It's arcade historic..Pac Man yellow.

i like it.

I love it.

Good on them.

love it

Give it six months to a year. Yellow is one of the colors (along with red) that fades quickly and dramatically when exposed to sunlight. According to my friend who sells paint for a living, exterior paints in those colors are often given extra doses of pigment because of this, so when the paint is fresh it's much louder than normal so it can fade to the intended shade. Of course, he could have just made that up. Anyone else ever hear of this?

Author needs to clarify that the house in the photo is NOT the bright yellow one described in the post .. or at least, that's what it seems like to me.

I'm having trouble discerning which is the offending house. They all seem to be painted bright (and in my opinion, attractive) colors.

I would guess that this is, in fact, the house in question, given that it's a DC-style rowhouse and that car has DC plates.

I think it's great, but then again, I live in Berkeley, where houses are all sorts of colors.

I think it looks really fun.

I like it, and I think it fits in fine with all the other paint jobs, even if brighter. I don't think anyone needs to hold a referendum to paint their house. If all the other houses were uniform, maybe you could argue they stepped outside "neighborhood norms", but not in this case.

Is that the house? That wouldn't bother me. As long as they did a nice job with it, I'm fine with weird colors. What bothers me is sloppy or crappy work. There's a bungalow near me where they replaced all the beautiful old (historic) windows and doors with cheap white vinyl replacements that didn't really fit (so they made them fit). Now that bothers me!

nevermind - I see the photo caption now. I want to see a picture of the actual rowhouse!

Reminds me of an old brick house a few doors down from ours in Toronto when I was a kid. It was the first one on our block to be painted (horrors!) and they did a similar blue with white trim. What made it really crazy was that they painted all the lines between the bricks white as well. There was much curtain twitching and clucking over backyard fences among the adults but the kids thought it was kind of cool (possibly because of the disturbance to the adults). We moved away not too long afterwards, always wondered what happened to that place. There is a house painted fluorescent orange with lime green trim a few blocks away from where I live now. I'm glad I don't live next to it but it is a tough call on what the neighbours should have to put up with. The only thing is where do you draw the line? Some people are easily offended, others not so much.

That's the beauty of buying a home without an HOA, you get to do pretty much whatever you want in terms of style. I for one dig bright houses, and think you're being a little over sensitive.

Our landlady, who lives upstairs, painted our house purple with green trims. It's so freakin' happy and cool, we absolutely love it, and so many of our friends love it too! I could care less about what the neighbors say. Seriously, chill, people... live and let live. This is indeed a VERY first world problem.

Seems rather pointless to have the post without a photo of the actual house in question, but in general I think people should chill on their neighbor's color choices. It's funny that this comes up so soon after I blogged about how bland 'our' colors tend to be these days. I think we could all tend to be less judgmental. Don't like the color, don't paint your house that color.

The photo used in this article makes it all confusing, since it works there.

I'm not sure if y'all understand that the picture above is NOT the house the poster is refering to.

I am torn by this. I live in a historic district in Atlanta. Most of the houses are interesting colors, but not exactly bright and crazy, except for my neighbors house which is pepto pink with kelly green trim. I like it. To be honest I wish more of my neighbors would go brighter. If I were planning to stay in my house longer than 3 years I would paint it pola dotted which would defintely piss ome meighbors off, but my 'hood has a lot of artist so some of them wouldn't be annoyed.

I also live in DC, and a house a few houses fown from the alley where I turn to park behind my condo was painted VERY bright yellow last year, and I actually like that I can tell exactly where I need to turn to get into the alley when I'm coming from that direction! I also think it lends itself to the charm of my neighborhood.

This also makes me wonder if we're talking about the same house....but I don't think it's a designated historic district, so maybe not.

Perhaps the paint job will spur everyone else to paint, and the street will look like the picture above (which to me seems like a very good thing.). I cannot for the life of me understand how people get offended by choices other people make about their own property. It's one thing if it's a mess, and said mess is weeds, standing water, etc that is a hindrance to the neighborhood somehow. However, we all have different taste, and to impose your sensibility on someone else seems very wrong.

It's interesting that the historic neighborhood governance doesn't mention paint colour. Usually, paint colour is at the top of their list or "dos and don'ts". That said, this is what's beautiful about America.

HA! This picture is from my street- and if you ask me, it's houses like that one that make the block look so charming and unlike any other street in the city! Also, I don't think that the poster is referencing the block pictured, since none of the houses on the street have been painted neon yellow of late, and there's been no grumbling about painting on the neighborhood listserve.

Love it! That'll wake you up on a morning walk with the dog.

Do you live in an historic-zoned district where the paint colors are limited by the zoning regulations? If so you can call the city and complain!

Author here: Do you think it is mean to post a photo of the actual house? I resisted out of concern that the person would see it somehow. From what I know of him, this is unlikely. But any thoughts on the etiquette of doing so? And, again, I am not against color myself, I am just trying to get my head around what the guidelines could be for house paint choices...to what extent should we consider our home a part of the whole? Or is it to each his own?? hmmm

I totally get the author's point. I too live in a historic neighborhood, but of tudor rowhomes. It's beautiful. I get how being in a tight neighborhood like this warrants a homogenous style because anything different (like a fake 60's replacement door) looks totally out of place and really vulgar. We can't manage or regulate peoples's taste, and there lies the problem. But I totally understand that it's a tough call. People should be able to do what they want, but living in a historic neghborhood with similar and very close houses does warrant a respect for the historic heritage of the homes and the overall vibe of the neighborhood and neighbors. To me it's like constantly playing loud music with neighbors really close. Should you be able to? Sure. But there are always others to consider.

I have to say, comments/post like this really flip my switch. Since when is it the right of a neighbor to tell you how you want to paint the house you purchased out of your money? If they want to pay your mortgage, then they have the right; otherwise, it's none of their business.
I live in a condo with an HOA. The upside, the place is always clean, painted and quiet. Down side, I would love to paint the outside multi-shades of blue.
I'm a native San Franciscan and that is what I love about SF. You can paint your house any color you want. There is a home on Franklin streeet that has a Tiger painted on the 2nd floor with the rest of the house painted in a jungle theme. I love it. I would rather live next door to someone who has painted there home a rainbow of colors than one who parks their cars on blocks on the lawn or someone who has weeds for grass. I've seen houses where the curtains look like they have been clawed by cats and never, ever been washed. I'll take the clean and maintained rainbow house any time.

