The development of exterior paint over the years has widened the availability of pretty much all colours of the rainbow and this has started a painting your home revolution.
Expanding out from shades of cream and white, now some homeowners are being far more creative to ensure their home is a distinctive member of the street scene.
Arguably the most famous colourful street in Wales is in Tenby, where the tall, period terraced properties line the cliff-top and descend down the hill to the harbour.
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Residents of coastal town Aberaeron might argue, and could win the fight, that their beautiful Georgian brightly coloured houses are the best in Wales.
But if a road in a city is going to take the 'urban colourful homes' crown, surely many people would put forward Elm Street in Roath, Cardiff as deserving the top of the medal podium?
From the basis of an advertising campaign, to people snapping photos for Instagram, residents of Elm Street are used to the attention, as they live on arguably the most vibrant road in the capital.
Purple, green, blue, red, more purple, yellow, pink, navy, even more purple: the street has surely become as visually iconic as Tenby Harbour or Aberaeron seafront.
Plus, it's not just a range of eye-catching colours to delight you as you stroll along the pavement, there are murals to stop and stare at too.
The most recent addition to the mural houses on the road is a poignant memorial to a RAF pilot who was killed in World War Two.
The mural, showing RAF Hurricanes swooping over a field of poppies, was commissioned by Jack Hussey at the home he moved into in Elm Street, in January 2020. Find out more about that here.
But one of the most famous homes of the Elm Street frontage is fondly known by residents as ‘the Caribbean house’.
The original owner painted her home shades of blue and planted a palm tree and banana plants in the front garden – and there's even half a boat moored out there, to ensure the theme is taken to the maximum.
Owned by Jen and Si, they think it's fantastic when they come home after a day at work and the street looks like you could be in west Wales or the Caribbean.
Another well-known house on the street is known as the 'Aztec' house, due to its intriguing pattern painting on its facade, although this is not an accurate description according to the homeowner.
Living in this emerald green gem of a house is Sheryl Chetcuti, who explained the story behind probably the most distinctive home on the street to WalesOnline in 2019.
She says: "My late partner was from South Africa and wanted to put a design on the front of the house that was significant. It's actually an Ndebele tribe design – most people think it's Aztec.
"The design itself represents celebration. It's supposed to be that when you look at it it’s like old-fashioned Gillette razor blades used to shave people’s heads which was a sign of preparing for celebration within the tribe.
"Then there's a house turned upside down, which is the world turned upside-down and change – those two elements were very personal. So that’s the hidden meaning of the design.
"My daughter's boyfriend was a signwriter and it took him over two weeks to do; it wasn't easy!"
Find out more about the house and the street in this video:
This was one of the first houses in the street to go bold. Sheryl says a small group of residents got together and decided to bring some colour to the street, and the idea slowly caught on, and now there's no stopping Elm Street homeowners from keeping the colour flowing.
Another member of the original gang who brought colour to the street was Hillary Clarke, who's home is a pretty shade of pink.
Hillary told WalesOnline: "I'm so pleased it has taken off – it gives the street a bit of character. I've never regretted doing it and will never go back to white or cream, especially not magnolia. I hate magnolia.
"People take pictures of the house and when people come here delivering things they say how nice the house looks."
Another distinctive house that stands out is Joyce Ackroyd's home; a vibrant purple and very 'on-trend' this year as it is the perfect shade of Very Peri, the Pantone colour of the year 2022, find out more about that here.
But do new residents to the street feel a pressure to join the colour clan, or is staying neutral or keeping to the original plain pebble dash exterior acceptable to the neighbours?
Back in 2019 couple Sam Hughes and Lauren Sourbutts moved to the street but say there was never a pressure to keep or change the pale mint green facade of their home.
But Lauren says: "There was never a chance we wouldn't keep it coloured. I love colour and if the opportunity was there to have a pink front door and a bright blue house to fit in I was going to take that opportunity!"
And in a lovely twist of colourful houses reaching out and influencing each other across Wales, the couple's facade colour choice is based on a deep navy home they fell in love with in Aberaeron harbour.
When Cardiff University student Claire Raisin, originally from Hampshire, graduated she was so captivated with the capital, she started looking for a home but was unaware of Elm Street's unique standing within the city.
Claire wanted to live in Roath and had put an offer in on a couple of other houses but they had both fallen through, and at that time she had no idea that Elm Street was slowly becoming a landmark road in the city.
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Then she went for a viewing at a three-bed terrace in Elm Street and the experience was a surprise and wonderfully engaging one.
Claire says: "I t was lovely. Not just that it was bright and colourful, but I really got a feeling that people were proud of the street and took good care of their homes.
"People would talk about the bar that used to be on the end of the street - the Yellow Kangaroo I think? Apparently, Cerys Matthews used to hang out there, but I don't know how true that is!"
The house and the street stole Claire's heart and she bought the terrace, even though it was a bit of a renovation project.
One of the many jobs on the list was getting external wall insulation fitted and the cracked rendering repaired.
Claire says: "Obviously, after getting that work done, I couldn't not paint it! It was always going to be duck egg blue - once the idea was in my brain I couldn't even consider another colour."
Claire even had some ideas about adding her house into the more exclusive mural group of abodes, but her life changed direction before she could go down that more distinctive paint path.
She says: "I actually spoke to a local graffiti artist. If I'd stayed there longer, then yes, I think I probably would have got some additions, maybe not a mural as such, but we did talk about a spider hanging from a ledge, or a bird perched on the window, that kind of thing."
But for Claire, the colourful houses are only one aspect of the street that she thinks makes it unique, it's the sense of community that still exists that so many roads in large cities have maybe lost to some degree over the years.
She says: "Living on Elm Street, I think I took it for granted. It wasn't a special street, it was just my street!
"And for me, the sense of community came from the local pub. I got to know the staff and locals in the Four Elms pretty well, they were lovely and so welcoming, even on a match day - I was an English girl living in Wales!
"Through the pub I had an immediate network, if I ever needed an extra pair of hands for a DIY job, or a recommendation someone there would be able to help. I really miss not being able to pop down to the Elms for a quick pint, or five!"
The house is currently rented out to tenants and inside offers spacious accommodation. There's a front lounge and a bonus second lounge off the hall that can boast a log burner.
This rear lounge flows into the dining room and then into the separate kitchen, which are next to each other.
Of course, a new owner, subject to planning consent and available budget, could investigate combining these two rear rooms to create a sociable kitchen diner.
The dining room opens out onto the good size rear garden via a glass door.
Upstairs there are two double bedrooms, a single bedroom currently being used as a home office, and a stylish bathroom with a statement roll-top bath.
But now Claire is leaving Elm Street permanently.
She says: "I had a mini-midlife crisis in 2017 and quit my job in Cardiff and moved to Chester. I didn't want to sell my house on Elm Street in case it turned out to be a terrible decision and I needed to come home, so I decided to rent it out.
"I've not lived there for a few years now, but whenever I go back, something has changed colour. But b est of all, the lovely couple that lived next door to me are still there. To me, they represent Elm Street as much as the coloured houses.
"I've made a life for myself in Chester now though, so it's time that someone else gets to take over the house and paint it whatever colour they'd like."
Claire's Elm Street pad is for sale for £230,000 with estate agent James Douglas, call the Cardiff branch on 029 2045 6444 to find out more.
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