When Mary Rose Young attempted to sell her house in 2014, she could only get one person to view it — despite it being worth more than a quarter of a million dollars.
The reason? It’s covered in 30 years worth of rainbow-colored paint and decor.
The 61-year-old pink-haired artist purchased the dilapidated Lydney, England cottage in 1987 for just £30,000 (about $37,500). At first, it was painted white, but over the three decades of living in the quaint abode, she painted every wall, floor, and ceiling in shades of yellow, blue, pink, orange and every hue in between.
Colorful decor from plates and tables to chairs and beds were added to the eye-popping design scheme.
“I did one wall orange with red dots, and it really stood out and took people’s minds off the fact there’s hardly any natural light,” Young tells LadBible. “It became a really fun project for me on the side of my pottery business, and I was so galvanized by it I ended up neglecting my pottery at times.”
But her vibrant vision was one not shared by many. When Young and her musician husband, Phil Butcher, wanted to sell the home, agents said they should be able to get at least £250,000 (about $315,000). Unfortunately, those agents could only find one potentially interested homebuyer. And even that sale didn’t pan out.
“I just thought it might go to a mad collector of my work who might want to buy it, but no one was interested,” says Young.
Young has refused to paint the house in more neutral tones, and the family has been stuck in the unsellable house ever since.
“I made this house around my own life, and I wasn’t thinking about it being sellable,” says Young. “We’re living like two children in a doll’s house, and in retrospect, why would anybody else want to buy it? It’s like a playhouse for adults.”
Instead of wavering on her colorful dream, Young decided to turn her courtyard into an outdoor workshop.
“I love my house, and the house really works for me,” she says. “I’m a colorful person . . . I like it more and more as I get older.”