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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

AIBU to ask if I can report my neighbour's bright blue house?

591 replies

Katey83 · 29/06/2026 13:43

I live in a terraced house. My neighbours have painted the back of their house bright blue (think swimming pool blue / like the Mikanos blue). It is horrible and looms over my garden. It’s really going to spoil my enjoyment of my space to have to look at this every day. I spoke to the wife earlier this morning and said it was not to my taste and would they consider changing and she said ‘the beige of your house isn’t to my taste but it’s your house. This is my house.’ And shut the door in my face. WIBU to report them to the council? Can I even do so? Surely you can’t just paint any offensive colour and expect neighbours to live alongside it?

OP posts:
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TigerRag · 29/06/2026 14:38

Mygardenshedisfallingdown · 29/06/2026 14:29

Looked up the blue and changed my mind I like it, beige and magnolia ? hate both colours. But having said that when Imy mum moved into her bungalow she asked 'if I could redecorate her lounge .sooner rather than later because magnolia and beige is for old people' - she was 82, good old mum😄

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The previous occupants of my flat painted the whole flat magnolia. Horrible!

LittleGreenShoots · 29/06/2026 14:38

I understand the frustration as I have to look onto a really ugly shed in my neighbours garden that takes up almost all their outdoor space. But they got planning permission and we aren''t able to do anything about it. After a while you do stop thinking noticing it.

MajorProcrastination · 29/06/2026 14:37

Livingthebestlife · 29/06/2026 13:59

Is her name* *Edie McCredie

thank you for this gold star comment

momtoboys · 29/06/2026 14:37

Katey83 · 29/06/2026 13:59

We are in London! Not a posh part but obviously everywhere in London is expensive!! I don’t want to live near an eyesore.

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I'm afraid there is nothing you can do. Now that you have complained, that neighbor is going to keep that color until they die.

MonstrousRegimentRocks · 29/06/2026 14:36

Genuinely, why is it a problem?

Original poster
Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:36

Toveylove · 29/06/2026 14:33

If none of the other house backs are assorted colours, then it’s a weird decision. It’s an intense colour to impose on neighbours, and as such is impolite and tone Deaf to the area. They will hardly see it, themselves. So it’s selfish of them. Can you plant trees at the end of your garden, to block it as much as possible?

Thank you this is how I feel. Our gardens aren’t terribly big and a row of trees will take up a good few feet of space - and would need to be along the whole length of fence on that side, which would be very expensive. Unfortunately they own that side of fence otherwise I could get a higher fence. I suppose I could speak to them about doing that and offer to pay half.

OP posts:
SilenceInside · 29/06/2026 14:35

Why would you be spending any time staring at their wall when in your garden? You can do loads of things with screening of various sorts, and have points of interest that aren't in that direction.

Personally I find pebbledash to be repulsive to look at, but wouldn't care at all if next door pebbledashed their back wall.

BIossomtoes · 29/06/2026 14:34

Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:30

I feel I’m getting quite a hard time of it. Ok. I understand I can’t change their house or complain. Surely it’s ok to feel a bit annoyed that my lovely garden will now not be such a sanctuary for me. The colour really is overbearing in our street where the other homes are mostly white/beige, brick or pebbledash?

Sit in your garden with your back to it. Job done.

FWC2026 · 29/06/2026 14:34

Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:05

I found it quite rude!

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Your neighbour wasn't rude at all. You eee rude telling her it wasn't to your taste & asking her her to repaint it.

but I expect this is all in your head anyway,

Toveylove · 29/06/2026 14:33

If none of the other house backs are assorted colours, then it’s a weird decision. It’s an intense colour to impose on neighbours, and as such is impolite and tone Deaf to the area. They will hardly see it, themselves. So it’s selfish of them. Can you plant trees at the end of your garden, to block it as much as possible?

Original poster
Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:32

Bjorkdidit · 29/06/2026 14:28

OP you probably want to stay away from Juzcar in southern Spain too. The whole village was painted blue when it was used as a film set for the Smurfs movie, but when they realised it was a huge tourist draw, they kept it like that and huge numbers of tourists visit to this day, from all over the world.

Juzcar - the blue Village | Andalucia.com

That’s truly offensive!

