While out for a walk in the Elmwood Village I came across this circa 1874 residence that was undergoing an eye-popping paint job at 77 Ashland Avenue.
For years I have walked by this little beauty, which was formerly painted white. Aside from being awash with white, the house had green shutters… and a pastel purple door, which I always thought was not a very becoming accent color. Now that alt-purple door has been painted “tomato red” along with the rest of the house.
As I stood on the sidewalk, ogling the new paint job, I realized that I was familiar with the guy applying the paint. The painter turned out to be Dennis Tripi, who told me, “For some reason I’m the guy that people call when they want a colorful house. I’m not sure why, but I end up painting a lot of very vibrant houses.”
As I talked to Tripi, we both agreed that this particular color selection was very unusual, but very striking at the same time. “What color are you going to paint the door?” I asked. “Tomato red, same as the rest of the house, including the pipes on the side of the house,” answered Tripi. “Everything is going to be tomato red.”
Aside from the unusual paint job, Tripi also clued me in to a historic tidbit. “This house was originally located over near Kleinhans Music Hall, from what I understand. It was picked up and moved over to this spot on Ashland.”
As I pondered the house’s history, and contemplated the new color, my gaze was drawn to the rest of the houses on the street, which were all pretty much muted, colorwise. It was then that I decided that I actually liked this new singular splash of color on the street. I’m sure that a lot of people will debate me on this… but I’m a fan. There’s something to be said about going for the gusto… jumping off the deep end… or shooting for the moon when it comes to making a bold decision of this nature.
One thing is for sure – I will never look at this house the same… nor will anyone else, which was probably the intent.
