The ‘Full House’ House: Where the Tanner Family Lived, Laughed, and Loved

One of the most iconic sitcoms in the 1980s and 1990s was Full House, with the Tanner family becoming one of television’s most famous. Moreover, the Full House house wasn’t just a setting for the series – it was an entity in its own right. This iconic residence, filled with laughter, love, and life lessons, has become synonymous with the show and continues to hold a special place in the hearts of fans.

Full House follows widower and sports anchor Danny Tanner and his three children: DJ, Stephanie, and Michelle. Danny enlists the help of his brother-in-law Jesse Katsopolis and his best friend Joey Gladstone in caring for his children. Throughout the series, the three men and the children bond and become closer.

The Tanner residence plays a big part throughout the series as it’s where a lot of the hijinks each of the characters gets into take place. Full House ran for eight seasons from 1987 to 1995. By 2016, a sequel series featuring most of the original characters, Fuller House, aired on Netflix until 2020. It still featured the familiar Tanner house but with a more modern touch.

The Full House House

In Full House, the Tanner residence was a Victorian-style home. The Tanner family’s house was located in the fictional address of 1822 Gerard Street, San Francisco. While there really is a Girard Street, it’s run down, and the last house on the street is numbered 1320.

The entrance to the house is often shown from outside at the end of the opening credits with a zoom-out during Seasons 1 to 3.

The Full House house was actually located at 1709 Broderick Street in San Francisco, California. It was initially built in 1883 and is considered an example of Italianate Victorian architecture. The Charles Lewis Hinkel house has up to 4,000 square feet of space and has four bedrooms and 3.5 bathrooms.

Only the establishing shots and the opening credits were filmed at the actual Tanner residence for both Full House and Fuller House. The interior shots, where the show is pretty much filmed, were done on a studio set. The interior of the Tanner residence was filmed before a live studio audience at Lorimar Studios in Los Angeles. Full House and Fuller House did not film the interiors of the Broderick St. House.

There is also a special part in the garden of the Broderick house. There are cement tiles with the handprints and signatures of the cast.

A Tour of the Full House Set

The Move to Fuller House

When Full House was canceled in 1995, the house remained out of the limelight. That was until 2016 when the sequel series Fuller House aired. Many fans have already flocked to the Tanner residence on Broderick Street. When Fuller House premiered, more fans traveled to see the house.

The Full House house was still used in the opening credits of the sequel series. Fuller House also featured most of the show’s original cast, including Bob Saget, who returned as Danny Tanner. The only cast members who did not return were the Olsen twins, who played the youngest Michelle Tanner. Michelle is only referenced in the sequel.

Fuller House follows DJ Tanner-Fuller, Danny Tanner’s eldest daughter. A widowed DJ moves back to her house with her three children. Danny allows her to move back in when he has to move away for work. DJ’s sister Stephanie also moves in to help her with the kids, with DJ’s best friend Kimmy also helping out.

Fuller House ran for five seasons, from 2016 to 2020. Saget reprised his role for 15 episodes, including the premiere and the series finale.

Much of the interiors in Fuller House remained the same as its predecessor. Naturally, the set was updated to add more modern touches. But the modern features don’t overshadow the overall look and familiar feel of the house.

The Tanner House Today

Full House creator Jeff Franklin owned the iconic house for a few years. Franklin bought the house in 2016 and promoted Fuller House at the same time. Under Franklin’s ownership, he redid the exterior to match the facade seen in Full House, including the red door. He also planned to remodel the interiors to match the iconic set and got a building permit in 2017.

The show’s popularity brought fans traveling to see the house. However, Franklin’s neighbors weren’t too happy with the crowds of people disturbing the peace. The neighbors also appealed the building permit Franklin got to remodel the interior. They cited that making the house look more like the one on the show would bring even more tourists to the area and disturb the peace.

Franklin was fired from Fuller House in 2018 after complaints surfaced about his verbally abusive and vulgar language in the writers’ room. He ultimately decided to sell the property. In 2019, when the house was completing its renovation work by the high-end architectural firm Landry Design Group, it was listed for sale.

“The home will always have tremendous emotional significance to me,” Franklin said in a statement mentioning his plans to sell the house. “It is a symbol of the shows I love, and the second family I have formed with the casts of Full and Fuller House. Now that Fuller House is ending, I will be putting the home back on the market. I hope to find a buyer who wants to make it a full house once again.”

The Full House house was listed for $5.9 million and was on the market for more than a year. It was sold in late 2020 for $5.35 million.

The Painted Ladies and Postcard Row

The opening credits of Full House showed the Tanner family going for a drive around San Francisco. Many believed that the house is one of the infamous Painted Ladies, which is one of the most photographed spots in the area. The Painted Ladies refers to seven Victorian-style homes that make up the block known as Postcard Row.

But as said earlier, the Full House House was actually set in the Pacific Heights neighborhood. It’s around one mile away from Alamo Square, where the Painted Ladies are located.

When software developer Leah Culver bought the iconic house in 2020, she had plans to renovate the interior. However, in late May, Culver announced on social media that she was selling the house. Culver explained that the decision to put the iconic house on the market was due to not having enough time to give the house the attention it deserved.

“I would love to transition to a new owner who cares as much as I do (or more!) about this special home,” said Culver in her announcement. “That’s why I am listing it for sale for the same price I purchased it for.”

Culver added that the current building plans, permits, and social media accounts are included in the sale should the new owner want them. The approved permits included the plans to create a large five-bedroom three-and-a-half bathroom upper unit and a two-bed one-bath unit on the lower level.