Is This Quirky Duluth Home Art, Or An Eyesore?

What if this was your neighbor? Would you like to live next to this?

Duluth residents are loving it, at least that's what their comments on the house say. It's featured on a Facebook page called Quirky Minnesota Homes. The home is located at  518 N. 18th Ave. E. and the actual next-door neighbor said, the homeowner is a great person to live by and keeps the area clean, and respects the neighborhood.

The former neighbor Byron says that its front sidewalk is lined with conch shells and that the house itself is covered with everything you could imagine like plastic dolls, flowers, stuffed animals, clocks, fake Christmas trees, and other nic nacks.

He goes on to say the neighborhood is normal, that is the only house decorated that way, and that it never became an eyesore for anyone. Byron says while he lived next door he noticed how clean the neighbor kept the display and never did he ever see any rodents or mold.

Byron said the homeowner replaced things all the time but he never saw him working on it, he just noticed one day there were some weather-damaged things then they were gone and there was new stuff in its place.

The former neighbor even went to bat for the home, asking people not to be too judgemental. They are just expressing themselves.

This is what it used to look like. I had to double-take the house because it looks different, but I double-checked the house next door to make sure.

So what are people saying?

Susan says

I love it when people creatively express themselves with their homes and yards and the neighborhood does not look like cookie-cutter houses! Reminds me of a favorite book when my children were little, The Big Orange Splot.

Becky says:

This looks like an art project about all our cultural icons/products. It's a look at who we are as a culture. So bold to do this knowing how it might be perceived.

Jill talked about the history

Not far from where I live…just a block or two. House burned around 2015 (or so?) and was rebuilt, and the collection was dumpster bound. And then a new collection was started. This is the new version, only a few years old.

And finally, Elizabeth said:

Dang, wish I would have known about this in July...I would've drove by 😊 And no judgement here, if it makes him happy it's golden