How To Decorate Your Home Like The Brady Bunch

Here's a story about a house of Bradys — while they occupied arguably the most iconic home in small-screen history. With millions of fans, "The Brady Bunch" ran from 1969 to 1974. From its bright orange and avocado kitchen to the one Jack and Jill bathroom shared by six kids, "The Brady Bunch" décor flaunts its late '60s and early '70s vibe. Since we know you love those crazy kids, their housekeeper Alice, and mom and pop Mike and Carol (and even cousin Oliver), why not have a groovy time decorating your home like "The Brady Bunch."

According to Better Homes and Gardens, you would be right on trend if you decorated your house using '70s elements. Thanks to Millennials and Gen Z's appreciation for all things vintage and retro, a "Brady Bunch" inspired aesthetic is perfectly fashionable. Curious how to pull it off? We are taking a trip back in time, studying the iconic TV family's den, bedrooms, sunken living room, and even poor Alice's seafoam green bedroom behind the kitchen so that you can decorate your home just like "The Brady Bunch."

Although the show had tame plot lines, its eye-catching interior hues were definitely not tame. From the foyer to the family room, avocado green was predominant. The Brady house had everything from avocado wood paneling to green baseboards, reported Hooked On Houses. While it's hard to find wood paneling quite as distinctive as theirs nowadays, we did find avocado wood stain at Barry Downe Paint and wall paint at Benjamin Moore. A complimentary bright orange accent color appears throughout the house, popping up in floral arrangements, in the matting of the duck paintings in the family room, and most prominently in the large geometric painting over the staircase.

The sunken living room in the Brady home also features avocado-colored furnishings. The TV family has matching green upholstered chairs and a floral couch accented with an orange throw pillow. To recreate the look in your own home, consider adding a green sofa like the one found in Article to give your house a groovy touch. 

Perfect for every family portrait and making a grand entrance, "The Brady Bunch" staircase is the epitome of Brady style. According to Viewrail, the TV show has a cantilever or floating stairway, where the steps give the illusion of floating. Crafted with a mono-stringer — the centered singular back piece that holds the runners — these staircases are especially great for homes with open concept floorplans, as per StairSupplies. The geometric pattern and the open design nod to the space era of the 1960s while adding clean lines to the home. 

In 2019, when HGTV undertook "The Very Brady Renovation," TV's Marcia Brady, actor Maureen McCormick, took the reins on the design decisions when it came to updating the living room staircase. The angle of the stairs had to be changed because of the ceiling height of the new addition, which would be a significant renovation. In the end, she came up with a simpler solution, and simply removed the twelfth step (via Los Angeles Times).

In most homes, most of the action takes place in the kitchen. And since TV families are like regular families, "The Brady Bunch" kitchen was the hub of drama. Memorably, their kitchen was all dressed up in orange and avocado. With its bright orange Formica countertops, avocado-tinted wood cabinets, and exposed masonry, the kitchen was practically a character too. Keeping with the theme, two-tone Eames-style chairs accompany the bright orange table. Adopting this aesthetic and getting tulip dining chairs like those at Modholic will create a timeless look. "Clearly of the same era as the Jetsons and other '70s favorites, it will forever feel both retro and from the future at the same time." Sarah Back of Sarah Back Interiors tells Realtor.

According to Retro Renovations, these colors were introduced to appliances in the mid-1960s, when color was important for the fashionable. A bright pop of color may be just what you need to punch up your kitchen. KitchenAid has created several updated and attractive avocado-toned appliances like this range from Best Buy. Bright orange appliances, amazingly enough, are available from Appliances Connection.

We remember the days of corded phones when we had to put our fingers in the holes to dial the numbers, just like in "The Brady Bunch." Chances are the Brady home had a similar avocado green Western Electric rotary phone like this one in their living room. In fact, in the episode "Mail Order Hero" in Season 5, we see Bobby on a similar green-hued phone pretending to be sick to meet Joe Namath. In the second plotline in that episode, Jan is taking a first-aid course and wraps Alice's arms, immobilizing her. When Jan steps out, poor Alice has to answer the putty-colored phone with her nose! Refurbished phones like this avocado one from eBay or vintage-inspired designs like this one from Amazon will give your home a retro feel.