I'm pretty shocked that you live in an historic distric that DOESN'T force the issue on exterior paint colors. Around here that's pretty much all they care about, in addition to windows and trim additions.

I'm torn as well. I think it's beautiful. But if it's historic, that's a bit different. On the other hand: our neighbor, whose kids break our windows and whose dog barks constantly (and craps on our lawn), got upset when I told him we were putting up a fence. He insisted he has to like the style we decide on. He's in for a surprise, because the less he likes it, the happier I'll be. Moral of the story: if you want to tell your neighbors what style to have, you'd better treat them really well.

No, unless there are local laws/rules about it, the home owners have no obligation to consult you about their choice of paint colors.

If you don't like it, get involved in your local governing body and work to change the rules.

The neighborhood I grew up in is NOT an historic district, but the prevailing tone is pretty basic: pale yellows and beiges, whites, muted blues. And then there are the canaries. YELLOW or SKY BLUE or ZINGY GREEN. To each her own. I actually think the "tasteful" houses are unbearably dull. The zingers are dreadful in a different way. But as long as it doesn't poison the water, do what you want to do, I say.

@LYONSTILL, Did you even read the comments? Just about every commentor said they love brightly painted houses, including the house in the picture above.

And the author didn't say she was ticked off about the yellow house, just starting a conversation about exterior design choices.

So chill.

@CM, You made the right choice by not using a photo of the actual house. :)

I think many people have a pretty narrow concept of what is historically appropriate. A really bright color like chrome yellow is actually very historically correct, it just would not have been frequently seen because of the cost of the pigment.

Good taste is relative and this is America and all that freedom and sh*t. But on the other hand we all need to recognize that we are part of a community, and sometimes must rein in our personal preferences for the benefit of the whole. The exterior of a house is part of a community.

I don't see a problem with posting a photo of the actual house. Any buildings you can see from a public street/sidewalk are generally considered fair game for photographing and publishing.

umn... at least it's not peeling paint and unkempt?

After living with an HOA for the past ten years, I would rather live with a few strange colors in my neighborhood than have every choice dictated. My next door neighbor had to repaint their house after choosing the "wrong" beige. We are only allowed 4 choices of neutral colors.

Wow - at least now we know an approximate percentage of AT commenters who actually bother to read the article! Even those who do appear to have skimmed it are on about legalities, about how maybe you can MAKE the guy change the color.

The way I read the article, you're encouraging a communal sense of thoughtfulness towards one's neighbors. With trepidation, I might add.

And I'm all for it.

Some aspects that come to mind are: the people living IN the house don't have to look at it as much as the nearby residents. I don't think someone who only drives by a couple of times a day has a lot to grouch about. But if it's a house you see out your own windows all the time - ouch.

The other thing is, I'm pretty sure a lot of people paint their houses a bright color without any idea how bright it'll actually turn out. Most of us know what it's like to make beginners' mistakes in color choice! But I do hope @HCL is right, that the paint will fade before too long!

And though a photo of the actual house would have helped make your point, I think if you erred, it was on the side of good taste and discernment. So be it.

RE: whether or not to post the actual photo - is there no chance already the 'offending' party could stumble across this post? If not and it's being done to guard their identity, I can understand the decision not to include it - but perhaps the photo could have been a close up of the color or something less confusing. Half the people commenting think the house in the photo is the one in question.

Well, here's the thing. They don't have to consult the neighbors nor keep in tone with the other houses in the community... certainly they are within their legal rights. Etiquette is different. I think going far outside the norm is a little impolite... Likewise garish lawn decor or grotesque halloween displays or out-of-scale christmas lights. You're entitled, but neighbors will likely think you're a bit odd and/or impolite.

When buying a rowhouse you really need to match the style of block to your tastes. For example, if you like to stand out and be an individual, pick a block with mixed styles. We have tons of these in Philly. If you like structure and don't mind following the rules, definitely go with a more uniform block. But don't buy a house on a highly uniform block that's also historic without accepting that you need to follow the rules. Make an off change and it looks really odd and your neighbors won't be happy. I get emails all the time about this and it boils down to not only finding a house you love, but also the block that goes with it.

Don't pick on Catrin. We all have problems we want to chat about, and I think this was a good topic for AT. If someone wanted to complain about me online, that would be fine with me as long as they kept my identity (and home address!!) cryptic and hidden, and hypothetical. As far as I can tell, she did this. Lighten up.

you know people, if you want to be a libertarian, and say "this is America, I can do what I want", then don't buy in a historic neighborhood! That simple.

I'm the former owner of one of the houses pictured above and I agree that it's a bit misleading to use 12th Place as an example because all the houses are different, awesome colors. But I understand why you would not post a picture of your neighbor's house and agree that you should not. I am very happy not to live in a neigborhood with an HOA that has to approve which shade of beige I get to paint my house. Being a good neighbor means being polite and friendly and lending a hand or a cup of sugar when needed. It does not mean consulting your neighbors to see if they approve of the color you plan to paint your house. I'm surprised that your DC rowhouse neighbors are so close-minded. Maybe the neon yellow house will start a trend and someday your street can be as much fun as 12th Place.

If I want to paint my house yellow, I can paint it yellow! I LOVE America!!!!

I think this is a very interesting topic, and I'd be curious to hear more on the story as it develops in your neighborhood (like what this neighbor is really like!)

The context of something can really change our perception of the situation. Perhaps in this case the neighbor has a compelling story or reason for choosing to paint his house this color (and hopes his neighbors can appreciate it), or maybe he is of the attitude and opinion that he simply wants to be shocking (and doesn't care at all what his neighbors think, and maybe even enjoys irritating them.)

I currently live in a historic district in Pacific Grove California, the homes here are Victorian and so bright imaginative colors are popular, as they often are in areas with these style homes. I have experienced two different situations in past neighborhoods however where the issue you are addressing came to public debate. In one case it was a neighbor who was purposely trying to be obnoxious (and as you can imagine the community did not respond well and it ended with the house in question increasing its offensiveness until the city stepped in), and in the other case the local paper did a feature on the home with images through out the house and explanations from the home owners about their inspiration and taste (this lead to a warm welcoming response from the community who ended up deciding that they enjoyed the way it brightened up their neighborhood.)

