Art House
16I know art cars are a thing. I think they’re pretty awesome.
But an art house is a next level commitment.
I discovered this house yesterday and the effort, attention to detail, and the vibe are all out of this world. It made me happy just to see it.
Sorry I was there at a crappy time to capture this with the best lighting.
Also I just noticed that all the floodlights are turned inward. I’ll have to get by that way at night.
I just hate to think what will happen when that person no longer owns it. If the owner were someone famous, maybe it could be preserved. But maybe it’s just supposed to exist to make them happy, and what happens after doesn’t matter at all.
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WORKER BEES! HERCULES! TURKEY GREASE! AWESOME!
Loving their vibe
Pretty cool looking. I am guessing it will take a special person to buy it and love it as it is.
I love everything about that!! The colors, the arrangements, all of it!!
Except for the lawn…I mean it’s meticulous and all but I just don’t understand why people still have them. Water, grow, mow. Ad infinitum.
@llangley for this particular house what would you replace the lawn with?
I have xeriscape (gravel and 2 bushes) and I don’t think it would go well with this house.
@llangley I hear you, but lawns are pretty much obligatory here. We do fine without watering unless there’s a serious drought (in which case watering is a dick move) but they do continue to grow and need mowing. I’d love if I had some kind of alternative that didn’t require that commitment.
Houston has several “art houses”, most well known being The Orange Show, but there’s also the Beer Can House and several others. Some of it can be attributed to our complete disdain for “zoning”, and somewhat whimsical approach to the word “eyesore”.
@werehatrack is the Orange show a house? When I googled I found a museum? I did find thr beer can house, that is definitely not my vibe
@tinamarie1974 The Orange Show was built by a US Letter Carrier who had a peculiar hobby; the history is documented online somewhere. I’ve been there, and it looks like he started with an existing small house and expanded from it, but I could be mistaken. I know that he lived very close by when he was building it. The foundation that was established to preserve and protect his creation has since branched out; they operate the Houston Art Car Parade, among other things.
@werehatrack Since I was looking at the right landmark, here is the history for those interested
https://www.full.orangeshow.org/orange-show-monument
@tinamarie1974 I’ve run across numerous other less extravagant but still very “arty” houses around town, but those are very obviously places where people actually live, and just want something that stands out. Junk sculpture in a front yard is hardly even blinked at, outside of neighborhoods that have an HOA.
@werehatrack oh I think every city has at least one! There was “the purple house” about 20 min from me for a while. @barney would have loved it. Whole darn thing was purple!! Well, until the owner died. Then it was sold and now it looks like all the other houses in the neighborhood.
There is a museum in STL that sounds similar to the Orange project. Google Ciry Museum. Its amazing ask @carl69
@tinamarie1974 And I should mention that Orange Show is located in a very typical Houston blue-collar residential neighborhood from the 1950s (roughly). When I was last down there, the offices were in a house across the street from the Show itself. (I don’t know if they’ve since moved into something larger, but it was already cramped 15 years ago.)
@werehatrack might be interesting to see pics of the houses you mentioned that people live in. Kinda like the post way above. I think folks are enjoying the topic and to see peoples artistic flair
@tinamarie1974 City Museum is amazing!