“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!
Heidi says
I have long since concluded that 70s kitchens were far and away the most comfortable and actually livable kitchens in history!
Christina says
Love this kitchen so much! Can you let me know which walnut stain it was for the upper cabinets? Walnut Autumn Wheat, Walnut Brownstone, Walnut Dark Pecan or Walnut Natural? Thank you!
Tarquin says
Here’s xx an excellent Retro question:
Most people say that the Brady house is very 1970’s, but the show began in 1969. So, doesn’t that make it a 1960’s house?
It was only Greg who decorated his groovy attic bedroom in the 70’s, the rest was always the same,
Hmmmm ?
CarolK says
Design-wise, the decades do not divide so neatly on the beginning and end years of the decade. (Life-wise, that’s true, too.) Unless you have a design element that is tied to a specific year, you can’t delineate the years by design so much. You’d not want to see an Egg chair in a film or TV show that was set before the debut of the Egg chair, for instance. The Brady kitchen and house were late 60s-early 70s
Shirley says
I love your kitchen, I too watched Brady Bunch shortly after graduating high school. I found it especially interesting, in your finding the coffee cups. I recreated my “Aunt Bee” free standing china cabinet filled with blue dishes, that was in the Taylor house’s kitchen on the Andy Griffith Show. So I follow your thinking, but just a decade before you.
Amy Weinholtz says
I really dig those decorative tiles – especially the flower-power one!
So fun and cheerful!
CarolK says
Is that a Regal PolyPerk percolator I see on the right side of the sink.? I had an avocado PolyPerk in my dorm room at UGA in the 70s.
hannah says
Not related to the renovation, but I see you have the whirlpool corner microwave. Me too! it is a lifesaver in smaller kitchens and I wish more people knew about it. Great job with everything, and contemplating all the little details that just make it perfect
Erika says
Awesome kitchen! I’m so glad the owners chose what made them happy, and glad they shared their story!
Margaret says
We added orange counters in our last house and painted the cabinets turquoise. Made me smile every time I walked in the room. And we had no trouble selling! Good for you for living with what you love!
Terese says
Would love to see a picture!
Jennifer C says
I love your kitchen — and I love people that put in what THEY want to see every day and not what hypothetical future buyers MIGHT want someday. We see lots of houses because of our business (flooring/tile shop) and after awhile so many house just look the same. The ones I enjoy the most are ones where people really embrace their own personal taste. For the record, if I were shopping for a house your kitchen would be a good selling point for us ❤️✌?
Terese Zelones says
Jennifer,
What style of carpet would provide a 1960’s lpok?
Pam Kueber says
Hi Terese, here is a story on the history of wall-to-wall carpet that provides some insights: https://retrorenovation.com/2012/01/16/wall-to-wall-carpeting-history-from-the-1950s-to-today-an-exclusive-interview-with-emily-morrow-shaw-floors/