Inspired by his favorite bar, a Missouri man spent 30 years covering his 3-bedroom home in mosaic tiles and funky art. Now, he’s putting it on the market for $499,900 — see inside.

The local haunt was known for its eclectic decor comprising statues, curios, and mosaic tiles, per photos found on the bar’s Facebook page.

“I wanted some land. I wanted a house that did not have any cosmetic work done to it,” Frank, a retiree-turned-artist, told Insider. “That’s why I bought this house — so I could turn it sort of into my favorite club.”

Although the exterior of the three-bedroom home is plain and unassuming, the rooms inside are filled with bright colors, funky patterns, and mosaic tiles.

Although he was living in the nearby town of Affton at that time, he would frequently go target-shooting with BB guns at a Legion hall in Fenton, Frank said.

“We used to pass by this house intentionally because the owner at the time collected tanks, Jeeps, and other military equipment,” he said. “He had a whole field of this stuff, and it was fascinating for us little kids to see that.”

After recording a few albums together, a hand injury prompted Frank to return briefly to St. Louis in the ’80s before he moved to Otto, Missouri, where he lived for eight years. 

“I happened to drive by this house and saw it was for sale,” Frank said. He immediately called his real-estate agent and scheduled an appointment to view the property.

“I knocked on the front door, and bizarrely enough, it was a good high school friend of mine that I hadn’t seen in years who owned the house.”

Frank ended up buying the 0.74-acre property from his friend in 1992, per property records.

“When I bought the house, it needed work — and that’s exactly what I wanted,” Frank said. “Especially the lower floor. The lower floor is done crazy and the upper floor is done normal. It’s a place, I guess, to rest your eyes before you go to bed.”

Nearly every wall in the house is painted a different color, and the floors are either covered in retro carpets or irregular-shaped mosaic tiles, photos show.

“Being around all those visual artists at Venice Cafe inspired me, so I had to become part of that in some way,” Frank said.

However, he only picked up the craft when he retired at the start of the pandemic in 2020.

“At the beginning, I owned a business and didn’t have time to devote to becoming a painter, so I learned Photoshop, I photographed, and I did digital art,” he added. “I always told myself that when I retire, I’m going to hit painting real hard, which is what I’ve done.”

“That’s the most extreme room in the house. I even have little wooden fish hanging from the ceiling on a fishing line, suspended in the air,” Frank said.

Frank learned how to install mosaic tiles from a local mosaic artist he met at the Venice Cafe, he said.

“She’s the one that started the mosaic in the house, and she’s been in every room. But I couldn’t afford to pay her all the time so I learned to do it myself,” Frank said.

“It probably took me the first 10 years of living here to complete it — we went through all of the mosaic work in different stages,” he added.

“The other owner of Venice Cafe was painting the bathroom door, and he died before he finished it,” Frank said.

And for the longest time, Frank left it that way.

“It was about 60% finished, and I finally completed it when I retired and started painting,” he added.

This is the first time that Frank is putting the house up for sale. The property first hit the market in mid-May for $524,900, before it was reduced to its current price in early June, according to the listing.

Houses in Fenton, Missouri, have a median listing home price of $349,900, per data from real-estate platform Realtor.com.

There are currently 128 single-family homes for sale in the area, with prices ranging from $80,000 to $829,377. The colorful mosaic home is in the mid-price range.

Azur Meskovic with Meskovic Realty Group holds the listing.

Although it’ll be hard for him to let go of the home, Frank knows that he’s getting on in age and the property will be difficult for him to manage in the future.

“I’m moving into that part of my life where this is going to be too much. It isn’t right now, but I want to make the move before it becomes too much,” he said.

And with arthritis, climbing the stairs every day is slowly turning into a challenge.

“I don’t want to fall out of the steps. I’ve seen that happen to too many old people. It ruins their lives, you know?” Frank added.

“Most of the time, there were eccentrics living here, and I certainly am one of them,” Frank said. “Hopefully, the next one will be too.”

Although Frank says that he’s prepared to let go of the home after having had 30 years of fun with it, he knows it’ll always have a special place in his heart.

“This house has a great soul to it. I lived here longer than anywhere else, and I enjoyed every moment of it,” he added. “In my history, this house will be the most important home I ever lived in.”