The property’s owner Zipporah Lisle-Mainwaring took the extraordinary decision to give her home a novelty facelift after neighbours objected to plans to demolish it and so it could be replaced with a new house and two-storey basement.

The controversial plans were turned down by Kensington and Chelsea Council but given the green light on appeal.

Resident Saskia Moyle said: “The woman who owns it put in a planning application to go down two floors but it was rejected and now we think she’s trying to do this so the council is forced to demolish it.

“She wants to demolish it and re-build it which would take about six years and that will be a nightmare. It will apparently be worth £25million but that seems slightly unnecessary.”

Other neighbours have vowed to fight the plans and have launched an appeal at the High Court.

However, the stunt appears to be having the desired effect as residents in the quiet cul-de-sac in one of London’s richest neighbourhoods, have said they are being driven “mad” by the colourful redesign.

Ms Moyle, 18, who lives across the road with her father, said she was shocked to come home one night to discover men up ladders painting the house.

“I went out for dinner one evening about a month ago and when I came back there were people on ladders painting it,” she said.

“They didn’t finish one of the stripes because as soon as I arrived they got off the ladders and left.

“I don’t think it belongs here. It kind of glows in the evening. It’s fluorescent. And the half finished stripe is driving me mad. It drives me insane.”

She added: “It’s very fluorescent and very garish. Without sounding very pretentious it isn’t very Kensington. It’s more Camden or something like that.”

Asked if she liked the new design or thought the house was a tacky monstrosity, she laughed and added: “I think tacky monstrosity, we all hate it.”

According to planning documents on the council website, the owner wants to demolish the building and replace it with a five-storey home, which would include a two-storey basement.

But the drastic plans sparked a flurry of complaints from neighbours.

Another neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, branded the paint job “horrendous”.

She said: “It’s between unbelievably hideous and very funny. I think it’s horrendous.”

“It’s funny but it’s probably not the nicest gesture. It’s kind of a ‘piss off’ I think.

“Architecturally it doesn’t belong here. It is pretty hideous.”

The woman said plans to expand the townhouse in the pretty, cobbled, west London street are hugely unpopular with neighbours.

And she believes the distinctive paint job is a provocative gesture which has riled neighbours.

She said: “I obviously don’t want anyone to dig down with all the builders, it would be a living hell.

“I work from home and so am here all day.

“Clearly we don’t have enough billionaires in the area - we need more.”

One neighbour, who asked to remain anonymous, said: “It doesn’t really disturb me that much. There are some people who are upset, but I can’t imagine it being very permanent.”

A council spokesman said the painting of a building does not require planning permission.