What a horrid thing to do to a perfectly lovely brownstone. It looks simply awful. Shame on you!

I wanted to hate it, but when compared to the baby poop colored houses next to it, I like the pink one more. I would have gone with a color a little less pepto, but if it makes them happy...

How rude! It looks so cheap. I am sure it's even uglier in person.

I'm most annoyed about the steps and the railings. I think if they would paint them in a darker color, it could look a bit more thorough. Right now it really just look like they threw a can of pink paint at the whole housee and put the door and windows back.

I walked past this building not long ago and it's so striking! I took a picture of it right then and there. The monotony of brownstones is kind of......boring. I believe that's Garfield street in Park Slope and the street is lined with brownstone after brownstone. This one pops right out atcha and makes a pretty bold statement about tradition, whimsy and bravery. I commend the people who did this. It definitely brightened my day.

I think it is gorgeous. So nice to see such a lovely color juxtaposed with the traditional! It's absolutely gorgeous!

This house is in my neighborhood and I love to see it when I pass. With Brownstones, it seems that everyone takes pains to recreate what it once was with interior finishes and exterior details. The owner here opted for a different approach. And I respect and admire that.

I love this. It reminds me of some neighborhoods I've seen in Mexico, where everyone paints their house crazy bright colors. The effect is a little riotous and very beautiful.

While I admire unconventional finishes, and wish I really didn't care what other people thought AT ALL, I think I would choose a color that isn't as polarizing as pink. I would probably go for something that would stand out without saying, "F.U.!", like, I don't know, navy?

Alone, the pink house doesn't seem like the worst offense. (Although it does kind of scream, "desperate to be different"...). I have to agree with Trish1980: do what you want with your interior, but when you have to subject passersby to such a bold statement, it seems a bit discourteous. Soon you'll have a street of rainbow houses.

Pepto Bismol pink? Ick! Not a fan of what they did to this lovely brownstone.

I think it's the shade of pink that annoys me; it really seems to be that pepto color, at least from these pictures. I also think it would look better with some of the details picked out in other colors, like Victorian houses do.

Ugh, that's just horrible and tasteless, with no regard for the history of the house or area. In many countries you wouldn't be allowed to do that to the house as it would be protected.
Paint the door pink if you have to live out your Hello Kitty fantasy!

I'm trying to like it, but I just don't. I wouldn't have painted it in the first place but, if I did, it sure wouldn't have been that color. However, to each his own as they say. If they like it, that's all that matters.

I was going to say, "It could have been done in a more nuanced, tasteful way," but then realized that ship sailed the second the owner ordered 60 gallons of exterior-grade Bubblegum Lollapalooza.
But think how easy directing people to your door would be. "...No trust me, you can't miss it."

I love pink -my cottage is pink so its not the colour that bothers me -I think maybe they should have added some details -being all pink even the steps seems boring to me - there looks like there are corbels that could have been picked out and painted to show them off - it looks like a big pink blob -

I'm all for individuality but when it affects the look as a whole (i.e. uniformity of a historic rowhouse) I feel it's flat out tacky. Wonder what the neighbors think?

I've lived near that house since the mid-80s. The neighborhood used to be a lot funkier, with bicentennial-painted fire hydrants, old clawfoot tubs overflowing with plants, "cheap landlord" paint colors, and many of the brownstones in disrepair. Then came the real estate boom, the money, the mass renovation/restoration movement, and the movie-set perfection that is Park Slope today. Through it all, that house has remained steadfastly pink, and in fact been repainted the same color several times - I suspect it's more of a throwback than a "statement." Garish as it is (the pic doesn't do justice) it pleases me every time I walk by, and reminds me of what Brooklyn (and life?) used to be like before The Fall (when Eve bit the apple and understood that her pink house was wrong).

I don't know. I don't usually like oddball finishes, and I am a hardcore, card-carrying member of the pink hating club, but the house looks ok to me. Kind of fun. And interesting. And delightful. Maybe I'm feverish. Or I've been working too hard....

P.S. But I am telling myself there was something wrong with the stone before they painted it which justifes the painting, because I can't stand the idea of painting over nice, natural stone in good condition.

I'm in the minority, I really like it.

i love anything that gets an uptight brooklynite's panties in a bunch.

i've walked by this house often and always wondered what was happening on the inside.

I love it!

I love a bold exterior, but maybe not one so bold that it looks like a pepto factory exploded. If this was my neighbor I would have the whole block on them.

That being said, I love a good bold accent or painted trim, etc. Something to make your house pop, or make it undeniably unique. I don't think that your need for attention or desire to stand out should make your house a giant gaudy sign for your neighborhood.

