A British woman whose home in the beautiful village of Lydney, Gloucestershire in England should be worth more than a quarter of a million dollars now finds it impossible to sell because the decor is “too crazy.” Mary Rose Young, a 61-year-old pottery artist, bought the cottage for about $37,000 back in 1987 but it now looks like the investment may not have paid off.
A wonderful home (i’d buy it) built by ceramicist Mary Rose Young https://t.co/G0uXWD7u6L pic.twitter.com/S7DZ7E6rcD
— AdamNathanielFurman (@Furmadamadam) June 12, 2020
- To be fair, Young is happy in the house anyway. She lives there with her husband, 62-year-old Paul, and never even considered toning down the decor or painting over the vibrant walls. Why would she? It’s her personal playground. “I made this house around my own life and I wasn’t thinking about it being sellable,” she said. “We’re living like two children in a doll’s house and in retrospect why would anybody else want to buy it? It’s like a playhouse for adults.”
- However, she did consider selling. “I just thought it might go to a mad collector of my work who might want to buy it, but no one was interested,” she admitted. Mary Rose Young’s ceramic work, which is just as vibrant as her interior design tastes, is incredibly popular among art collectors but that didn’t extend to a full cottage, I guess. “Only one person came and looked at it in the year it was on the market and they weren’t here long. I think they had just come out of curiosity to see the decoration and were never interested,” she said. “The estate agents despaired. I could have painted over all my work, but I didn’t want to. I love my house and the house really works for me. I’m a colorful person and I even have pink hair. I like it more and more as I get older.”
If the house did sell, Mary Rose Young would have opened a boutique hotel. That’s what she would have used the money for, which would have been amazing. Can you imagine what it would have looked like?! However, since she’s staying put for the foreseeable future, she’s rededicated herself to ensuring every inch of the house is bright and colorful.
Interestingly enough, she did initially go for more traditional color palettes. When she first moved into the house, Mary Rose Young actually painted the walls white but it didn’t lend the light, airy vibe she thought it would, so she started experimenting with her favorite pottery designs. “I did one wall orange with red dots and it really stood out and took people’s minds off the fact there’s hardly any natural light,” she explained. “It became a really fun project for me on the side of my pottery business and I was so galvanized by it I ended up neglecting my pottery at times. I painted it all myself and I would get help for some bits if I was in a hurry and was trying to work on the pottery.”
- Mary Rose Young doesn’t even notice the color half the time now. “I’ve stopped noticing how colorful it is because I’ve lived here for so long,” she said. “Lots of people are self-conscious and don’t say much when they see the decoration, but the right reaction is to laugh and go, ‘Oh, wow.’ It should make you feel like a child walking into a sweet shop. I want people to feel like adults can have lots of fun too.” I totally would, Mary!
VIDEO: Renowned ceramic artist, Mary Rose Young, has put her Forest of Dean home up for sale. https://t.co/QKQyvf2j8c pic.twitter.com/jJhUzTewDm
— BBC Points West (@bbcpointswest) May 14, 2014
