Here’s the story of… an art collector who bought the original Brady Bunch home from HGTV. And despite previous reports, it seems that she absolutely loves it.
Art collector and property owner Tina Trahan wants to set the record straight. During an interview with The Wall Street Journal earlier this month, Trahan said that HGTV, the previous owner of her new “life-size dollhouse home,” bought the property for too much — about $3.5 million. Trahan paid $3.2 million for the home after HGTV renovated the property — used for exterior shots in The Brady Bunch — so the interior matched the sitcom’s set. She said that in the realm of buying property, HGTV’s hefty purchase was the “worst investment ever.”
Ryan Lahiff for Eklund/Gomes
Trahan clarified in an exclusive interview with PEOPLE that she feels the home wasn’t a “bad investment” for her, but she didn’t buy the Brady Bunch home as a property investment. Instead, she bought it as a piece of artwork.
“When I was buying it, I wasn’t thinking, ‘Oh, it was a great investment,'” Trahan says. “When I buy art, it’s because I love the art. It’s not because, ‘Oh, I’m going to make money on this.’ Because… if you’re going to make money in art, you have to sell it. I buy art, and then I don’t sell it.”
Anthony Barcelo
Trahan wants people to know she is thrilled with her purchase — as an art collector item more than anything- especially since the property isn’t as functional as a home.
“None of the appliances work,” she laughs, mentioning a decorative vintage fridge.
“The range doesn’t work, the stove doesn’t work, the oven doesn’t work. There’s literally nothing,” she adds.
Ryan Lahiff for Eklund/Gomes
“I definitely said to the Wall Street Journal: ‘No one’s making pork chops and applesauce in that kitchen,’ and I saw some comments… almost like I was making fun of the kitchen, or I didn’t like the kitchen,” Trahan continues. “But what nobody seems to realize is [that] no one’s making pork chops and applesauce because nothing works! Nothing is functioning. It’s all decorative. So I think that’s pretty funny. You couldn’t make anything if you wanted to.”
That said, she has no plans to renovate or sell the house anytime soon.
“Never will I ever touch one thing [in the house],” she tells PEOPLE. “I was telling someone, ‘If you [even] bring a flat-screen TV into the house, it’s no longer The Brady Bunch.”
“There’s a lot of value in this for a lot of people that care about it. And HGTV put in a lot of time, effort, and money into the house to make it the way it is and… I find that incredibly valuable. So I don’t know. That comment, I just shouldn’t have said it.”
CBS via Getty
Trahan says overall, buying the home was a no-brainer for her.
“It was like, ‘I need this house. I have to have the house,'” she explains. “I loved the movie… and I watched the show growing up after school. I just felt like it was just part of America and the culture.”
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Ryan Lahiff for Eklund/Gomes
Trahan wants to share the house with others by using it for charitable purposes — perhaps offering “nights at the Brady Bunch home” to raise money for causes.
“That would be a huge revenue stream for charities,” she says. “It brings so much joy, and it makes so many people happy, just like The Brady Bunch did.”
