What it’s like to live in one of the most Instagrammed houses in Wales

David Owens

A quick Google search for the most Instagrammed places on the planet returns some obvious answers – Disneyland, Eiffel Tower, Big Ben, Pyramids, Times Square, Berlin Wall, and the Las Vega Strip, for starters.

But by the sound of it, Eleri Morgan’s house in Cardiff could soon join that elite list.

In a post on social media, the writer and comedian, revealed the bizarre situations she’s found herself in since painting her home pink – overnight transforming a property that is now like a moth to a flame for Instagram influencers.

“This is my house. I painted it bright pink and I love it,” she wrote. “My only problem is that influencers keep taking photos in front of it. Today I had to sit and wait in my car for 10 minutes until two women finished up fake laughing at a camera.”

The colourful terraced house, which Eleri has owned since 2018 was painted pink during the first lockdown last year. Since then she’s had a steady stream of people wanting a picture outside her home.

“One was fake leaving my house as if she was stepping out the front door – while I pretended not to exist,” she posted.

Mini Tenby

So why did she decide to give her abode a colourful makeover and what it’s like to own a home beloved of Instagram influencers pretending they live in her house? Luckily, she was happy to tell me.

“After years of renting it felt like I was finally allowed to be creative and have fun,” she says. “Also pink is just a really nice, fun, strong colour.
“The neighbours love it. When we were painting it we had lots of people coming over to tell us how much they like it.”

It appears the 32-year-old’s striking pink project has inspired her neighbours to give their own homes eye-catching paint jobs.

“Since we did ours, some of the other houses on the street have started painting theirs,” says Eleri. “So far we have a blue and a teal, but two houses let the whole street down by opting for grey. Gross.”

If the comedian gets her way the whole street may well soon be flooded with Instagram influencers, if it ends up resembling another colourful Welsh location, that is.

“I heard last week the house two doors down might go orange. My dream is for our street to look like a mini Tenby,” she laughs.

The street already sounds like one of the most eye-catching areas in the Welsh capital.

“My house went viral a few months ago when the Queer Emporium, an amazing new business thats just opened in Cardiff, instagrammed my house because, along with the two houses next to me we make up the trans flag – pink, blue and yellow,” she explains. “It wasn’t intentional, but I’m always pleased to be an ally.”

She admits that when it comes to those beloved of using Instagram snapping her house, she’s sanguine about the whole experience.

“The house isn’t overwhelmed by influencers, but it’s always slightly odd and awkward when I catch them at it,” she says. “But hey, crack on. Everyone needs a hobby. And it’s flattering that they think my house is photo-worthy.”

As for those unexpected and unintentional encounters with those clutching their smartphones.

“At least a couple times a week I turn up when someone is pretending to leave my house via the front door for a photo, or leaning against my drain pipe looking coquettish,” she says. “They usually just giggle and hurry off looking sheepish when I turn up.

“It’s your classic Instagram in the wild stuff. Jumping off the doorstep, making it look like they’ve just stepped out the front door, lots of pointing at the paint and looking surprised. It’s very ‘White girls instagram’, she laughs.

“It’s been increasing since restrictions have been lifted, but it’s really not that much of a bother. It’s not like we’re the tulip fields in Amsterdam.”

Eleri’s home will only embolden its burgeoning reputation further when it appears on our TV screens.

“My house has already paid for its paint job when it was used for a S4C sitcom ‘Jam’, which is out soon,” she points out.

“It played the part of house that a gay couple live in, which is lush.”

As for the future, Eleri won’t be turning down the brightness on her home anytime soon to deter those pesky Instagrammers.

“No, I love my pink house. I’m happy every time I see it,” she says. “Especially when I remember what it used to look like – orange and brown and white pebbledash.”

You can see Eleri performing when she and fellow stand ups, Priya Hall and Sarah Breese take up the reigns of the relaunched Drones Comedy Club at Chapter Arts Centre in Cardiff on Friday, September 3.