If you're digging deep into Brady nostalgia, then consider installing a payphone. In the Season 1 episode "Sorry, Right Number," a frustrated Mike Brady installs a payphone to keep the astronomical phone bills down. This reproduction from Crosley would make a fun addition to your recreation room, and once it's installed, maybe the younger set will finally understand how tough your generation had it with phone issues!

Almost every table –- from the coffee table to the dining table to the kitchen table to the entry table -– is adorned with a bouquet of plastic flowers in the Brady household. Now, we aren't advocating for terrible plastic flowers. But according to Country Living, today's floral arrangements — like this arrangement from Nearly Natural with lots of orange and brightly colored roses — look much more natural. Wayfair has a large selection of arrangements as well. 

Florals don't have to mean bouquets necessarily. Flowers also appeared in textiles in the Brady household, in everything from Mike and Carol's floral bedspread to the pink and white floral wallpaper and coordinating dust ruffles in the girls' room. Luckily, this is easy to copy in today's times, since home goods websites like Spoonflower have everything from wallpaper to fabric inspired by the iconic family. Deck out everything from your walls to your curtains with some groovy flowers.

The Brady household is known for its vibrant colors and large statement furniture, so the window coverings and lighting take on supporting roles, accenting the room with neutral hues. And according to The Spruce, mid-century lighting is a good investment because it consistently stays in style. This lighting style can meld into most architectural and design motifs, from modernist chandeliers and sculptural pieces to globe lights. That means you won't need to change up your fixtures after a few years when the trend fades. Target has various vintage styles, ranging from tabletop lamps to chandeliers to pendants. 

The Brady's window coverings are a mix of plaid and horizontal stripes. The windows in the family room have nubby beige drapes, while coverings in the den feature a similar heavy tan weave drape with some golden threads. To copy the look, shop beige linen drapes from Overstock, heavy plaid panels from Eastern Accents, or gold checkered ones from Perigold. 

We all enjoyed seeing "The Brady Bunch" kids grow up. And as they were growing, they were being shuffled around the house. In the Season 2 episode "Our Son, The Man," Greg moved out of his shared bedroom into the den, and then to the hippy attic room. The space was like the '60s and '70s in a time capsule. Luckily for us, contemporary stores like Urban Outfitters offer bold orange velvet furnishings and nifty stuff for your lair, den, or cave. According to Etsy trend expert Dayna Isom Johnson, Gen Z has embraced the '70s aesthetic to transport themselves to a simpler time mentally. "It comes as no surprise that this year's home decor trends that are popular among Gen Zers pull inspiration from other vivid and expressive eras," she told Elite Daily.

The Brady house is uncluttered, but Greg's room is full of floral prints, candles, bright wall-hangings, trippy lights, and mobiles. France & Son offers sophisticated mid-century modern hanging mobiles that gently move in the breeze. If you're looking for something with panache and bright colors, try Art Mobiles. Greg also had velour pillows in his crib, but you can upgrade your room with the far-out cushions from Society6. 

In the Season 2 episode "Confessions, Confessions," Bobby Brady foreshadowed the plot when he warned his brothers that mom said not to play ball in the house. Soon after, the basketball slips out the door and bounds down the stairs, ruining Carol Brady's large ceramic vase (watch it here). When recreating the home on "A Very Brady Renovation," HGTV needed assistance procuring accessories and asked Paramount Studios for help. According to Los Angeles Times, the Brady renovators found pieces in the warehouse, including that vase. Big ceramics were big. From kids at camp to home ceramicists, creating your own pottery was a fad in the '70s. Country Living says that every home featured big ceramic lamps, vases, plates, and sculptures. Get the same retro look in your home by decorating it with bold and eye-catching ceramics.

When it comes to the heavy wood tables and consoles that house those ceramics, designer Rozit Arditi tells The Spruce that rich, deeply-hued teak was a popular choice for large pieces of furniture. Similar toned oak and rosewood were used for tables, desks, and storage cabinets. Recreate this look with pieces from stores like All Modern and 1stdibs.