I think it's fabulous! Very bold!

Here's a better, brighter photo of the house:
http://pinterest.com/pin/89720217546057709/

I know covenants and codes can be rather restricting and controversial but personally, I'm rather pleased with ours knowing I don't have to give directions to my house as "the one to the left of the pink house". I always wonder when I see a house painted like this (and there are two I see on a daily basis in my town--one is this same pink with maroon trim, the other BRIGHT yellow with bright blue trim) if the people really think it is lovely or if someone peed in their Cheerios and this is their great F.U.

TML's comment beat me to it. I grew up in the 70s and 80s around the corner from this house. It has been that color for decades. It is not a 'statement' - it bears no relation to the point the writer is trying to make. Please Apartment Therapy, do a little resarch, ok??

This is a shameful. The outside of a home should be RESPECTFUL to the context of it's surroundings. This is like giving the middle finger to all of the neighbors. You might like having an obnoxious house on the block, but everybody else doesn't. It's unfortunate how one beautiful house on a block full of ugly buildings won't do much to improve the character of the street. However, one ugly house on a beautiful street overpowers and ruins all of the good.

@fcresenc A street of rainbow houses? You say that like it's a bad thing. :)

I think it is great!

Hideous.

Painting stone is never a great idea, scrupulous maintenance is required due to weathering and peeling.

Pink is a horrible color in the north. Plus it looks nasty with the neutrals near it.

The porch should be a contrasting (neutral) color even if the pink remains.

ANY home should work with and complement the neighborhood, or it undermines local market values -- no amount of savings on the house would make living next to THAT house worth it to me, my stomach would turn every time I got near it. (Can you tell I hate hate hate pink?!) If the neighborhood collectively used bright accents on doors and details, it would probably make a difference overall, if not to me.

There are ways to make a statement without undermining other owners' investments and without being the eyesore of the neighborhood.

Would I tone down my dream home to fit in? Definitely, I already have. We built into a new development (largely because we couldn't build and also buy an empty lot any other way, land prices being ridiculous.) I love zen contemporary, but the exterior of our house is traditional colonial. (Which I would never choose if I could avoid it.) It's a nice enough looking house, and it fit the neighborhood but it is far from my "dream".

There is enough animosity in the world: being cooperative and friendly is in short enough supply without belligerently asserting your independence in such hostile and arrogant ways, especially when getting along just takes a more tempered color choice.

Maybe they just hate the neighbors.

Didn't think I would like it, but I do. That really doesn't matter though because it's not my house and therefore not my decision. I think it says a lot that the commenters who live in the neighborhood like it.

I am so happy to read comments from 2 posters that live nearby and can point out that that house stood as is long ago, perhaps even before the others we're so totally uniform.
I am sure when the owner sells it'll be made more "suitable" to the neighbourhood.

It's a pepto bismol nightmare.

I was going to say "I wouldn't pick that color, but I approve of this thing's existence" but the photo pinterest is much better, so I approve wholeheartedly. XD

I'm sure painting a beautiful brownstone PINK is a sin! Whoever did it is clearly going to straight to hell.

[sarcasm font off]

But seriously. Awful. I hate pink in the first place... but maybe if they'd painted some detail instead of pouring pepto bismol over the front of the building - it might be redeemable.

ugh.

If you're going to paint over natural materials that already offer their own beauty, you'd better at least do a good job and make it beautiful enough to be an improvement (like using fine detailing). This just looks like they dipped it in stomach medicine. Absolute garbage.

I once lived in a pink house in the UK. People could actually send letters addressed to "the pink house," and we'd get them. It was great! Also, I love places like Notting Hill or Jericho where whole blocks have flats painted in different colors---so lively. Why be boring?

I like it! But I agree with some previous posters that I would like some detail colors so it didn't just look like a blob.

I think it's interesting that the commenters who live in the area love this house :)

Pink is subversive. Love it.

Hideous. And not just the paint color. It’s hideous because it is so poorly executed.

Looks like some landlord/cheap homeowner went to the paint store and got a great deal on someone’s rejected custom color order. And then they poured that pink paint on everything in sight. And it looks like it has gone untouched for many years.

This paint job does not complement the architecture, the light, or the environment (natural and man-made). And it is messy.

This house doesn’t communicate “I’m creative and non-conformist.” It screams “I’m a crazy person.” I imagine the owner to be elderly, living on a fixed income, isolated, with hoarding tendencies.

