Plymouth man paints his house in rainbow colours - without his wife's permission
Mike Goldsmith from Plymouth wanted to paint his house in rainbow colours but his wife Karen did not agree - so he waited until she was away and then did the deed!
Mike and his wife have lived in their home since 1984 - when it was an unassuming grey. He was inspired to do the colourful makeover after seeing brightly-painted houses while on holiday in Albufeira in Portugal.
He wanted to bring some of that joy home but his wife was not keen.
Karen Goldsmith says, "We went to Portugal on holiday and he was inspired by the harbour, places were decorated like this.
"He has wanted to do it since, but I wouldn’t let him. Then, I went to London for a few days with my daughter and grandson.
"We got back, and, well... Oh my God! My daughter said the same, and told me to avert my eyes.
"But the more I see it, the more I like it. It'll be left like this now."
Karen’s favourite colour on the wall is light blue. Orange is for their grandson and pink is for their granddaughter. The children have even chipped in, painting animal ornaments in the front.
Mike took a couple of weeks off work to complete the project and surprise his wife.
Karen - who's been married to Mike for 40 years - says, "He’s always been a bit like that. You never know what you’re going to get."
The house has been multi-coloured for around two years now and has surely made plenty of people smile on their lockdown walks, adding much needed colour in dark times.
Karen has finally come around and realises the joy it brings to passers-by.
She says, "You get a few reactions, people taking pictures.
"It’s nice, some people even knock to ask what made us do it. If taxi drivers pull up, they’ll take a picture of it."
But what did the neighbours think?
Karen says, "The neighbours thought, first of all, that he was joking. They thought he showed them the colour palette to choose one, and he said ‘no, all of them.’
“Then they egged him on a bit. Most of them around here say it cheers them up."
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