So in the end I guess I feel that yes, you should consider your neighbors when joining a community, but of course you don't necessarily have to let them control your final decisions in how to create your home (outside of codes and regulations.) You can never please everyone, however kind and thoughtful regard can go a long way. If the city decided that color was not important in sustaining the neighborhoods historic integrity, then I cannot really form an opinion on the case as it pertains to that issue. As someone currently looking for a new home I can say that neighborhood is a huge factor in that decision, so people certainly have a right to have an opinion about how their neighbors contribute to the communities aesthetics, and I can imagine that a dramatic change in those aesthetics after you are settled into a lovely area, could take some to adjust to!

I hope this neighbor turns out to be delightful and full of wonderful reasons for his bizarre color choice that make the community more comfortable!

PS- I am moving to DC in october, what neighborhood is this you speak of and do you have any suggestions for a young married couple?!

DCSPACE and sealbeachy need to take a chill pill. The poster is trying to start a dialogue which is perfectly acceptable on a design website.

First, if the home is in a historic neighborhood but doesn't have any rules governing exterior paint colors, you knew at some point that someone was going to diverge from the brick red, dusty blue, and pale yellow color scheme. So with that in mind, you probably should have prepared yourself.

Secondly, have you seen some of the old houses along U Street? They're in all sorts of colors! Orange, neon green, bright purple! They're businesses, yes, but they're also vibrant and fun. Color isn't so bad when the neighborhood embraces it. I bet in the next year, someone else in your neighborhood is going to repaint their house and choose a color just as bold as yellow.

My parents' house is a colonial farmhouse. When they bought it in the 70s it had white walls and black shutters. After they renovated it they researched appropriate colors and painted it a pale yellow ochre with slate blue shutters. What amuses me is seeing how many other houses (which formerly also had white walls/black shutters) down the street and around their neighborhood now have yellow/buff walls and blue shutters.

The only thing about getting neighbours opinions is that often people don't 'get' it until they see it. We painted our house a greenish colour with off white trim and a red door after we bought it. Nobody understood what I was trying to do when I tried to explain and I got a lot of resistance from friends and family. They thought it was going to look like Christmas. Once done it knocked everyones socks off and everyone loved it. I had strangers knocking on our door to say they loved it and wanted my paint colours.

A few years later I changed the siding and windows. The hardie siding went up a taupe colour (I wanted green again but couldn't get the colour in my area) with white trim around the windows and black metal clad windows with exterior mullions. Again everyone though I was crazy and again everyone loved it when it was done and again strangers were knocking on the door. For awhile cars would actually park outside our house several times a day and the people would sit and talk and point at or house. No one questions me anymore but the criticism was hard in the beginning.

I think a HOA would stop the bad ideas but it would stop the good ideas too. Hopefully the homeowner of the yellow house will quickly tire of his bright choice and change his colour in a few years.

@EK76 is right, being a conscientious neighbor is about kindness and respect, not house color consults or rules of style. I think the wild colors of DC's row houses are what make the city shine. And as to historically accurate paint colors, take a morning off and head down to Mt. Vernon. The acid green interiors will give you a start but, hyper pigments where and still are in some ways a bench mark of expensive paint. While Mt. Vernon is of a different period, my point stands. We can't really speak to how loud a color was historically as they tend to fade over time. We have an idea that the past was a lot more monochrome than it truly was I think. All those sepia photographs?
I think you've raised some really interesting points though, and kudos to being respectful of your neighbor's privacy and not posting a picture of their house without permission.

I think Ashlee (about five comments up) hit it on the nose. It depends whether you're doing it to be an ass versus whether your motivations are pure. Sure you don't need anyone's permission, but a neighborhood can be a great community if people act like it is one. If you're an ass just trying to irritate people, then the question is already answered and the house color is a symptom rather than the underlying problem. Rather than gossiping, I think the OP should introduce herself to the homeowner and find out the backstory, then let us know!

I live in a neighborhood of 50's and 60's brick ranches and almost everyone one has black or Charleston green (basically black) shutters. Our houses look so similar, I have no idea why people don't bust out with some interesting colors. (Mine are blue, FTR.) There used to be a little diversity in shutter color but now everyone plays it so safe. I'd love to live in a neighborhood with crazy colors.

Interesting post! I discussed our house paint colors with our semi detached neighbor, but did not speak to the rest of the neighborhood. We did do a bit of a dramatic change, going from beige to a dark dark grey. If any of the neighbors have had a problem with it, none of them have said anything to us, so I will take that as a win.

@K1TSUN3 - You need to get your parents a copy of Mr. Pine's purple house!

POST A PICTURE OF THE HOUSE!!! Or just a portion of the house so we can see the color. Take out the house number and street name if you can see it. Do it! Do it! Do it!

I think, depending on your relationship (and your home's relationship) with your neighbors, that letting them know prior to making a drastic change is the right thing to do. Sometimes someone might have an interesting point of view to offer up.

That said-- when we recently changed the color on the trip and shutters of our brick ranch home, we got a nasty note in our mail from the person we'd bought it from FIVE YEARS EARLIER, asking how dare we change her carefully selected colors! That lady was and, apparently remains, very high strung. I'm sure if she saw the changes we made on the inside she'd faint dead away.

I grew up in the hideous yellow house on the block :)
It was like schoolbus yellow, but brighter.

The yellow did fade. I know my parents' neighbors hated the color, but no one said anything about it until much later, except to stop by and inquire during painting if they planned to paint the whole house that color. When they repainted, they basically repainted with the faded color, since they'd come to like it so much. Then that faded, lol, so now it's quite subdued.

I tend toward more subdued colors for myself, and can't comment on the historical aspect of it, but I general like when people mix it up with bright colors on a block.

Now might be a good time to Amend the Preservation Codes. There are many, many examples of Building Codes, especially in Heritage Areas that restrict the outside paint colours for a variety of reasons.

No they don't owe anyone an explanation. They are not being rude, they are expressing themselves. There is no way to deal with personal style versus aesthetics. The alternative is living in those god awful (in my opinion) beige suburbs. You know the ones that don't let you pick any color but beige, or plant any trees but this, or put up any fence, etc.

Plus you now have a great way to direct people to your house. "Then you will see a bright yellow house, I mean bright! You can't miss it. We are 3 doors to the right."