"Do what you want with your interior, but when you have to subject passersby to such a bold statement, it seems a bit discourteous. Soon you'll have a street of rainbow houses." You should be so lucky! Many Southern cities like Charleston & Miami are famous for their rainbow colored buildings. Have you ever seen Charleston's Rainbow Row? FANTASTIC!

I live around the corner from this brownstone. The color is so bad that I always imagined that there was some dispute between neighbors and in retaliation the owners painted their house that color.

I would not buy the house across the street from this house.

ick

It looks like a pink nightmare!

@KJMWRITES:

"@fcresenc A street of rainbow houses? You say that like it's a bad thing. :)"

amen. bring on the rainbow houses.

I grew up in the neighborhood in the early 1970s and that house, as many have commented, has been pink forever. If memory serves me, the house to the right of it used to actually be a turquoise blue (since painted over) and both houses were occupied by families that were originally from the Caribbean. Historically accurate to the late 19th Century? No. Historically accurate to when City Lights (a bar) was on 1st Street and 7th Avenue, Danny's Candy Store was on Garfield and 7th, and Pino's was a hole in the wall next to its current location? Yes. Offensive? Personally, I do love pink and I'm a bit of a historical preservationist, so I'm torn. But it's not nearly as offensive as being mowed down by a triple-wide stroller without an "excuse me" which, I'm quite afraid, is what Park Slope has become.

I absolutely love it, maybe because I'm hispanic and I'm so use to living in where people paint the outside of their houses bright colors. I believe that if it's okay with the neighborhood, then there shouldn't be a problem. I would love to live right in front of this house! :)

If this offends you, then whatever you do don't move to San Francisco, this color would be considered tame here. I love funky colored houses, (even the ugly ones). When almost all house are colorful, there are always some that are not well-done, but everyone is entitled to their own bad taste !

I agree 100% with Kjersti. You can argue the aesthetics of color choice, but the way it's done just looks half-@ssed, cheap and lazy with the steps being painted as well. I can't imagine they'll wear well. If they did the lintels, capstones, window headers, etc. with, maybe a gloss black it would at least look a little more cohesive and thought-out, although likely still ugly.

Hmmm. Okay, well the one pro I see is simply that it creates conversation. If I were walking through the neighborhood in the photo my first thought would definitely be 'What the"h**l?" but I would also remember it is somewhat of a landmark (a very garish landmark but still). BUT, what about the poor folks who live in the other parts of that building?! You know, the people who bought their share of a very lovely piece of historical architecture, only to have some jerks move in and ruin the aesthetic of the entire building? I think in this particular case, where you are sharing part of a whole, you REALLY need to respect the idea of THE WHOLE. One house, not connected to anything else I say do what you want. A bright pink house, ok. Whatever. But the middle section of a classic building? Talk to the other people in the building first. That's all I'll say.

*after reading TML's comment, I have way more respect for this place. Funny how the history of a place can change a story so completely.

well, I was horrified at first, but it's actually kind of growing on me. I kind of wish they'd used some other colors as well, though, to break it up a bit.

If you want a tropical-color house, buy a house in a neighborhood where people paint the houses tropical colors. I hope we can all agree that "harmony" is a pleasant concept. Now think about whether this house shows any sense of harmony with its environment. It's rude.

They didn't buy the house & paint it. It's been painted.

The fact that it pisses so many people off & that it's a testament to when people had personalities makes me love it more.

Keep on keepin' on, pink house.

Glad I read the comments. There's more here than in the post.

I love it...the history of the color is even better...and so is the pic from Pinterest.

Funny how it gets some people so worked up.

There was a "Pepto Bismal" house near where I lived growing up and that was exactly what we called it. There are classy ways to make your house striking and then there are desperate cries for attention. This falls into the latter category. Do I think we should use more unique colors in painting houses? Yes. Do I think we need to make our houses eyesores that inspire nausea in our neighbors? Only if we really want egg in our faces, or on our front doors.

I lived around the corner from this brownstone for 15 years. The color was striking, shocking, different. I would have appreciated it more if it had been skillfully done - it wasn't; it was sloppy. It wasn't artistic or considered. It did not bring harmony or whimsy to the block.
I had heard that the owners had been of Caribbean descent and wanted their home to remind them of "home".

that's nothing. check out this mosaic covered house in west london! not just artistic expression, but a strong political statement... don't know how the neighbours feel about it. anyway, the beautiful colours and textures make me smile every time i pass it.

Oh, how dreadful. This horrid should not be allowed in urban environment. If people with no taste want to project their personal “style” onto the exterior of their houses they should move to the country side and do as they’re pleased.