Owning a home – and especially restoring one – takes lots of time, care, consideration and, of course, money.
When the work is all done, you can look at each and every square inch of your home and reflect on detail you poured your blood, sweat and tears into.
Every part of your dwelling was intentional and calculated and completed to your liking, even if you decided that some of the home’s original character should remain.
And that’s really all that should matter.
However….
A father on Reddit is questioning his labor of love after his teenage son voiced his displeasure that the exterior of their home is painted pink, so he turned to the “Am I The A**hole” (AITA) subReddit to seek feedback from fellow Redditors.
Redditor Wild-Argument-308 asked:
“AITA for not picking a new color for my house even though my son finds the one we have embarrassing?”
The Original Poster (OP) explained:
“I bought my house 15 years ago.”
“It was a fixer upper and needed a lot of work.”
But OP decided not everything needed work.
“The only thing I kept the house is it’s painted bright pink.”
“The guy I bought it from said it was his deceased father’s house.”
“He had painted it this way to piss off his neighbors.”
“I decided I liked the color and kept it the way it was.”
“When I married my wife a year later, she agreed.”
And so it’s been bright pink this whole time.
“We now have 3 kids: a 13 year old boy, a 10 year old girl and a 8 year old girl.”
“We are doing some minor renovations to the house and have decided to touch up the paint as it’s been awhile.”
Someone thinks it’s time for the pink to go.
“My son asked that we paint it a ‘normal color’ because it’s ’embarrassing’ to live in a pink house.”
“We declined and said we like the color.”
“Ultimately, it’s our house and we’ll be living in it longer than him. “
“When we die, he’s free to paint it what he wants.”
And now dad is being painted as unfair.
“My MIL feels we’re being unfair and that we should take into account how it’s embarrassing for a teen boy to live in a ‘Barbie house.'”
“We asked my son if he’s being teased and he said no. But he hates it.”
“Our daughters like it.”
“Are we wrong for not painting the house a ‘normal’ color?”
OP has offered the following explanation for why he thinks he might be the a**hole:
“1. not picking a new color 2) our son really hates it and it is his house too.”
Redditors weighed in by declaring:
- NTA – Not The A**hole
- YTA – You’re The A**hole
- NAH – No A**holes Here
- ESH – Everyone Sucks Here
Redditors decided the OP was not the a**hole.
“NTA, I live in a pink house, the color was chosen by my husband’s grandfather when the house was built,it’s the only pink house in our area and anytime someone asks where we live we say the pink house on ‘our street’ and they ALL know the house, it’s on a main road so it sticks out in the sea of traditional colors, the story behind the house is.”
“My husband’s grandfather was known to be a very frugal man, when it came to picking a house color he chose what was on sale, hence the pink.”
“60 years later and we’ve never spoke of changing it because we love the story, 3 generations have been raised in this house.”
“There’s something very special about seeing the house unchanged over the years as the scenery around it has changed and the people who were raised there are now grown up with families and now us, raising our son here.”
“I love that his great grandfather has pics in front of this house and now our son does too!!” – cjbay87
“NTA Your child can suck it up (no offense to your child), teenagers are moody (I would know, I am one) and he’ll get over it.”
“Also your MIL should respect your decisions in parenting and about your house.”
“I think your son will mature to understand that pink is not an embarrassing color, and honestly your MIL should too.” – Meow_Waiting
“Why the f**k is your MOTHER-IN-LAW weighing in on this? What business is it of hers? Answer: None.”
“If she’s not going to pony up the mortgage, buy the paint, and grab a brush…she’s welcome to keep her big yap shut.”
“NTA” – CalendarDad
“NTA. It’s your house, and you like it.”
“Your MIL is feeding into antiquated masculinity ‘norms.'”
“Your son may be embarrassed to live in a pink house, but he’ll get over it.”
“Maybe it’ll be good for him!” – puzzledspoons
“NTA. Pink is a colour.”