OP posts:
Bjorkdidit · 29/06/2026 14:31

Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:30

I feel I’m getting quite a hard time of it. Ok. I understand I can’t change their house or complain. Surely it’s ok to feel a bit annoyed that my lovely garden will now not be such a sanctuary for me. The colour really is overbearing in our street where the other homes are mostly white/beige, brick or pebbledash?

But surely unless you spend a lot of time staring at the wall, it's not an issue?

Anyway, blue is known to be a calming colour, so perhaps you should do just that?

Mumofmarauders · 29/06/2026 14:30

I think it sounds lovely!

Original poster
Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:30

I feel I’m getting quite a hard time of it. Ok. I understand I can’t change their house or complain. Surely it’s ok to feel a bit annoyed that my lovely garden will now not be such a sanctuary for me. The colour really is overbearing in our street where the other homes are mostly white/beige, brick or pebbledash?

OP posts:
Needtosoundoffandbreathe · 29/06/2026 14:29

There are far more offensive things your neighbours could do. Including a myriad other awful colours they could use. I can't believe you thought it was anything to do with you! Put some pleached trees in or something else which will provide screening if you're so revolted by it.

Yellowpapersun · 29/06/2026 14:29

Can't you just turn your deckchair so you can't see the wall?

Mygardenshedisfallingdown · 29/06/2026 14:29

Cosimarocks · 29/06/2026 14:15

I spoke to the wife earlier this morning and said it was not to my taste and would they consider changing and she said ‘the beige of your house isn’t to my taste but it’s your house. This is my house.’ And shut the door in my face.

You painted your house beige!?! If that’s the case then I don’t think you have any right to comment on good taste.

Also, ‘the wife’… I think you mean the home owner. Unless, when you talk of ‘the wife’ you are talking about your own and you’ve fallen out of some 1970’s sitcom.

Looked up the blue and changed my mind I like it, beige and magnolia ? hate both colours. But having said that when Imy mum moved into her bungalow she asked 'if I could redecorate her lounge .sooner rather than later because magnolia and beige is for old people' - she was 82, good old mum😄

corlan · 29/06/2026 14:29

Onefairfish · 29/06/2026 13:56

I vaguely remember a case in a posh part of London where someone had painted their house pink (I think), and the neighbours did complain, and possibly took the person to court, but got nowhere. Unless the property is listed, in a conservation area or has a restrictive covenant on it, I doubt if you would get very far with a complaint about something so subjective. Maybe just learn to love it, imagining you are in Mykonos.

I remember this too - I think it was Twickenham but not a particularly posh part of it.

MonstrousRegimentRocks · 29/06/2026 14:29

How lovely, and what a change from that hideous battleship grey that's everywhere.
Grey windows doors, rendering, kitchens bathrooms... awful.
Bring on the bright blue 💙!

Bjorkdidit · 29/06/2026 14:28

OP you probably want to stay away from Juzcar in southern Spain too. The whole village was painted blue when it was used as a film set for the Smurfs movie, but when they realised it was a huge tourist draw, they kept it like that and huge numbers of tourists visit to this day, from all over the world.

Juzcar - the blue Village | Andalucia.com

Málaga Province - Juzcar | Andalucia.com

Juzcar, one of the small villages located in the beautiful, scenic Valle del Genal in the Serrania de Ronda, is the first ever ´smurf town´ in the world, since June 2011. Until this date, Júzcar was a weekend destination for lovers of rural tourism, hi...

https://www.andalucia.com/province/malaga/juzcar/home.htm

BauhausOfEliott · 29/06/2026 14:28

Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:17

The husband painted it and I expected him to be the one I’d have the discussion with. It didn’t occur to me his wife would have agreed with the choice as she seems reasonable and tasteful when I see them out and about. He is a bit of a lout. I really can’t do anything right by mumsnet standards!

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You sound more peculiar with every post.

Grammarninja · 29/06/2026 14:28

Katey83 · 29/06/2026 14:08

I meant the shutting the door in my face was rude. At least we could have had a conversation about it. But it seems I Abu so I shall have to get over it.

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But asking her to repaint her house as it's not to your taste is rude too.

cookbookjunkie · 29/06/2026 14:28

Unless it's a listed property or in a conservation area there is nothing you can do.

BauhausOfEliott · 29/06/2026 14:27

Oranginacatterpilla · 29/06/2026 14:22

Lots of rude people on this thread.

Not as rude as people who knock on other people's doors to inform them their house is offensive.

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