I guess I shouldn't be surprised that in the age of Facebook, some commenters don't understand the slightest concept of privacy. Post whatever you want about yourself. If you violate someone else's privacy by posting photos of them or where they live without their permission, be prepared for some payback. Get a clue.

Oh, and this discussion reminded me of the children's book Mr. Pine's Purple House:
http://www.amazon.com/Pines-Purple-House-Leonard-Kessler/dp/1930900325

Jezzus! Impolite to paint your house a certain colour??? Political correctness has gone TOO FAR! If you would like to suggest to your neighbour that he change the colour of his house, why not offer to pay a portion of the mortgage? That is the only way I think you could justify objecting to the house colour!

Catrin, you must live right by me. Unless there's another house that just got renovated with a pop up and a yellow paint job. (Do you have the boxers parking at the blocked end of the street, training in the afternoons, punching bag and all?)

I went to grab a Car2Go parked behind my house and on that street was the bright yellow pop up. I don't know HOW I missed it before, but it definitely did wake me up.

Not quite my taste, but to each his own. As many have suggested, at least it's a landmark for directions!

Etiquette aside, of you want your home to look its best you take the time to find a color that works with the colors of the surroundings. That includes your neighbors' homes. You don't want to be the owner of the home that becomes "that hideous yellow house" (as in, "turn right on Elm and continue until you see the hideous yellow house"...).

I wonder whether your neighbors harbor some animosity toward the house-proud among you "historic district" homeowners. Or toward the planning commission? Did they, perhaps, recently have a construction permit rejected? There have been some well publicized cases of relatiatory house painting in the media in recent years.

I would much rather live on a street with a crazy-looking but well-cared for house than a house that's neglected and unkempt. I live in Rochester, NY and we're full of unusual homes, which makes strolling through our urban neighborhoods a real visual pleasure.

The wealthier the neighborhood, the less tolerance for this type of thing (rich people problems I guess). I'm really surprised that a historic district allows this. Our community has a planning department that reviews all painting - maybe your local planning department reviewed the color and approved it as "historical." Not all historical is pretty.

That said, I just had neighbors ask us when we will be putting our car in the garage. We have the garage full of renovation materials and it leaves little room for it's intended purpose. Our car is a luxury model too, but the neighbors, I think would rather see no cars on the block.

How much is too much to ask of your neighbors?

I think this post's author did a good job of bringing up the topic without actually picking a side. Those who think otherwise, clearly just skimmed.

I understand the dilemma here and don't have much to add except I like when I see colorful homes but can't really say what I'd think if it were MY neighbor who did it. I agree that I'd rather see a boldly painted house than a dilapidated or boring one that looks like the rest of the block though. I guess I'd have to put myself in the camp of let them do what they want! If the community has no restrictions it is fair game.

This reminds me of a story. When I was smaller, our up-the-block neighbors painted their house a red/pink color. My dad had a foot-in-mouth moment when at the annual block party he told the homeowner "thank god that's just the primer!" It wasn't...

Maybe the owner is color blind?

@Duane Hill - That's a bit strange, to ask your neighbor when he'd be putting his car in the garage instead of leaving it on the driveway or in front of his house. We've never had anyone ask us that, though our neighborhood is pretty mixed income.

1. Your house's appearance effects the value of your neighbor's homes, for good or for ill. So radical changes that might undermine the neighborhood (in the eyes of prospective buyers) should be taken judiciously. No house is an island... (well, OK, maybe some are, but not in neighborhoods!!!)

2. A historically correct Victorian renovation is the Hackley-Hume House complex in Muskegon, Michigan.(Do a Google image search, if curious.) Lots of yellow-ochre in that paint job. (In real life it looks more like the description above than the photos show...)

3. A house not far from mine was the home of some people who reputedly were mentally deficient. It was covered with nailed-on stuffed animal toys. Astonishingly ugly. The toys are gone, now, I am guessing the city intervened, but they were there for years. There are limits as to how funky any one homeowner has any business going. Decorate your interiors as you like, but contribute to the harmony of your neighborhood on the exterior. (Because, contrary to what some people think, it is NOT all about YOU!)

We have a neighbor down the street that just painted their house an blindingly bright shade of turquoise. I don't dislike the color, per se, but my issue with it is that the color doesn't work with their masonry, and definitely doesn't work with the neighborhood/location. It's a color that belongs in a coastal town, like the Florida Keys or Puerto Rico, not a suburb in central Texas. But it's not my house, and I can't see it unless I walk all the way down the block, so whatever.

What is the point of this post without an accompanying picture of the house in question?

In this particular case, that *blue and yellow* home isn't standing out because of how the other homes are painted.

However, if you live in a community that you bought in because all the houses were say brown and grey cobblestones and you loved the aesthetic of the community as a whole and then someone goes and paints their house Neon pink, don't tell me you wouldn't be upset. Most people say "it's their right" to paint their homes a given colour, until they're the person whose property value is affected by the neighbours who painted their house pink house.

Neighbors should not need to be consulted regarding paint colors. You buy a house, you own it, you do what you want with it. Naysayers be damned!

BTW, LOVE those colors.

@PI, I had a girlfriend who lived in a wealthy neighborhood that didn't allow pick-up trucks parked in the street or the driveway unless it was a registered landscape company. Unfortunately, I had a truck at the time and it made it pretty hard to visit her family.

But I don't own a pick-up now, I own the type of car that "belongs" in this neighborhood. I think it is odd too.

He owes his neighbors nothing. It's not a new problem. When we lived in the Fan in Richmond, VA there was a huge hoopla about a Victorian painted a myriad of happy colors (the main being purple, if I remember correctly) People were in such an uproar. There was also a house in the Fan that had signs all over the yard about salvation through Jesus ala Howard Finster style. So many were offended by the sentiment and the style (dubbed an eyesore) but I thought both were charming. Previously, I lived in a neighborhood that had an HOA. I snuck out at night & painted my garage door & front door an unauthorized color (the only colors allowed were straight off an Army base!) I was hoping they wouldn't notice my teal and, gratefully, noone did. I also snuck plants into the landscaping out front when everyone was at work. I will never live somewhere again that doesn't give me free reign of my own property. I've noticed that most people love freedom until someone does something different than what they'd do.

