Man Paints His Home A "Slime Pink" And His Neighbors Are Not Happy

Residents of the Pflugerville community in Texas were so used to seeing white, beige, and gray house, that when Emilio Rodriguez moved into the neighborhood, they were in for a surprise. A nice, big, pink surprise! Rodriguez bought his dream home in Pflugerville in 2018 and wanted to paint it pink. Why this particular hue, you ask? It's his favorite. Rodriguez has been through some hardships early on in life. At the age of 4, he survived a horrific car accident that left him permanently paralyzed from the waist down. While dealing with his medical issues and surgeries, he found the color to be calming and mood-boosting, reports Little Things. He even uses a wheelchair that has hot pink spokes.

The professional video-gamer and artist told the Statesman that he chose "a Pepto-Bismol paint; if you feel me, I wanted a slime pink. A wet slime — it looks like a liquid — that’s what I was going for, like a liquidy slime ooze pink,” he said. “It kind of sounds like Pepto-Bismol, if you think about it.” Rodriguez revealed that he has spent more than $10,000 on his pink project, which has involved “tons of gallons” of paint. While he loves his pink house, not many share the sentiment. As a result, he says he's received threats and mean comments. "I love this house. I don't know why people don't like it," he told KEYE. "No HOA. I pre-planned this specifically because of that reason, so when people get mad I explain there is no HOA here," he revealed, adding that the pink house is part of the 'Keep Austin Weird' vibe. "That's what people keep saying they're like why are people so freaked out? Have they never been to Austin?" he said.

"Even if they made an HOA right here I'm already grandfathered in so we're set," Rodriguez told Fox 7. "I did my homework beforehand." Many neighbors felt the unique home didn't fit in well with the Mountain View neighborhood aesthetic in Pflugerville. "Beetle Juice movie or maybe Edward Scissor Hands just really different," said Anita Garcia. "To each his own..but yeah I wanted to see it for myself it was real." The unique home is attracting a lot of people's attention, many of whom stop by to get a glimpse. Emanual Alvarado, who lives a couple of blocks down, came by and said, "This is definitely adding a twist to the neighborhood," said Alvarado. "I would suggest to neighbors to be open-minded because you know I think should invest energy into being different and being yourself and not let being yourself be suppressed about what society thinks is normal," he noted. At the time, Rodriguez said that "The driveways' going to be pink I'm getting all the grass removed for pink tile blocks I'm going to have pink spotlights on the trees pink car. I will paint my wheelchair pink."

Some people think that the pink house is an eyesore, others feel that Rodriguez should be allowed to express himself and his space the way he wants. While many are divided about the pink house to the artist, there's the meaning behind the hue.  "When I have to do medical stuff I can look up at the pink house and it kind of calms me down a little bit," he shared, honestly.

Live and let live (in a pink house, if they want to), right? Here are some reactions to the unique home in Texas: