge & stove.
A great way to do that is by looking through Real Estate websites. If they search for houses over 30 years old, they might spot one in the kitchen or the garage, then they could contact the agent to help work out a deal. Most of the time, the agent is happy to help & either the old or new owner is happy to sell it!