###

For the past two months, onlookers have watched Eureka’s prized Pink Lady Mansion undergo a dramatic transformation from pale to bubblegum pink, complete with fresh white trim and dark green accents. The paint project is a part of a six-year effort to revamp the 150-year-old Queen Anne Victorian, which rebranded as “The Pinc” shortly after Jacqueline Kretchmer took its helm in 2020. 

When The Pink Lady’s makeover first began in mid-May, the bold hue — “Coming Up Roses” by Sherwin Williams — drew ire from many Facebook commenters who thought the shade was “garish” and “gaudy,” an interesting critique given the colorful, opulent history of Victorian architecture. The negative comments didn’t deter Kretchmer and her son, Mario Jarak, who’s done all of the painting himself

“It was in a state of disrepair, and I think locals stopped seeing the house and stopped noticing it because it just wasn’t readable,” Jarak told the Outpost. “I immediately saw the difference between the local reaction and the reaction from all the tourists. Now, I see the same locals driving by every day, they smile and give me a thumbs up. It’s nice to see a smile on people’s faces as they drive by and look at the house; it makes it all really worth it.”

The Pink Lady is Jarak’s first major restoration project, though he’s been working in construction in one form or another since he was a teenager.

“My dad did commercial tiling in San Francisco, and all my all my close family and friends were all in construction,” he said. “I moved here three years ago, and I’ve been basically working on this project on and off for the last three years. … The house has needed paint for at least 10 years now, and it’s been in a state of disrepair. Frankly, we can’t afford to pay somebody to do a job like this, so that’s why I’m painting it. I don’t have much expertise in exterior painting, but I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about where to put the right colors and how to accentuate the details.”

If you look closely at the ornate details of the mansion, especially along the trim and gables, you’ll notice that some bits that were once white are now spotted with pink or darkened with green to improve contrast. 

“This building has thousands of intentionally carved details that were meant to be read from afar, and when you basically have an off-white with an off-white-pink it can be hard to make out the details,” he said, adding that he would have “gladly painted it a different color,” but thought it was important to honor the mansion’s history. “All that detail work needs to be [highlighted] because somebody spent hours and hours of their lives carving every little thing on there. I feel like the one way to pay homage to them is to highlight the best we we can.”

“Every day I’ve been enjoying it. I’ve been learning a lot about the house and about myself,” he laughed. “I feel like it’s been an amazing and unexpected experience, almost like my whole life has been leading up to this moment.”

Jarak will soon begin work on the porch, the final piece of the years-long project. Work is expected to wrap up in mid-September.

Keep scrolling for more picture of The Pink Lady. Jarak was kind enough to take this reporter up in the boom lift this morning to snap some photos and check out the freshly painted gutters. Check out that view!