Courtesy of Christopher Knight
You probably know Christopher Knight as Peter Brady—the sensitive, clumsy, and impulsive middle child on the ’70s sitcom The Brady Bunch. But since his successful career playing the part of wholesome kiddo on the show, Knight has transcended his experiences in Hollywood to launch his home furniture brand, the Christopher Knight Home collection. With products ranging from glassware to bedding, Knight’s home collection aims to convey the comforts of home—something he experienced on-screen as an actor and off-screen as the son of a builder.
“I didn’t know at the time that I was being affected by what would become an iconic representation of a quintessential American house of the late-’60s, early-’70s period,” Knight says. His father, an architect turned actor, and his mom, a Parsons School of Design grad, had perhaps more of an influence on his artistic eye than his experience on The Brady Bunch. “For me, I tend to be practical, comfortable,” Knight says. “I want to melt into my home.”
While the Brady family house was simply a Hollywood set, Knight had the unique opportunity in 2019 to renovate the location that served as the exterior trademark we’ve all come to know and love—that beloved ranch-style split-level home. And that meant blending two of his passions: acting and home furnishing. “[On HGTV’s A Very Brady Renovation] we were paying homage to this thing from our past that had never really been alive,” he says. Though he had significant say in how the house transformed into a replica of the inside of the Brady home you can see on TV, he missed how the set—unlike the house—had the living room, dining room, and family room in a unique hexagon-like shape that led to an outdoor patio. It was a stark contrast to today’s popular open concept kitchens and living rooms.
"Most of us are living in a home that is not dialed in to a particular element—it’s a mash-up of things that we own that work together.” Christopher Knight
“I mean—one, two bedrooms for six kids and one bathroom?” he says. “That [sounds like] a disaster, but it makes for good television.” Unlike the fictitious sitcom, Knight understands that most families don’t have a Pinterest-ready home. Personal interests, personality, and preferences should play a role in how each family designs their home, Knight says, which might mean nabbing a variety of interior design colors, textures, and styles.
“When you look at Christopher Knight Home, it’s imperial,” he says. “There is no design style. It’s boho. It’s a mix. It’s the things that work for you. Most of us are living in a home that is not dialed in to a particular element—it’s a mash-up of things that we own that work together.” Creating a home together as a family can be complicated, trying to integrate everyone’s sense of style—especially with a budget in mind. For Knight, that means including his cats in his interior design selections. “I wish my couch was more comfortable, but I have cats,” he says. “If anybody out there can invent something that a cat would be guaranteed not to destroy…” He trails off with a chuckle. Perhaps the time is ripe or plastic Space Age fabrics?
Check out the Christopher Knight Home collection at christopherknightbrands.com.
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