“Fun fact: pink used to be the assigned colour to boys anyway.” – Fearless_Spring5611
“NTA. He can make the decisions when it’s passed down to him.”
“4 against 1. The ‘voting’ was fair and square.”
“He’ll live just like he has been in that house for all of his life.” – DarkAngel_DA
“NTA. I hate to break it to your son, but pink is a normal colour 😆” – Red_Moggy
“Look, you always want your kids to feel happy and comfortable in your home.”
“I’m a big believer in giving kids autonomy in how they decorate/keep their own rooms (assuming they’re not, like, leaving food around to rot 🙂 ).”
“But in terms of overall appearance, I think that’s the parents prerogative.”
“You like the color, your wife likes it, your daughters like it.”
“Your son doesn’t like it, but no one is hassling him over it.”
“NTA. And BTW, there has NEVER been a parent who failed to embarrass his or her teenager.”
“You son is getting off lightly! :)” – Active-Anteater1884
“People who pay the mortgage get a vote in exterior colors.”
“Everyone else can go make decisions about their own possessions…including MIL.”
“NTA.” – coralcoast21
“NTA. If you did paint it I guarantee he would find something else to be embarrassed about.”
“Teenagers always do.” – harbinger06
“NTA”
“Introduce your kid to songs like ‘Pink Houses’ and ‘Little Boxes.’”
“That second one isn’t complimenting pink houses, but it makes clear that they are normal to the point of being basic.”
“My grandparents’ house was built of local pink brick, as were my parents’ and many in our neighbourhood.”
“My grandfather cheerfully painted the trim pink and maintained it for years.”
“Pinkest house on their street.” – Amiedeslivres
“NTA”
“But, you should at least acknowledge his feelings.”
“Being a teenager is hard. Hormones, body changes etc.”
“Then you pile on the social aspect of it.”
“It’s not easy and we adults tend to forget about it.”
“However, you are right, you’ll be living in the house a lot longer than he will be, you paid for it, maintain it, etc.”
“Have it how you like it. Because part of being a teenager and becoming an adult is dealing with things you don’t like or are embarrassed by.” – Inner-Nothing7779
“NTA, it sounds like MIL has some very traditional views on gender and is projecting.”
“Your son himself said he’s not being teased.”
“You own the house and you like the color, that’s all the justification you need.” – chimcharbo
“NTA but purely because I had a neighbor like you growing up and its nostalgic.”
“They had an obnoxiously bright green house because the couple across the street were a**holes.”
“I used to beg my parents to paint our house bright blue or red or something in solidarity to the neighbor because f**k the a**holes across the street (especially after they tried to get my then bf arrested).”
“Parents never did, but the neighbor won ‘ugliest house’ in the city 5 years in a row.”
“Proudly displayed those awards in his front lawn too. Lol” – The-Hive-Queen
“NTA, color is personal. I think your logic is right, and your son will have to suck it up.”
“At his age everything out of the ordinary is embarrassing.” – AppeltjeEitje1079
“NTA, though I guess it depends on how you expressed it to him.”
“Tone, especially to a 13 year old boy is important.”
“How did you deliver the message, or was your second paragraph basically how you expressed yourself?” – throwananphoto
“NTA…He’s entitled to an opinion on the colour, but it’s not his house.”
“He’ll understand in about a decade.” – RoyallyOakie
“NTA”
“The town I went to high school in has a pink and purple house.”
“They got it painted for free to advertise for a paint company. 😂” – Terra88draco
“NTA just because you like the colour and it’s not hurting anyone.”
“I knew someone with a pink house once that painted it white but we’re forced to change it back as it was a visual marker for the local airport.”
“Pilots navigated via the pink house.” – legoartnana
“NTA – but tell your kid exactly this story.”
“He’s much more likely to be okay with the color if he knows it will piss off the neighbors.” – thedjbigc
“NTA this is a childish concern from a kid.”
According to his fellow Redditors, the OP sticking to his guns will do no harm.
It sounds like his son will get over the color in no time and will even grow to appreciate it.