San Francisco :: Little Pink Houses For You and Me.

Whenever I see a pink house, I’m always intrigued. They stand out, that’s for sure. Whimsical and quirky. It’s such a definite choice. Like, you might buy red paint and it turns out a tad orangey. Or your blue might have a bit  of a gray-ish hue. But pink? There’s no mistaking it. Someone decided that they were going to buy multiple gallons of bubble gum pink paint and roll it all over their home where it would remain for years to come. Was it a woman? A man? A couple? Did they fight over it or did one of them acquiesce and say, “Pink? Sure thing honey. I’m in.”

In my neighborhood in Flint, Michigan there was a Pepto Pink house that I was fascinated by. They had two big picture windows in front, and at Christmas there would be a green tree in one window and a pink, snow-flocked tree in the other. Yes, they were serious about their pink. One year there was a huge mural of a Budweiser beer can on their garage door. I liked to think that the hubs finally rebelled. This is their house:

San Francisco is known for her elaborate Victorians. But we also have some pretty adorable little 50s style boxy homes if you go to the neighborhoods. I noticed that every so often, I’d spy one that was a rollicking pink color and was totally charmed. A few years ago, I started taking photos of pink houses whenever I’d pass by. Here are a few of San Francisco and Oakland looking pretty in pink….

This next place was repainted last year and is now a boring beige. Sigh.

And thank you John [Cougar] Mellencamp:


13 thoughts on “San Francisco :: Little Pink Houses For You and Me.

  1. I grew up in an accidentally pink house so I love this post. Still whenever I’m referencing it to someone who knows the street I say “the pink house” and they immediately know the one. My parents were going for a peachy beige, but it turned out to be a pale pink. much more interesting!

  2. You made me miss Daly City and Outer Sunset. I love those cities for their colorful houses! Every time I hear the song “Little Boxes” by Malvina Reynolds, I think of Daly City.

  3. I love it! Our house had pink house-wrap on it until we put on the siding, so everyone called it “the little pink house”. 🙂 We’ve now painted it green, but to me, it will always be my little pink house…

  4. Report from Flint, Michigan: House is still there in its pink glory. Somewhat abandonned, as so many here in Flint and no more Christmas trees. But the pink color seems to hang in there as bright as ever!!

  5. As a Hoosier, I love this!!!!! Young John was hot, hot, hot! Anytime I hear any of his songs (as well as Tom Petty) I am transported from hippie ville northwest to my hometown in Indiana. I like a lot of those houses – cute! There are neighborhoods out here that are known for having strangely colored houses.

  6. I just stumbled across your site by way of your pink houses posting. I also love pink houses and have been photographing them for well over a year. I live in Oakland and in fact, I recognize several of the houses you included here. Great stuff, and it’s fun to finally find someone else who shares the interest for this quirky phenomenon.

    1. how cool eric! yeah a bunch are from over here in the east bay. two have been painted over (the tall apartment building is on fruitvale and its now blue and orange and gray. booo!). glad you found us!

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