Fed up Notting Hill residents have painted their famous colourful houses black – to try and stop “rude” tourists and influencers from posing outside.
Homeowners on Lancaster Road – located just metres away from Portobello Road Market in west London – say they are constantly swamped with people taking photos in front of their properties.
They claim influencers stand right outside their doors to get the perfect shot – with some even undergoing multiple outfit changes.
Meanwhile, brazen tourists will enjoy lunchtime picnics on their doorsteps, they say – often peering through windows and “forgetting that people actually live there”.
As a result, three houses on the road have ditched their previous bright exterior – in the hopes that black walls are “less Instagrammable” – and will therefore stop people coming there.
A ‘quiet zone’ sign has also been put up – and one property further down the street has even strung a rope across their front steps.
One resident, who did not want to be named, said: “My family moved in about a month ago and the previous owner painted it black just before because they were fed-up with how many people stop out front.
“It gets crazy. People get on the steps and take loads of photos. On the weekends, there can be hundreds of people.
“It’s not Londoners – it’s mainly tourists. But it just gets stressful. I know my parents hate it.
“The hope with the black houses is that it’s less picturesque. They basically want to attract less attention.”
Another resident, who also wished to anonymous, said: “Our house was actually originally black and the others weren’t.
“But the other two decided to join us a couple months ago as we all agree that black houses don’t look good on social media.
“I understand why people take photos – because of how it looks – but it just gets so packed.
“We can have hundreds of people on the street at once and it’s a residential road – we’re not able to cater to tourists.
“I think people just forget that people live here. So the hope with painting the houses black is that tourists will relax a bit.
“It’s been working a little bit so far, to be fair.”
The resident said he didn’t expect the remaining houses on the street to also ditch their colourful paint – but said it might be necessary if the problem continues.
He said: “We obviously want our neighbours to do whatever they want, but if this doesn’t work, and we all have to go one colour to get it to stop, then hopefully as a street we can join together and do that.”
A resident in the third black house did not want to talk today (Weds) – explaining that the point of the colour change had been to “get rid of the attention” and “not draw more people here”.
Meanwhile, other homeowners explained that they had previously painted their houses more neutral colours – also in the hope of becoming less appealing to tourists and influencers.
George Hencken, who has lived in Notting Hill for 29 years, said: “Our home used to be pink but we painted it grey around seven years ago.
“The point was to be an unphotogenic colour.
“But the thing is, and something those who have painted their homes black will soon find out, is that even if people aren’t using their house as a photo backdrop – they’ll still be here.
“They’ll be having their picnic lunch in their doorway, sheltering outside when it’s raining, and even changing outfit on their front steps.
“And Instagram and TikTok are having this effect all over the world. I know that there’s a cafe in Japan, with a backdrop of Mount Fuji, which has had to close because of it.
“And over the years I’ve only had one tourist say to me, ‘You must get so sick of it’.
“With lots of the others – there’s just this sense of arrogance and entitlement.”
Ms Hencken explained that what frustrated her most was that none of the tourists or influencers seemed to have any idea of Notting Hill’s history.
She said: “This area used to be a proud rebel corner in west London. Yes, there are expensive houses, but this street also has a lot of social housing.
“They don’t know the history.
“Ever since Richard Curtis made that stupid film every American banker or rich guy from Switzerland who spends a few months here, when asked where they want to live, says: ‘Oh, my wife likes that film.’
“It’s changing the area. Our doorsteps used to be social places. We’d sit out here and chat to friends and neighbours.
“But now you can’t do that. If you do, any random person thinks they can come and sit here too.”
Another local, whose home is beige, also thought the colour would ward people off – but found the most effective thing is placing a rope in front of his steps.
He said: “Our home is beige so it’s not as bad as some of the more colourful ones – but the most effective thing is these straps we have now.
“I know the green house has seen a huge drop since putting theirs there.
“Because it does get ridiculous. Before, we had people posing on our steps – which obviously set my dog off.
“They’d even have picnics there. It’s just rude.
“With Instagrammers, it’s always the same kind of people. You can spot them. Lots of Italians – which I can because I’m Italian.
“As for the tourists, I mean, it’s the people are coming here for pretty photos instead of going somewhere of note. They’re not going to the British Museum.”
Two tourists who were on Lancaster Road today were Clancy Carroll and Georgia Densley, who were visiting London from Australia.
They said the decision to paint the houses black was “a downer”.
They said: “I mean people are drawn here because of the street being iconic and colourful, right?
“It’s a tourist spot and surely tourism is good for the local economy. It’s a bit of a downer to paint the houses black. We’re not fans of that.
“But to be honest, it probably won’t work. If the rest are still colourful, people will come here – and if they all paint their homes black, it will become: ‘Let’s go see the street of all black houses’.
“It hasn’t stopped us.” ENDS
