Paint a Purple House
 "I never saw a purple cow, I hope to never see
one," said the poet. But purple is not only unpopular as
a color for cows, it is also frequently frowned on as a color
for houses. World Net Daily recently reported that a
Florida city passed a new law against purple houses after a
local man painted his house purple and gold because these were the colors of
his fraternity!
To prevent the outlandish actions of some homeowners, who
have the audacity to think they can do what they want with
their own property, some areas have formed planning committees
for assuring that colors are attune to the tastes of the
average homeowner...
In other words: NO PURPLE!
Those with an unconventional taste for purple feel that the
ability to enjoy living in your home
is first and that the resale value is a secondary
consideration. On occasion, disgruntled homeowners have
deliberately painted their house deep purple
as protest against zoning laws they don’t like, or to
retaliate against grumpy neighbors. Maybe we should all go
next door right now and apologize for anything we may have
done wrong before it’s too late.
People sometimes become irritated with their nonconformist
neighbors because they feel purple
houses are ugly and devalue the surrounding property.
Neighbors became angry when one woman in Manhattan painted her
house purple to honor her favorite sports team. She said she
doesn’t care about resell value because she plans to never
move. Neighbors are probably planning a torch party right now.
Frequently a purple
house is painted purple as a part of a remodeling project. A
San Antonio woman who was doing extensive remodeling painted
her house purple. She said that purple was an important part
of her cultural heritage. However, city planners didn’t give
a whit about heritage and said they had not given permission
for the purple paint job. Her house became the center of a
controversy as well as a popular attraction for picture-taking
tourists.
It seems there are actually many people who do not mind
being a purple
cow. Purple houses
can be found in all parts of the country. Victorian houses,
especially, are popular since tradition-breaking colors accent
the ornate gingerbread trim. San Francisco has become famous
for old Victorian houses painted in outlandish colors. The colorful hues were the key
to revitalizing a blighted area of town. Of course, San
Francisco is famous for a lot of unusual things.
The lovely Victorian homes of San Francisco have become
known, as "Painted Ladies" taking the name from the
painted women of its rowdy past. Following San Francisco’s
example, other cities have attempted to revitalize urban areas
with Painted Ladies of their own. St. Louis has restored the
elegant Lafayette
Square and Madison, Wisconsin has an East Side
neighborhood with elaborately painted homes in a rainbow of
hues. Why should San Francisco be the only one to admit they
have a bawdy past?
Children sometimes read a book called Mr. Pine’s
Purple House, which teaches the importance of
nonconformity and expressing individuality. Of course, most of
us do not live in historic Victorian neighborhoods these days.
We live in subdivisions and condos. Our neighbors most likely
would react to an expression of individuality like the council
in England that ordered a row of brightly painted townhouses
be repainted and toned down. Obviously, not everyone goes by
the book.
My neighbors will be relieved to know that they don’t
have to worry. Not knowing it was chic to think purple, I
painted my house in a conventional color of gray. I won’t be
repainting any time in the near future, and if I did it would
be green, blue, yellow or even red – anything but PURPLE!
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