Look: Metropolis Apartment Complex Austin

Exterior paint color choices can be a controversial subject. We stumbled across a painted apartment complex that just might take the cake when we ran into Austin's Metropolis apartment complex on the East Side. Read more after the jump...

Though the paint job looks to have seen some years, every surface of this apartment complex is covered in artsy and Art Deco style paint patterns. There are buildings adorned in geometric styles and one building that looks entirely like it's painted with a leopard print.

Even hallways and some parts of the parking lots are covered in pattern and color! The effect is overall uplifting and bright. Along with the crazy paint patterns, there are other interesting details in this complex, like the old cars flanking the entrances and even a faux airplane coming out of one wall!

While it might be a little overboard to apply these sorts of treatments to your own home, Austin residents may get some inspiration from this artful paint job for smaller projects.

What do you think? Way too tacky or funky and fun? Have you ever seen an apartment complex before with such a unique paint job? Would you ever try something like this on a small part of your home for fun? Let us know!

Comments (20)

this is the ugliest apartment building i have ever seen.

I think the charm of these apartments got lost in photographic translation. The Metropolis website makes them sound heavenly, but the photos here make them look like the motel where Earl & Randy Hickey live.

Move out fast---it will only get not better for sure!!!

For 3 years I lived at this apartment complex, starting about 8 years ago. I loved the look of the place, but at the time it was recently renovated and still fairly fresh-looking. There was a lot of good things to say about it following the renovation, and the pictures above don't reflect that initial vision well. This complex is in a fairly run-down part of south-east Austin, and the residents there were mostly students or poor musicians. The interiors of the apartments were nice, I felt, for what they were. Stained concrete floors, brushed metal counters, creative lighting fixtures, etc. I admired what they were trying to do with the place, but that vision deteriorated ended shortly after the renovation was completed. The place went downhill extremely fast, both in management and occupants, and it never lived up to its promise. Today I wouldn't recommend it to anyone, and shudder to think of living there again.

As a totally broke college student I lived in a lot of crappy apartments. If it wasnt painted funny, this would be almost identical to some I lived in.. Who cares. Obviously a crappy little complex, at least someone tried to give it a little personality and whimsy.

I lived in the complex next to this one when I was in college. It was abandoned for several years before they renovated it and was quite the talk of the Wickersham Lane shuttle route when they did start working on it. I do think they went a bit overboard with the paint, reminds me of a bad Cosby sweater, but I agree with radiobaby, at least they tried something different.

ugh this place is such a dump. i had a friend who lived here for a short time and whatever they were going for with the original vision has long since been eaten away by termites, junkies and stray cats.

I like it! The building itself is hideousâ€”doesn't have "good bones"â€”as people like to say. So they've done something fun and witty with it. The comments of others would indicate that upkeep on something like that is important, and it doesn't seem like that's been done.

Tackytown!
Looks like it belong in an inner city ghetto.

Tacky, but at least it's not a soul-less beige, which is what one would expect of a crappy run-down apartment complex. It's really a pretty neat idea, and it's too bad if it's gone down the tubes...

I use to live in Austin, when these were first refurbished it seemed ahead of its time and exciting even though it was not in a great part of the city. After all these years, it really looks dated. I would not live there for many reasons.

You sure that isn't an elementary school?

I have to say it looks far worse (tacky still, but with the addition of "bleak") in these photos, but yeah, it's cheap student housing. They cater to "musicians" these days in their promotional material, whatever that means (loud and full of drugs?).

My husband calls it "Saved by the Bell" style.

Nate5221 and the rest of you naysayers: 1) Austin is not "dated" -- that is absurd. 2) Regarding the ignorant "looks like it belong in an inner city ghetto" comment... that's because this IS an inner city, low income, minority neighborhood, apartment complex.

Hey the key word in Austin is "keep Austin Weird" and that says it all.....Maj512 now livign in Austin from CA

I really love the style of these apartments. They were awesome when they were first built. (The architect was a coke head graduate from UT). They first complex I ever heard of to have free ethernet built into the walls (not anymore). Stars live here. Huge gay pop. (Not anymore). There is still a chance to bring back the glory days of this complex.