According to CNN, the second most photographed house in America after the White House is the Brady house. Part of its appeal is that it acts like a '70s time capsule. Inside, the house is filled with era-defining masonry. From the stone wall next to the front door to the masonry columns in the living room to the brick in walls in the kitchen, the exposed surfaces ground the bright colors and smooth fabrics. 

While you could cover a painted wall or build a partition with real bricks, there are other options. Technology has provided us with brick veneers, tiles, and brick wallpapers, says Decoist. The brick and stone faux panels from Barron Designs are simple to install, or you could DIY them like Barbra from The Decor Formula, who created a faux wall using brick veneer, tile adhesive to attach it, and sanded grout to fill in the spaces.

From Carol and Mike's bedroom to the built-in exposed masonry planter near the stairway, living plants add lushness to "The Brady Bunch" home. The leafy greenery softens the stately, geometric interior design elements. When decorating with houseplants, Stauffers of Kissel Hill advises starting small with just a few easy-to-grow plants like upright snake plant and bamboo, trailing pothos, and mounding spider plants. To add some orange to the green, invest in some orange flowering plants like kumquat, anthurium, Christmas cactus, or flowering maple, recommends Better Homes and Gardens. That way, you'll stick to the iconic Brady color palette. 

If you're feeling adventuresome, invest in some large plants in glazed ceramic, terracotta, or cement pots. Monrovia recommends decorating the living room with oversized plants to make the space simultaneously feel cozier and more luxurious. Try big-leaf houseplants like hardy monstera or dumb cane trees to achieve the bushy look.

The '70s neutral avocado green serves as a backdrop to not only the show's drama but also to the Brady family's art collection. From the huge pieces of hanging art in the living room and hallways to the ever-changing rotation of French art in Mike's den, bold art was a statement in "The Brady Bunch," according to MeTV. And when the paintings weren't large, they were clustered together for impact. TV buffs might have recognized some of the family's pieces in other popular TV shows during that decade. That's because "The Brady Bunch" used props from other shows taped at Paramount Studios. The horse statue, for example, also made an appearance on "Bewitched."

When choosing large pieces for your own home, Big Wall Decor suggests starting with a budget, choosing your style, then letting your personality be your guide. Visit galleries and find artists whose palette and style speak to you. For impact, make sure the artwork takes up at least 2/3 of the wall.

On the left side of the credenza, near the base of the memorable stairs, perched the most prominent piece of sculpture in the Brady home, the Tang Horse. Originating in the early 8th century during China's Tang Dynasty, these horse sculptures ranged in size, shape, and material, according to The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Some horses have riders and glazes, while others are more utilitarian.

Finding a horse just like the Brady's can be challenging. This terracotta statue from Tjitra & Associates is similar but smaller, while the reproductions from Wayfair are more affordable and accessible. During "The Very Brady Renovation," even HGTV's Drew and Jonathan Scott couldn't locate a replica of the Brady Bunch horse (via Los Angeles Times). Instead, the team had to create a 3D model of the original. So don't feel too bad if you can't find one exactly like the horse on the show!

Although we often associate the sunken living room with the '60s and '70s, the conversation-centric sunken living room originated in the 1920s, according to MyMove. It made sense to include one in the Brady house since the father was an architect. He definitely would want his home to have the most innovative architectural features. And it's easy to see why it was popular. The recessed feature created a cocooning effect, making the space feel cozy and intimate, says Apartment Therapy.

While digging a few feet into your foundation or flooring isn't usually feasible, furnishings can provide the look of a sunken living room. 1000 Miles From Nowhere suggests starting with a rug to create the area and lining up the furniture to surround the carpet on all four sides. Some of the pieces at Ligne-Roset match the mid-century modern feel of the Brady house and can be used to create a conversation pit. For a custom look, we love modular systems (with removable covers) like the ones in B&B Italia, where you can get corners and furniture pieces to craft a conversation pit in any living space.