Pink door on midcentury home in Palm Springs has fans

I’m not sure how many doors have their own hashtag or fan following, but if I was #thatpinkdoor in South Palm Springs, I’d feel pretty good about myself.

The first thing that came to mind when I saw this in person was “OK, it’s pretty cool looking.”

First of all, you don’t see many bubblegum pink doors. It makes me think of Barbie and spring and brings a smile to my face.  It’s also about 10 feet tall, so I feel like a child standing next to it.

It’s also very architecturally appealing with a raised cube motif that adds drama and a fancy silver pull door handle.

Maybe that’s why people seek it out and take selfies and whimsical photos in front of it.

The home is getting tons of love on Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest with folks posting photos of themselves in front of the door.  Visitors actually seek it out. In one case, a visiting couple made finding the home with the pink door part of a scavenger hunt.

Use of the hashtag seems to spike during the holidays when tourists are in town. With the upcoming Christmas and New Year break, my guess is the Indian Canyons neighborhood may get a few more visitors.

I'm not sure who owns the infamous house now, but Moises Esquenazi, an interior designer in New York who owned the home from 2004 to 2008 and is responsible for the door's pastel exterior, said he sold it to an Australian couple whom he thinks still uses it as a vacation rental.

"We bought it when it was all covered with vines and had a dreary shade of dirty sand paint and brown trim.  It took about a year to renovate and decorate," he said.

The pink door evolved during the renovation process. The mother of his partner Bryan Graybill, who was part-owner, was fond of pink and loved its use as an accent throughout the house.  Even the waterline tile in the pool is iridescent pink, he said.

"It was very dramatic and some people were shocked. I think there was talk in the neighborhood at the time to make us change it. ...  I thought after painting it pink that I would get tired of it, but as time went on, it just became part of the house and people would know the house by the door," he said.

Esquenazi said he had seen some photos of the door posted online, but didn't know it was "a thing."  He said it's a testament to the power of color and loves that it has become popular.

"There is a tendency to be 'safe' and use neutrals, which is reasonable, but in special houses such as this, where the architecture is so iconic, a color like this pink gives it that extra bit of je ne sais quoi to take it to where it needs to be," Esquenazi said.

"Pink is a happy and disarming color, so even before you walk in the house, you are already smiling and relaxed, which was what I wanted to feel when I went to that house."

Here are some of my favorite #thatpinkdoor online posts: