What people get up to in the privacy of their own homes is of course their business – but sometimes a peek is afforded when the door is nudged ajar.
It could be because the house is being put up for sale, or maybe its secrets have been shared on social media.
Whatever the reason, what is found behind closed doors can sometimes beggar belief. While we are all too familiar with the sad stories of hoarders who amass objects to the extent that their homes become a hazard to themselves and a nuisance to their neighbours, these examples are more to do with people whose homes have become a shrine to their private passions.
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The Blockbuster store
Back in October, the ECHO visited the Wavertree home of a man who has dedicated his life to collecting and preserving VHS tapes.
The Mayor, as he prefers to be known, has even recreated an old Blockbuster video store in one of the rooms of the substantial property.
Shelves are stacked from floor to ceiling with movies on VHS, dating from the very dawn of the home video era in the late 1970s.
Many of the titles are extremely rare after they were withdrawn because of copyright issues.
They include highly sought-after “pre-certs” – referring to the period in the early days of VHS tape when they did not require a certificate from the BBFC (British Board of Film Classification).
This all changed following the “video nasty” moral panic of the early 1980s, when the market was flooded by cheaply made, gory horror films which anyone could buy or rent. Later, videos had to be given a certificate in the same way that cinema releases were.
The Mayor said: “I’m always building it and building it. It’s a a full time occupation and I travel all over the country to get video collections.”
He is now hoping to create a film museum where he can display his collection to the public, and also organise film screenings and events.
The personal library
When estate agents visited a three storey detached family home which had become vacant on Hartington Road in Toxteth earlier this year, they were astonished by what they found.
Every room in the house was filled with books, testament to the previous owner’s passion for collecting.
Although the size of the property – including four bedrooms and two reception rooms – masked the problem to some extent, it was clear from the pictures this was a habit which had spun out of control by the time the house came on the market.
(Image: Revive Sales and Lettings (revivesalesandlettings.co.uk))
While some of the volumes were housed on shelves, many others were stacked on the floor, making it impossible to cross from one end of the room to the other.
Even the bath was completely surrounded by books piled high, threatening to come down like an avalanche if disturbed.
(Image: Revive Sales and Lettings (revivesalesandlettings.co.uk))
Listed to be sold “as seen” at auction with a guide price of £125,000, the house finally sold for an impressive £213,000.
The model of Lime Street railway station in wartime
A stunning recreation of how Liverpool Lime Street station looked in the 1940s was stumbled on by chance by a visitor.
The detailed, intricate model included not just the station, but the surrounding streets and tenement buildings, and even featured tannoy announcements.
The model filled the entire extension of a house and was painstakingly built up over a period of more than 30 years by Southport-born John Holden. The 69-year-old based the model on his memories of visiting Lime Street station in the 1940s with his mum.
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It was discovered at Mr Holden’s home in Lytham St Annes on the Fylde coast in 2016 by Miranda Lyons, who works for a firm which fits energy-efficient LED light bulbs for customers.
With the permission of Mr Holden, she posted a video of the extraordinary station model online.
An awestruck Miranda can be heard on the video saying: “It’s such an honour to see this, it really is… it’s fab. I can’t believe the scale of it.”
The home which is a 90s time capsule
A mum-of-two transformed her rental property in a wacky home inspired by the 1990s.
Natasha McBrinn who lives in Ormskirk hates the colour grey and when her family moved into the property it had a neutral colour scheme of cream and white.
With her landlord being a family friend, she has been able to let her creativity loose creating a colourful home based by 1990s TV shows.
Inspired by the shows of her childhood, including Saved By The Bell, Rugrats, and Friends, Tasha, 30, takes colours that she thinks resembles the series and goes to town in painting designs around her home.
(Image: @prettypocketprojects)
The family home boasts a rainbow of bright colours, including a purple kitchen, yellow living room, and a pink patterned landing.
There’s also use of black and white checker board and pinstripe prints for contrast.
Tasha said: “I’m obsessed with colour – I’ve probably used every colour there is, bar grey, we just don’t gel!”
She shares her progress to her Instagram account – @prettypocketprojects – where brands will send her items for free due to her large following.
The flat covered in vivid murals
Concealed behind the facade of an unremarkable looking property in Oxton, Wirral, there stood an interior like no other.
Unbeknown to everyone, Ron Gittins – a talented though unrecognised artist – had transformed his ground floor rented flat into his very own highly ornate classical “villa.”
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It was only after the death of Ron Gittins in September 2019 that the wonders within were
finally revealed to the outside world
.
Fuelled by his obsession with ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome, Ron had decorated virtually every surface with murals of historical scenes, along with three stunning concrete fireplace sculptures of a roaring lion, a bull and what appears to be a temple.
(Image: Andrew Teebay/Liverpool Echo)
Before his death at the age of 79, Ron was well-known in his local community for eccentric behaviour. This included walking along the streets dressed in a series of homemade military costumes, pushing an old-fashioned pram filled with the bags of cement he used to build his gigantic fireplaces.
At the end of his life, Ron cooked on a camping stove and is thought to have slept in a sleeping bag in the hall.
He had water and electricity but no gas – and consequently no central heating – because he wouldn’t allow his landlord inside to make repairs in case he ended up having to leave his home.
A community land trust has now been set up to raise funds to preserve the flat and hold workshops there to inspire other budding artists.
Do you have or know of anybody that has an extraordinary home which could be shared with the ECHO? If so, please message alan.weston@reachplc.com
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