Most folks have someone they can classify as a "quirky" neighbor. In my own neighborhood we've seen everything from folks talking a shower (and not in the cool outdoor garden shower kind of way), to more statues than we care to count. That said, these residents for sure take the cake — or wait, are dolphins in this year?
Now before I come off as all "cooler-than-you" this set up is pretty fantastic. Just like in fashion, most of what is socially acceptable depends on the attitude and swagger you have to pull off the look. Dolphins alone might have been a little silly, but once you start bringing in Poseidon (though it could be Moses), pirates, and sea dragons, well then we say, job well done. Show off what you love!
Do your neighbors take things a little far or do you embrace everyone's originality and uniqueness equally? Are you worried about property values or are you still thinking about what Poses (get it, Poseidon + Moses) looks like dressed as Santa and the dolphins as reindeer? Share your thoughts below!
Image: Flickr member jenfield licensed for use by Creative Commons
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That. Is. Amazing.
I have to say I love it. Probably not great for property value on the block--but that's not saying much these days.
I love it, too! I'd rather see that house when I looked out my window than row after row of identical drab beige vinyl sided ranches.
I live in an urban neighborhood full of homes from c. 1890s-1940s. The houses are very well-maintained and the architecture is amazing. There is one house, however, with the craziest, awesome-ist garden I've ever seen. It's full of bushes cut in interesting shapes, sculptures made out of toy parts, weird ornaments, and water features. I take everyone who visits me to see it.
I love it when people do original stuff with their property. It definitely makes you think of the owners as fun, creative people. This house looks so much cool!
*so cool*
I love the whimsy! but there's a hard line between whimsical done well and an eyesore.
There a house in my neighborhood that has a tall, wooden Christmas tree cutout and an old rusty model-t (??? I don't really know old cars) mounted up high on a pile of white rocks. I think their front yard looks ridiculous.
This one, however, is pretty cool.
I like neighbors to give their homes' exteriors all the TLC they can. It has to beat the other end of the spectrum. That photo's just of a neighbor who's creative and has a sense of humor, about the furthest thing from crazy. In which state is that home?
Hey thats my grandma and grandpa's house!!!!!!!
Hi Grannie!! :)
This is cool, but nothing will ever beat Barbie Beach: http://www.paradisevalleyresort.com/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=21
I had a neighbor who was a retired set designer gone mad. He spent all year (literally beginning in January) decorating his front lawn into whatever holiday was approaching. Giant Easter eggs and rabbits, coffins and giant spiders, turkeys, Christmas wonderland. Some of the installations were permanent. He had such elaborate and ambitious plans, he never actually completed any of the projects. As a result, in the 7 years we lived there, we never got a cohesive view of his visions.
My next door neighbor's yard looks like a cheap Mexican pottery yard exploded. Then there are the holidays, sigh. I'm all for creativity, but lining your walkway with 25 cheap pinwheels isn't it.
If the outside is this fabulous it makes me wonder what kind of awesomeness is on the inside.
Those are Dolphins in Killer Whale's clothing.
Love it!
We used to walk our dogs by this house where the owner had bizarre little vignettes going on in the pond in his front yard. Things like an alligator figurine with an Elmo figurine sticking out of its mouth, a rubber snake hanging from a little tree with a hotwheel trapped in its coils, and a rubber frog with a Barbie doll head. He was always changing it too, so there was something new to see every time you walked by. Fun!
i also think it's great when people have the courage to do their own thing, especially if it's as over the top romantically as these.
Sehr schön...
we lived across the street from a guy who collected old "fixtures." he had an old, refurbished gas pump, old gas lamps and such placed in and around his garden area. but...he also had 2 phonebooths that he placed store mannequins in--and yes, the mannequins were posed. he even changed their clothes, especially on halloween. yup. different costumes each year. i thought he was a total weirdo for the longest time, but he was the nicest good ol' boy from the sticks of minnesota. he had a couple amazing classic cars too, so i couldn't hate on him too much.
I'd MUCH rather have crazy neighbors than boring neighbors. Assuming it's the fun kind of crazy (i.e. 1,000 dolphin statues in the yard) and not the scary kind (i.e. 1,000 dead bodies in the yard). ;-)
people with new construction homes,
stainless steel and granite kitchens,
Pergo floors and manicured lawns are the REAL crazies
There's a house near my mom's house that has a million bits and bots in the front yard. They used to change it often seasonally/holidays, but now they only change it up a little bit.
It's not always exactly aesthetically pleasing, but at least it's not boring. My mom and I used to call them "The Bagthorpes" after a family in a series of childrens' books who were wildly eccentric, each in their own way.
Also, ditto what Chanttojah said.
The most amazing (and dedicated) display I have ever seen was the Christmas House in the Bronx. Full-sized, thematic (and different every year), animatronic and musical.
http://newyorkchristmashouse.com/
I third Chanttojah!
It's interesting and much better than the litter which adorns my neighborhood.
We have a neighbor with a beautiful house and garden but a strange and intriguing llama head posted atop a trellis.
If that house is in, like, Kansas it might be a little weird, but if they're anywhere remotely near a beach, I dig it.
"a strange and intriguing llama head posted atop a trellis"
An actual llama head? Taxidermied? A plastic llama head? Paper mache? Topiary?
Clearly I'm intrigued.
I admire the guts they have to express themselves. I'm personally not loving it, but I give them kudos for individuality and hutzpah.
And that's why I am in favor of deed restrictions and neighborhood associations.
I know that house!
Its even more interesting when you know that the building behind it, to the left, is military housing.
