Adventures in Bradyland

By amanda | Published: November 11, 2009

Several months ago, Lizzie and I stumbled across a craigslisting for hundreds of chairs in Brady. Three hours of driving and a few Dairy Queen Blizzards later, we were smack dab in the center of Texas rummaging through 126 rooms filled to the brim with everything imaginable. Our contact told us that the building was a former insane asylum until the 20s when it became a privately owned hospital. In the 70s her mother purchased the space to transform it into a dormitory. Instead, it became Spruce’s present day treasure chest.

The Brady Hospital and Clinic

Exterior Brady

Exterior Long Side of Brady

Back Entrance of Clinic

We spent 5 hours that trip searching through damp, cold and dark hallways, closets, and hospital rooms. Our findings included about 30 chairs, a handful of tables, and a dozen lamps. Here are the photos of some our transformations.

Since then, we’ve sold most of our Brady pieces, so we decided to pack up the crew (me, Keegan, my mom) and head back for more. Our contact was meeting a potential buyer for the space, so this may be our last adventure to Brady. It was amazing how much more we noticed on the second round. Keep in mind, none of these photos are staged. We captured these items as they were when we found them.

Pilgrimage to Brady

Mom and Keegan

Outside Treasure Chest

Even More Outside

Babes in Bradyland

Hospital Corridor

Hallway of Chairs

“Drink Cans”

Scary Stairwell

Little Tikes

Though we haven’t had a chance to revamp the furniture we retrieved on this round, we have cleaned up all of the lamps, wooden bowls and various other items we found on our trip. Here are some of the great gifts that surfaced.