The house shown is on my block on DC. We are in a historic district, but in DC that does not give you exterior paint color restrictions. We cannot change our facades, or anything that can be seen from the front of house -- say a roof deck visible from the street in front.

We LOVE our diverse block of many colors. We have a lot of houses on our block and color is the way to tell one house from another.

Wow, First World Problems, eh? In my neighborhood (east end of Toronto), there's a quirky house every few blocks. It might be painted in strong colors or have an interesting "installation" like the front yard that is covered with dolls and dinosaurs. People just seem to find these things amusing. There used to be a lovely old Victorian place nearby that the owner had plastered with messages about drunk drivers and the government (he did the same to his business). After he died, it was sold and beautifully restored but I still get people asking directions to it. They seem truly sad that it's now just another pretty house.

I see the point about keeping traditional colors in a designated historical district but, apart from that, as long as the homeowner is keeping the house in decent shape (I could write a story about the semi-detached neighbor who didn't care raccoons were getting into our shared roof through his porch) and not keeping people up with noise, let's embrace the differences in taste and just enjoy being neighbors.

Personally, I like variety. Even if it means having to look at the occasional crazy color. If would live in a cardboard box before I moved into a neighborhood that regulated colors and style. I can see regulating things that affect health and wellbeing, but not style. I grew up in Baltimore and adore the artsy folk who take those bland rowhomes and turn them into artwork. I remember the fuss everyone made when I painted the back of my old house lavender. Other homes had trash, rats, were painted battle-ship gray with peeling, rotting old pieces of wood fashioned into porches, but NO, I was ruining the vibe with lavender paint ...

I don't quite understand what the right to paint your house yellow has to do with living in the USA (@cbreynolds, @Parnassus, and @creative license)?
They sell paint in other countries too, you know.
Bornholm (Scandinavia in general) and Roussillon are two places that come to mind because of their brightly colored (red and yellow) houses.
I have friends who still talk about the orange they picked for their house years ago. They loved it in the store, they loved it on their house - until the sun started going down and hit the house at a certain angle. All of a sudden the orange was hideous and way too bright. They were very embarrassed, lived with it for a while and painted the house grey.

In St. John's Newfoundland all of the houses are painted unique and different colours. I believe if you want to change the colour of your house you have to apply to the city. They want to make sure that it stays interesting and not every house becomes white.

This is a typical row of houses: http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7220/7161999632_8789ffe0ea_z.jpg

I love colorful, vibrant, well painted houses. Never offensive.

@HHRI, I agree. The United States as a whole has a color aversion. Go to Europe and you'll see cultures with no fear of color. Go to any country that is Equatorial and the palette is pretty intense. Go to Asia where the colors are symbolic.

Go to the USA and embrace the beige (or now greige).

I wonder if the home owner did not realize the color would end up looking that bright, etc. this is a design community where folks tend to "get" how a color will look once it is up on the house, room, whatever. Most people have a hard time with that. Maybe they did not realize what the finished look would really end up being and by the time it was up and bright and too green-yellow and too late to change it. I would say when house colors go,wrong this is what happens most of the time.

Coincidentally, one of my mother's neighbors just painted their house the most jaw-dropping, saturated, in-your-face yellow you can imagine.

After the painters were done, my mom said, "I have a headache now. It's like looking directly at the sun."

But guess what - it's their house. Eventually we'll get used to it.

I hasten to add: this is not a neighborhood of row houses, historic houses, or even cookie-cutter tract houses. It's pretty mixed in terms of grand houses, shabby little houses, etc. etc. But few people in the NW paint their houses in-your-face colors. Mostly tans, muted blues, muted greens.

There is a house in a town I often drive through which has been painted different combinations of the most awful, garish, bright colours every few months or so. It's a historic terraced house, slap bang in the middle of a row of identical houses.

Now, I really struggle with this issue. On one hand, I hate all the planning permission regulations we have in England - it's my house, I paid for it, you shouldn't be able to tell me what to do with it.

But then, this house in particular looks absolutely awful, is on the main street through a beautiful old town and according to an article (it's been a big talking point), it's devalued the houses either side by £10,000 and the entire street by £4,000.

I've come to the conclusion that it's the same as most things in life - whilst you obviously have the right to do whatever you want, just try and think about how your actions will affect others.

Maybe it's just because I'm from San Francisco, but bright houses don't really bother me. The colour in question sounds really ugly, but at least it's not your building!

I think it's a plus. Now you can say to people trying to find your house, 'I'm 5 down from the bright yellow house'.

If you really care so much, you should move someplace with an HOA.

In my hometown in Mexico almost all historic buildings are blue and yellow, I saw a purple and yellow once, a red one. They look amazing! I know it is diferent in different countries but color always makes life happier, don't you think?

On the etiquette: in the New England spirit of good fences make good neighbors, there is a collective space sense about views.

In a planned community south of Denver, Colorado, housing for old folks is fought tooth and nail by people in houses in one of four shades of beige (dictated by the HOA, created almost 30 years ago by the developer) as if the housing would end the world, poison the air and water and make their kids turn into Prius-driving liberal free thinkers, or something.
Why? The view. They see a good swath of the Rockies. And no way were some codgers going to block their view.
Except you can't buy a view (only the surrounding land) under Colorado law.
(the old folks housing won)

That leads back to an unofficial, or maybe de facto, commons. What we see, we emotionally own. We think we are vested in what the neighbors' house looks like.
Legally, it is cars on blocks, dilapidation (in general), color and design guidelines (historic and covenant controlled communities), and some yard requirements that can be municipal or an HOA situation.

I see the point that neighboring owners have an interest IF the changes affect resale.
I believe that the land of beige has created a too-conservative outlook in exterior color choices.
I'm not suggesting a mural on the front of your house, necessarily, but the a paint color is not a structural change, and as long as it doesn't glow in the dark, up to the owner.

I'd rather live next to canary yellow and Pepto pink and not have a bright light shining in my bedroom, than greige and beige with eggshell trim and loud music and light pollution.

But I don't want to live next to Pepto and canary. But I'd love green and purple (too much, perhaps) so it is obviously my sense of aesthetics.

There are many, many examples of color restrictions in historic districts. If your historic district doesn't have any color restrictions, now is the time to make those amendments.

I have been trying to convince my boyfriend that someday we should paint our home hot pink. He's not having it. Anyways, this yellow that you speak of sounds fugly but who cares. Maybe itll set a trend for the rest of the neighborhood. I do see what you're saying about the whole courtesy issue.

I love bright colors. But growing up our next door neighbor painted his house hot pink w/black trim! It was absolutely hideous.

Read the note! The house pictured is not the one referred to. I'm guessing the writer just didn't want a bunch of strangers to know where the real house is... The one pictured is obviously charming and not neon yellow; the one described sounds hideous. That said, it is creepy when people dictate how their neighbors' houses and yards look, but on the other hand, your property value does go down when your neighborhood isn't aesthetically pleasing.

@cm -- under no circumstances should you post the picture of your neighbor's house. First, think of protecting your own privacy in an online forum. Second, consider being respectful of your neighbor's (unless we all want to assume that your neighbor is a contributor to a website in which he shares stories about his passive aggressive neighbors whi contribute to design blogs). Third, AT is supposed to be, as far as I understood it, a fairly professional blog; adding the real photo -- especially when using the excuse of "oh, he probably won't read this anyway," which has of course never back fired on anyone, ever -- seemly completely unprofessional. To add better context to the article, a general color swatch or a stock photo would much better serve your cause.

Interesting to read this after having seen "Clybourne Park" last night--the plot involves the house purchased by the Younger family at the end of "A Raisin in the Sun." In the second act, which takes place in 2009, buyers argue with neighborhood residents about their plans to renovate the now-dilapidated house; while they are ostensibly arguing about taste and historic architecture, it becomes clear that they are really talking about race, class, and what sorts of people "belong" in a neighborhood. I wonder how often discussions like this one are ever really "only" about the color of the house!

I'm cool with tons of color...that's me...but my husband is seriously color-blind which means that what is pulse sensating to me is barf producing to him...thus I say yeh, you should consider other people's tastes in a neighborhood. Be creative, bright, happy, etc. but save the brash, bold, shocking for the interior because other people don't have to live there. I like creative but considerate is better to live with....and btw, our Walmart painted a bright yellow in their grocery section and I'm not sure why but it seriously produces a physical sensation in me...it's bad! Really makes my stomach turn! Weird huh?! I don't look at it if at all possible...However all that said, Vive la colour!!!!

We've got the opposite problem here in the Plateau (historic francophone family-type neighborhood) neighborhood of Montreal. All the old brick buildings used to be painted a crazy rainbow of colors, but now that the rents are going up and the area is gentrifying all the facades are back to brick or white with black or white trim. It's so dull it's a crime.

seriously? this is a concern?

Well, maybe those who like 'neutrals' might want to consider the feelings of those who find 'neutral' offensive. There's nothing worse than a beige house, in my opinion. There's nothing 'neutral' about it. It's just ugly, plain and simple. But that's my take. If it's someone's favourite colour, then it's their favourite colour.

Houses should radiate energy and joy. And everyone's energy and joy is different. Let's embrace the diversity that's out there, let's play with the 'chaos' of colours that might result, and maybe we'll all get to know our neighbours a bit better.

But then again, I live here, in one of the most colourful cities in the world:
http://gregpike.ca/interest/beautiful-downtown-st-johns-newfoundland-labrador/

I absolutely love it. Just because the home is historic, does not mean the paint need be.

Or worse, all the historic homes could be painted beige or grey.

I love it! Please and everyone else painted their brick houses. If they used Stucco siding that would be a crime

Did anyone notice the snow? To bring on some bad mojo, I wish I had temps that allowed for some snow right about now. That aside: My "Weird Al" neighbor (yes, he went by that name) stole neon yellow paint from a state construction crew and painted his Queen Anne Victorian with the paint. Queen Anne's run to about twelve rooms so they are really big homes. When the neighborhood association tried to get him to repaint, he declared himself a Wiccan and involked religious freedom. That whole house could be painted yellow so you might consider yourself lucky.

Huffington Post has already created an article and poll based on this article and comments, quoting EK76's comment.
Weird.

I vote for variety and freedom, even if I end up with an eyesore next door.

To the author: I think you made the right choice in not posting a photo of the real building--though I'd love to see it.

The turquoise house in the photo pushed color as far as I would want to see, for that block. Fortunately they seem to have done a great job painting, but the house sticks out now and is fighting the other houses, making them look anemic. In the US we prize individualism so much that it's easy to lose sight of the value of joining into a larger pattern.

If you want a jazzier color that is likely to disrupt the existing vibe of your neighborhood, one possibility route to harmony and success would be to consult with two or three neighbors whose homes need paint, and see if you can get them on board with a new palette. If several homes go jazzy at the same time, the effect is community rejuvenation, instead of "that one goofball house where the people are out of kilter with the rest of us."

I'm for individuality every time!
Go on-Break the mold.
And...Yellow is such a happy color.

At our last home, I painted our front door a bright fuchsia Every neighbor near and far commented ( usually with a positive remark ) and very soon thereafter, fuchsia doors were popping up all over our town;)

I think the issue here is whether home owners should embrace absolute individualism with an attitude of "get lost" if others don't like it, or should they realize that they live in a community where other's property values, interests, etc... are affected. Either approach is perfectly legal and legit. It just depends what kind of person you want to be. I think you can have in interesting house without going against the grain of the neighborhood.

I also live in DC, in a neighborhood where people are quick to express their opinions about what other people do with their property. I think it's great that people have different tastes and express it through their houses, through architecture or color. I don't see how paint color can possibly affect neighbors in any meaningful way.

I'm sitting in a house right now in the French countryside-the Vexin exactly- where every house has to reply to specific rules. The windows have to rectangualar and taller than they are wide, basements are not allowed, rooftops and exteriors have a select number of colors that they can be painted... and so on and so forth. The result is that houses still look fairly "typical" of the region. However, I think it stunts creativity and doesn't allow you to build some fabulous new houses (like with large arched windows or a panoramic view of the countryside). I guess the upside is that noone will ever be able to paint their house an ugly mustard neon yellow...

Sigh. Conformity is so boring. I'm with pixiedust03. It is far more important that the work is done well than that someone celebrates his or her individuality. One of my customers had me paint her house in two assertive shades of pink last year. The rest of the street is rather beige. When it became apparent that her choice of colours broke the mold, people began to stop by to watch my progress. Surprise gave way to grudging approval and, a year later she receives more and more compliments. Two other residents have asked me to paint their houses in bright colours.