I know that house too. And they're not dolphins...they're dahls porpoises.
My new neighbour across the street just painted his house bright green (think 1980s) with jet black trim and fence. This morning, he glued a huge gargoyle on top of the porch.
He's a great guy and said he moved here from a colour coded neighbourhood, where every house was required to be some shade of beige or taupe (or - go crazy - mocha!).
He swore when he bought his own house, he would make it original. I'm looking forward to what comes next.
And I'll fourth Chanttojah! This looka like an interesting, fun couple. Mature enough to risk some whimsy. I'd welcome to my neighborhood any day!
Where in Chicago is this? I love the little cannon.
Why does "creative and fun" have to be "crazy."
I love that. I would love to walk by it every day. I'm thinking about what I can put in my own side yard.
My lovely neighbors, across the street, have fashioned their yard as a lushy Greek grotto--complete with a dozen life-sized god/goddess sculptures. Every holiday season the sculptures get some festive flair like Santa hats, Halloween masks, flags...etc. It is a crowd pleaser...and it slows traffic down--a win! As long as they continue to keep it tidy...no complaints!
I would absolutely look at this everyday! Fantastic!
I was just noticing the way things around their home are in pairs: Neptune and his wife, the two porpoises and the sailors up in the crow's nest. Then I noticed in the image with them out front how lovingly they're looking at one another. I'm inspired!
@Chanttojah, I resemble that remark! (Except for the Pergo.) What makes it "crazy" to have nice granite and stainless kitchens? Or new construction? Or attractive, well groomed yards??? Jealous? Different taste than yours must be "crazy"?
My house is colonial, because that's what the "sub-division" was zoned for and approved by the city, but the interior is what we designed it to be. (I'd prefer a contemporary style, but it would look out of place in my New England neighborhood, with our relatively small yards... so I can cope. It's not very traditional inside.)
But seriously, I am proud of my landscaping and gardening. Yes, the lawn is "manicured": some of us have regulations about that to live with you know. (And it DOES look nice.) My plantings are beautiful, especially the dry streambed "rain garden" with the arched Japanese-style bridge surrounded by Siberian Irises, near my bronze heron sculptures...
This yard (in the photo above) is fun but it's also sort of tacky. Kitsch may be your taste, but not mine. That doesn't make either of us "crazy", it just suggests we'd be happier in different neighborhoods!
(In my Homeowner's Association, one person insisted that those inflatable giant snow-globes for Christmas must be banned! I think they are kind of amusing, and of course, temporary, but since she hates them none of us own them. Being hostile to your neighbors doesn't make for a nice, safe, neighborhood watch situation.)
I live directly accross the street from a sllightly touched (ok, more than just slightly) antiques-dealer who doesn't want to sell his antiques and tells anyone who wants to listen that he's got a Monet for sale. Since he doesn't actually sell any of his antiques, he repairs bicycles for a living. Right in front of our house. In ratty old clothes and unwashed hair. And he has LOTS of customers. Guess he must be good at it.
Does this qualify for "craziest house on the block"?
My next door neighbors are mainly embarrassing during the xmas holidays. They hang lights across the trim of their house but don't really bother to buy enough to cover the entire area (more like just 1 or 2 strands). They kinda do the same w/ the bushes in the front yard... just throw them messily on top. Every year it gets slightly worse. :(
I would much rather have visually eccentric neighbors than audibly obnoxious ones. Who wouldn't want to live near this adorable couple?
After reading all the posts Sonje really hit's the nail on the head with a reality check. After living in a neighbourhood with all kinds of people from bickering Geriatrics & The mentally ill to drug dealers and juvenille delinquents all I can say to that lady who doesn't like a few tacky decoration at Christmas.... 'you need problems'.
To explain the above, I lived in local authority housing for years and although 85% of the neighbours are terrific, the other 15% can make life hell. I served on residents commitees for over ten years....och, I'm getting all self righteous now, but gosh, if your neighbours are just nice people, be seriously grateful. YOU COULD BE THE CRAZY ONE!
This house is absolutely charming. I'd be delighted to have them as neighbors. And no, this isn't crazy in my book; my notion of crazy is closer to Larkin's: the mad, bad, and dangerous to know, who make you think twice about leaving your pets in the back garden during the day. This is just whimsical and eccentric.
When I visit my in-laws, I have to count the houses to find theirs because all the houses in the subdivision look alike. I can't even tell from the dogs in the yards, because every neighbor has one big black one and one big blond one!
My goal in life is to be the crazy house on the block. And to never have to deal with an HOA.
@FWD this made me laugh. We left the 'SOLD' sign outside our house up for about a year after we moved in, otherwise we wouldn't have been able to find our own house.
It's definitely gaudy and slightly hideous (in my opinion), but it is not boring! I would rather look at this than a Mcmansion any day :)
The folk art of house decoration is fascinating. Good books on the topic:
The Holiday Yards of Florencio Morales: http://bit.ly/iP8edx
Yard Art and Handmade Places:
http://www.utexas.edu/utpress/pops/popnokyar.html
Home Is Where the Dog Is:
http://bit.ly/ltr9mq
If you want a deeper understanding of the principles of outdoor folk art, I recommend the wonderful book "Flash of the Spirit" by Thompson
http://bit.ly/lBBBzI
Happy Yard Art to all you didn't-know-you-were-Folk-Art-Lovers out there!
I'm pretty sure this house is located in Victoria, BC. It's right around the military base. Which happens to house a lot of Navy.
It reminds me of the movie 'Up' and it is adorable.