Local offbeat homes on TV

It takes a certain confidence to plant bouncy ponies in one's front yard. To install a ginormous coffee mug out back. And oh, to stud the garage/art studio with dozens of hub caps.

But of course this is what L. Kelly Lyles has done, transforming what had already been a quirky 1920s West Seattle house into something even zanier. And why not? There's nothing subtle about Lyles, an artist who paints portraits of hamsters and cats only to frame said portraits in fake fur.

She's also a flame-haired woman who drives that wild "leopard" car about town. You've probably seen it. Old Subaru. Painted leopard spots. Feline figurines roaming the car's front, roof and dash.

And so Lyles' house is her perfect complement. Unconventional. Wild. A must-see destination for looky loos.

And that's the premise behind "What's With That House?," currently airing on HGTV, which is highlighting nine Seattle-area homes over the next several months.

Some houses are so beyond-the-norm that you can't help but stare.

George Gray, the show's host, explains: "You're driving down a neighborhood street and all of a sudden, you slam your brakes and you turn your head like a dog that's just heard a whistle."

You mutter: What's with that house?

Which is what Leilani McCoy used to say whenever she drove past a certain super-skinny gray house in Lakewood, an area just south of Seattle's Mount Baker neighborhood.

The 1,470-square foot house stands three stories.

"And I'd think, 'Who would ever want to live in that house?' " McCoy recalls.

Of course, upon setting foot inside the house she had a change of heart, what with its Lake Washington views and its five decks. She and husband Bob Purnell bought the house and moved in. And what was once dismissed as "stupid" is anything but. McCoy likens life in the residence to living in a treehouse.

"What's With That House?" premiered just two months ago but it's already been picked up for a second 26-episode season. Three houses are profiled in each half-hour segment that can best be described as wacky TV.

That the spotlight over the next several months falls upon nine local houses — seven Seattle houses; one in Bellevue; and one in Bellingham — was happenstance. Then again, maybe we're just weird. Or, bold.

"We didn't have a goal that we wanted to draw attention to ourselves," explains homeowner Frank Firmani. "But we weren't shy about building something that would look different."

Firmani and wife Cindy's house is a contemporary marvel in North Beach. A 38-foot aluminum bridge leads to the front door. Frank Firmani spent a lot of time living in San Francisco so when it came time to picking out a color for his house, he wanted something that resembled the hue of the Golden Gate Bridge. Thus the house's muted orange-red.

The house, viewed from the road, is a jaw-dropper. It only gets better once you're inside.

The Firmani house, designed by Seattle's E. Cobb Architects, is profiled in a segment airing Wednesday at 11 p.m. The segment repeats at various other times through the end of the month.

Airdates for the segments that include all the other local houses have not yet been finalized.

Florangela Davila: 206-464-2916 or fdavila@seattletimes.com