We delight in a rainbow, so what makes so many people choose to be drab?

In my brother-in-law's neighborhood, every house is tan and not different shades of tan, but almost all the SAME shade of tan. It's so Stepfordian. I love a splash of bright color and love neighborhoods with lots of variety of colors.

Sorry I can't read all the comments before posting just now, but I have to add my $.02. I would never think to confer with my neighbors over paint color. We don't have a HOA or anything else telling us what we can and can't do as far as exterior color. I am in the long slow process of painting my house, all by myself, and in the end it's going to be several different very bright colors. I hope my neighbors like it, and I think it will look pretty, but I'm certainly not going to ask their "permission" beforehand. They'd probably disagree!

A. It's paint. The neighbor hasn't permanently "ruined" a fine piece of architecture (which I seriously object to, but perhaps that will open another can of worms).

B. The author is right not to show the house because the particular yellow is not the issue; the issue is how a person feels about her neighbor's choice of colors. If the author were to post a photo of the home, we'd be weighing in on our own taste, not her having the right--or not--to object.

C. I object to the seemingly-tasteful mocha with white-and-black trim ubiquitous in my neighborhood, but I wouldn't tell my neighbors what color/s to paint their homes.

D. When we have the dough to paint our home, our neighbors will be likely be referencing their own by "the turquoise house" two doors down.

There is nothing un-neighborly about this, and they don't owe anyone anything. They bought the house, it is theirs now, they can paint it how they like. It isn't like they did an airbrushed pornographic scene on their garage door; it is just a color you don't like, and they have absolutely no obligation to care that you don't like the same color that they do.

This is one reason I would have Serious Concerns of buying a house in a neighborhood with a HOA. When I buy a house, I need to know it is mine and that I don't have busybody neighbors sticking their nose into my life. If I want to paint my house lime green, I really don't care if you don't like it. And yeah, may it will bring down another home's value, but just as possible is that if someone else decides to sell, it will help them by attracting more people to the neighborhood who want to live in a vibrant, lively area where they feel a little more free to express themselves without having to worry about aren't boring, intrusive jerks. To me, it makes a neighborhood more inviting, not less, so good on them.

Even when I think someone has stomach-turning taste, when people clearly love their home and want to put their own touches on it and express themselves through it, I think it improves the neighborhood (even if it makes my eyes bleed for the first week or two). Who wants to live in a neighborhood where all the homes are bland? Not me.

I once had a neighbor who decided to paint his wrought iron gold. And he added gold sparkles to the paint. What was once a bland inoffensive fence was turned into a garish nightmare.
But you know what? The world didn't end. Cats didn't lie down with dogs. My neighbor was completely oblivious to how horrified his neighbors were. He'd seen wealthy homes in his home country that were decorated like this (or so he said), and painting his fence like this filled him with pride.
I occasionally think of how this fence brought this man such a sense of accomplishment, and I'm glad that no one told him he was wrong.

Thats their house, they can paint it wathever color they want. Al least, the city county said: no more yellow-an-blue-offensive-color on the facade.

if YOU don't like yellow doors, don't paint YOUR door yellow.

I live in the DC area and am fairly sure I passed the yellow rowhouse in question this morning. If it were a sunny yellow, I would find it cute, but this particular shade of yellow is just unattractive and really makes that house look bad.

Disdainful neighbor needs to build on their civility of not posting the actual picture; keep calm and drive/walk on by and make sure 'those people' never heard a bad word from him or her.

On the other hand, it's something that so many AT responders would be perfectly happy living in Whoville or on Klown Kollege fraternity/sorority row.

AT really needs to add more inspiring (and educational) exteriors and color study tips.

As noted earlier, it would be interesting if it were the opposite; one neighbor really set the bar high with fantastic landscaping and a to die for exterior. There'd still be neighborhood rumbling and grumbling.

I can't move on to the focus of the article because I am trapped by the statement that the yellow in question doesn't fit with the 1910 architecture. There are some *screaminginly* bright colors from the time period -- I first ran across it in an article about someone who wanted to paint his house something other than white (vague memories that it was barn red), the historic commission said no, and he had a paint-study done on one of the old unstripped areas of the house proving that his house had previously been painted vivid purple. He got his sedate non-white color approved.

I have this link bookmarked: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daily-bungalow/2971353069/in/photostream , following it you get to this: http://www.flickr.com/photos/daily-bungalow/6631224945/in/set-72157607492336114

That said, I've lived in an area where homeowners have made huge changes without checking with the neighbors -- and I'm okay with paint colors being eye-popping. I'm not okay with people doing destructive changes that affect the neighbors. Specifically I'm thinking of the property where someone bought a 1800 foot home on a beautifully landscaped 1/3 acre and put up the Absolute Maximum amount of house that the town would allow. I asked if I could try to transplant the carefully tended bushes I'd helped my now-deceased neighbor plant, was told they were going to save them -- and then learned with horror that they had been ripped up & trashed. They ripped up my mother's 3-foot hedge without checking with her -- she couldn't afford a land survey to prove it was hers -- and replaced it with a 15-foot yew hedge that prevents her from seeing the sidewalk&street when leaving her own driveway. They installed commercial-grade high intensity lighting in their back yard that pointed directly at my mother's house 20 feet away -- bright enough to keep her awake through the blinds, and they refused to angle it down for her. The town finally stepped in when homeowners THREE & FOUR & FIVE houses down complained it was too bright.

Paint just doesn't bother me after that.

Phew, thanks for letting me rant.

I wouldn't love it but if it was neatly done, I think I could tolerate it.

Though the house in the picture is not the house you speak of (you surely made that clear in your note)..I love it! Make no mistake, though not my style, but it easily could be, it looks HAPPY and who doesn't want a "happy home".

Now...just like you said, just because it may not be the choice of many, that doesn't make it wrong. That is diversity- and honestly we all could use a little of it. Good for the owners of the yellow house- all over the world!

Please read the children's book : 'The Big Orange Splot'

Nisiepie - Is your comment meant to be sarcastic? I took it as such, since that's all that happens in the comments section of AT.

