For $1.8M, trippy Raleigh townhouse ‘designed for Reality TV’ lands on Zillow Gone Wild
On the outside, the 3,358-square-foot townhouse looks like the others neatly lining Saint Mary’s Street in Raleigh’s Glenwood South.
Tall, understated with black-brick siding, white trim and wood accents, it’s a prime example of “modern urban” housing circa 2019.
But step inside, and it’s like being transported to a 1970s psychedelic disco: a kaleidoscope of changing colors and shapes in every room. Vibrant and trippy.
As someone commented on X, ’‘it’s like mid-century modern with some hippie hippie shake. Or if the B-52s were the love children of Astrud Gilberto & Frank Sinatra. Perfect.”
It’s designed “for a Reality TV show,” said another.
The four-story, attached home at 222 St. Mary’s St. in The Saint subdivision listed for $1.8 million in early November. It has two bedrooms, four bathrooms, a main-floor guest suite, two-car garage, gym, plus an elevator that “stops at every floor.”
Other highlights: A blue-and-lime-green kitchen with psychedelic-geometric wallpaper and hot-pink accents; a bathroom featuring a glossy-red vanity and walls lined with gold-mermaid scales; and a living room where black-and-white squiggles snake the walls.
“Every inch exudes style and opulence,” said listing agent Stacey Horowitz with Fonville Morisey/Stonehenge in Raleigh.
Zillow Gone Wild, the popular Instagram account that features the strangest and most eccentric homes listed on the real estate marketplace, also took notice.
“This Raleigh, NC townhouse is perfect inside. 1000/1000, no notes,” it posted to its X account Nov. 21. It’s already clocked more than 198,300 views since then. (It’s the second Triangle home featured on the account in recent weeks. A Chapel Hill home also recently appeared).
Based on comments, however, not everyone is convinced it’s turn-key ready.
“This wallpaper is a big nope for me. It’s blurry. I feel drunk,” said one commenter.
“This looks like the set of every Disney family show that my 10-year-old watches, while eating Cinnamon Toast Crunch before school every morning,” said another.
Others seemed more shocked by the price than the color palette.
“I didn’t know townhomes in NC sold for that much. Wild,” said a respondent. “It would cost twice that to redo that entire mess,” said another.
In ZIP code 27605, where the home is located, the median sale price (mid-point where half cost less and half cost more) was $404,000 in October, Redfin found — well below this townhome’s asking price.
The market is “very competitive,” according to the real estate platform. On average, homes sell after 22 days on the market compared to 48 days last year. There were 23 homes sold in October this year, up from 14 last year.
This story was originally published November 29, 2024 at 8:00 AM with the headline "For $1.8M, trippy Raleigh townhouse ‘designed for Reality TV’ lands on Zillow Gone Wild."
