
Welcome to Wisconsin Barbie's Dream House: A Hudson Short-Term Rental Lists at $1.1 Million
Reddit's responses to this Hudson, Wisconsin listing covered the full spectrum in rapid succession: "semi haunted, sometimes goth, tacky Barbie mess" from someone whose favorite color is actually pink; "I love it for those exact reasons, my favorite room is the sexy red room with the tub"; and "I'm cringing at all that original woodwork just gobbed over with thick pink paint." The property is a 7-bedroom, 6,051-square-foot Victorian one block from downtown Hudson, listed at $1,100,000, currently operating as a top-performing HGTV-featured short-term rental. The woodwork has indeed been painted pink.
The Property
The Victorian spans multiple levels with seven bedrooms, four bathrooms, two full kitchens, two statement staircases, original built-in cabinetry, fireplaces, formal and informal dining spaces, and a dedicated movie room. The owner's suite has an en-suite bath, walk-in closet, and laundry. Outside, a 26-by-55-foot concrete patio accommodates a hot tub and a 14-foot swim spa, with room for 12 vehicles in the dedicated driveway plus a two-car garage. The property is fully fenced with ambient café lighting, outdoor dining, and yard space for groups — all designed with bachelor and bachelorette parties and group getaways in mind, which is the hospitality category that has driven the property's national profile. The listing notes it has been featured on HGTV, Delta Air Lines media channels, and numerous national and streaming platforms. The pink paint is throughout. The sexy red room with the tub is on a different floor and operates in a different aesthetic register entirely, which the commenter correctly identified as their favorite part.
The Woodwork Question — and the Investment Case
The Reddit commenter cringing at the original woodwork painted pink was reacting to an irreversible-feeling design choice that Victorian preservation enthusiasts find genuinely painful. The paint is thick. The woodwork underneath — the built-ins, the staircases, the original millwork — is documented in the listing as a feature while simultaneously being buried under the STR aesthetic that made the property famous. Whether a future owner strips it or leans further into the pink is the central question this listing poses. The investment case is straightforward regardless of paint preferences: one block from historic downtown Hudson and the St. Croix River, 30 minutes from Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, with proven rental income and national brand recognition built over years of operation. The listing suggests it could continue as a rental, be reconfigured as a duplex, or be converted back to a single-family home. The woodwork is under there somewhere.
The Internet Has Thoughts
Naturally, this listing caught the attention of Reddit's r/zillowgonewild community. See what people are saying about it here.
Pink throughout, a red room with a tub, HGTV-featured, two statement staircases, and original woodwork somewhere underneath. $1,100,000. View the full listing here.