I sort of hope that this is one of those articles that got published because the author/site was low on other article ideas and thought this topic was sufficiently controversial to make a "good" post, because I honestly think this is a silly question. Is this author truly torn about this? I also live in downtown DC, not very far at all from the Shaw picture posted here actually, and I can't imagine another city dweller positing with a straight face that they should have a say over what color their neighbor paints their house. To answer the questions posed here, no, the neighbor did not act un-neighborly, and no, he does not owe his neighbors any explanation, warning or apology for painting his house, for pete's sake. When living in a city in close quarters with strangers, I would say good manners and decency dictates that you do need additional consideration to be a good neighbor--keeping your noise levels low seems like the most obvious one, or working with your neighbors above and below if you are planning on doing some serious reno project. I can see, for example, being irritated if your neighbor keeps the exterior of his house in total disrepair such that selling your next-door home is more difficult. Or go ahead and be legit angry that the people who live below you smoke in their unit and the smells carry into your place. But to even consider that neighbors should have a say in the *exterior paint choice?* If that's how you feel, I just don't see how city living is for you.

Make the inside of your house as fugly as you please, but your neighbors are the ones who have to look at your exterior creative whims more than you do. I would chose to not move into a house that has an eye sore across the street. I adore gazing out my window and would have to have to draw the blinds to shield myself from a nasty paint job.

PollyS - you are right------
"No, unless there are local laws/rules about it, the home owners have no obligation to consult you about their choice of paint colors.

If you don't like it, get involved in your local governing body and work to change the rules."

If we are not willing to act on our opinion, then it's just First World blah, blah, blah.

This is about cultural differences. There are now a number of homes in my neighborhood of post-WWII tract houses that are painted in brighter colors than the originals built in 1949. The stucco is bright purple or yellow or green, with the trim an equally fluorescent, contrasting shade. It bothered me for awhile; now my eye has gotten used to it, which is just as well, since there isn't anything wrong with it or anything I can do about it anyway. You make such a fetish out of your own design choices. Not everyone sees things as narrowly as you do. And since you didn't see fit to post a picture, there is no way for me to honestly gauge the impact on your neighborhood. Maybe the rest of you should follow suit and paint your houses all of the colors of the rainbow like the folks in Shaw.

@WENDELAH1: my point exactly. When we weigh in on one another's decorating tastes, particularly when those judgments are not invited (ie, someone hasn't posted a question asking for advice on AT but rather happens to live down the block from an AT blogger), we need to think about how our tastes reflect our cultural differences and backgrounds. When someone is told, "Your taste doesn't fit in here," it's not hard for that person to hear, "You and your kind don't fit in here"--even if that's not the intention behind the comment, it can easily be understood that way, particularly when there are differences in social identifiers (race, class, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc.)

The fact that your own fabulous historic row house now comes with access to the Internet so you can snark on your neighbor's poor taste is also not authentic to 1910. Neither are your outdoor Christmas lights or the hybrid cars parked along the street. Living with the graces and eccentricities of your neighbors is a part of city living and even if we had evidence of the offending hue, your other option is to move to McLean or some other gated community where you won't be subjected to the tyranny of other people's paint preference. You can't pick a neighborhood for its charm and character and then complain when other people wish to put their own stamp on it.

This is a thoughtful and respectful article which examines both sides of the coin, if you will. (key word here being 'respectful' - sadly lacking in some of the responses). It appears to me the author has, knowingly or unknowingly, drawn a conclusion..

QUOTE: Most of my neighbors think this yellow home is really ugly. But how can we regulate based on matters so subjective? Are we saying that we encourage style and individualism — but only as long as we like said style? That seems unfair.

It IS unfair. It's also human nature. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And it's all well and good to offer opinions on what we would do *if* we were in this situation. But it's a horse (house?) of a different color when *is* our situation. We tend to want to be free to choose what we find pleasing while reserving the right to be 'offended' by another's choices. Nope, this.is.not.fair. Yet we are all guilty of it on some level. Show me someone who says otherwise and I'll show you a liar.

I live in an older, rather large subdivision of 60's ranches, 90% of which are red brick. The house around the corner & couple blocks down recently sold. The new owner painted it electric blue with light blue trim. Now, the restrictive covenants for this subdivision expired years ago so all anyone can do is whine. And ohhh have they have whined! I asked a couple of them how they would feel if the neighbors complained about their choice of paint on their shutters/front door. One actually *harumphhed* at me & walked away without responding, nose in air. (I considered that conviction, harumph backatcha, neighbor).

I'll defend until my last breath my right to do what I wish, with or on my property, provided it's legal & up to code. But....I gotta admit...if, as I was pouring my first cuppa with one eye open at 6am, that electric blue house was my first view of the day out of my kitchen window, I would be less than thrilled. The new owner will never know that, nor will I share my opinion with other neighbors, but it gives me pause to think....and I don't much like what I see in myself.

This nonsensical thinking is precisely what birthed HOA's & the like. Fortunately, I realized early on, I could never purchase a home in an enviroment in which someone else had authority over what I could or could not do. Yes, that electric blue house makes me cringe as I drive by...but it also represents my own freedom to choose.

All that said, I love color. Move that house from my [boring, bland] small town, neighborhood to the city block pictured above, and my opinion of it would miraculously morph from 'hideous' to 'quaint'. Is that fair? No. But it's the Truth.

Paint's just paint. It's the equivalent of a large gnome. Be grateful for the restrictions you do have.

See any Victorian suburb in the UK and you will get to see people burdened by the garish improvements of past owners wanting to make their terraced 'castle' stand out. I mainly despair about anachronistic modifications to Victorian buildings like slapdash pebbledash, ripped out bay windows inexplicably made to look like the bow window of an olde Englishe coffee shop, and simulated stone cladding in My Little Pony colours.

Just when you thought it was over, the new kind of butchery is people getting their houses rendered with a little plaque in relief, possibly showcasing an image of a squirrel or West Ham football team's crest, and sticking in white uPVC sash windows with stuck on detailing which turns yellow and drops off, or brown uPVC with fake leaded lights.

If this makes me sound like a snob, then that's because I am, but it's more about the permanent loss of the historical features. If people want to put a concrete wishing well in their front garden or paint their door pink and purple spots, or stick on fake shutters, or stick a lion on their gatepost, it's not my bag but it's not forever.

Until you, and not you in particular, pay my mortgage/bills/all of everything - I'll continue to do what I wish to MY home.

Just how I see it.