DOOR: More than mere functionality, it is the main ornament of your facade!
- Adriely Salvador
- Aug 6, 2024
- 12 min read
Updated: Nov 26, 2024
In many cultures, especially the european, beauty is highly valued in every corner of cities and homes. It is common to see lots of identity in traditional architecture through sculptures, ornaments of all sizes, in public equipment, in the cultivation of plants, landscaping in constant maintenance, in striking colors... everything to add beauty and charm related to the tradition of those who are there dwells.
Now speaking generally, when it comes to houses, it is not uncommon to see everything as merely functional, neglecting style, beauty and even clarity. We know that in many regions and/or cultures, residents have many social limitations in providing all of this to their homes, so we will not focus on these cases, but rather those in which people, maybe even you, have possibilities and are looking for ideas to give a special touch of personality to your facade, and in many cases, it is possible to invest in just one special element to completely transform your facade into something beautiful, unique, inviting and welcoming.
And what element is this? The door. Yes, our good old everyday door must stop being just a simple functional object and become a true home portal, full of beauty and personality, with the power to welcome each resident upon arriving home, each visitor and/or passers-by who glance at her or as they passes by and feel the charm of her little place of living.
A stylish door can be so special in awakening good feelings in us that it can also awaken us to a simple but important reflection that is still missing in us:
"A facade, especially one equipped with a beautiful door with true shape, style, proportion, color and richness of details, has the power to invite us to appreciate beauty in general. When we appreciate beauty, we are inspired to use it in our living, inspiring not only those who live with us in the same home, but also those who live around it. Once a house full of traditional beauty is located in a given community, it can inspire other members of that community to also enjoy beauty, and thus we managed to expand the cult of beauty beyond our private universe, adding value and nobility to our society."
Sounded cool, right? But it's not uncommon to hear in response things like "oh, not everyone has time to think about these things, money to spend on expensive materials and labor and the willingness to keep maintaining them". I agree, but isn't it interesting that most people who think this way don't have a good quality of life on some level? Are they always rushing or paralyzing and, worse, hate being at home? Or when they do, they tend to have a more toxic way of staying, especially in the bedroom, as if there was nothing to appreciate inside the house itself? It's not normal to hate staying at home! It's not normal to neglect your own home! Where is our sense of deep well-being and communion with our being? Our home is our temple! It's not for nothing that I use this expression as a slogan, because a true home must serve and welcome us.
If we don't become aware of this and don't dedicate efforts to building comfort where we live as much as possible, where will this come from? Until when we live like zombies in our own home, without the slightest sense of presence and awareness about the space we inhabit, about our identity and the energy imprinted in it?
May we start small, no matter if it's through a simple relocation of a potted plant or the installation of a new and beautiful door. Our point here is the sense of whimsy, the notion of beauty, organization and well-being through our home that must always be maintained and practiced for our well-being!
Ok, now without further ado, I'm going to show you some door models and talk about each one and the contexts in which they are composed so that we understand how much beauty and value they can add to us!
I'm in love with this door. Every time people talk about traditional style doors, she is the first one that comes to mind, as it was enchanting at first sight on a visit to the city of Volendam, in Netherlands. And why would that be? Well, throughout the article you will realize that I am crazy about doors, but not only because of that, this door is truly wonderful due to the mix of materials in its construction, the preservation of the natural color of the wood and the compositional elements in its composition surroundings.
A small glass panel so that it is possible to see anyone arriving and for natural light to enter makes a difference in a door. The cast iron adornment not only provides security due to the fragility of the glass, but mainly due to the beauty of how it was made and the black color to highlight the wood. Wonderful!
And look how big a difference it makes just a little bit of flowers that you insert into the context of your facade and the covering with typical bricks! The door is completed within a harmonic composition. It looks even more traditional, friendly and inviting! Yes, she calls us to admire her and value what is beautiful! After all, wouldn't you feel like calling the resident to open it and being invited to come in and have a cup of coffee? hahahaha jargon aside, I would!
This one is next door to the first one. Also beautiful and charming! Its context is very similar to the first, as the place is a village of small houses side by side, where they differ most due to the doors and particular elements of each one such as steps, plants, supports and lamps.
It is painted in black with a glossy finish, an option also full of personality and highlighted with the artistically crafted cast iron ornament in an aged golden tone. Wonderful!
And here is an image that illustrates part of the layout of this village, in which we can see more than one door. What a beautiful thing! The gardens are always well maintained (the weather helps!) enhance the beauty of each facade and highlight the beauty of each door.
This one, like the first one, also had its natural wood color preserved, but is darker, also beautiful when combined with the black cast iron ornament and translucent glass. It makes you want to come and live!!
And this cutest little thing here? It was also enchanting at first sight, when my husband and I were walking through the beautiful alleys of Ghent, Belgium, a medieval city rich in architecture, greenery and beauty. I love the city for the wonderful feeling of peace and warmth that it always gives me.
See how a door doesn't always need to be the newest and best carved to be beautiful and highlight the facade of a house. If the one in the photo isn't like that, what makes it so special? Color, my dears! A strong point of color on the facade is transformative!
In addition to all the touch of whimsy and personality in the most modest modality (note the elements of the context and see how we don't necessarily need luxury to make something beautiful and original: plants and wooden stakes as support), don't be afraid of the beautiful vibrant colors! They have A LOT of power when it comes to bringing personality and youthfulness to an environment.
So consider, if this is your case, the possibility of giving your facade a new look if you are unable or unwilling to carry out major and more laborious interventions. A few coats of paint in that neat color is a guaranteed success!
Look how beautiful this building is! Also located in Ghent, it has a double staircase, covered with (of course!) many flowers, converging to a simple and beautiful medieval door, with another one below following the same style.
Both in wood, with a rounded top stop and artistically carved side stop, painted in a soft and striking shade of green, perfect for harmonizing in more romantic compositions, where flowers and light tones are used a lot in other materials.
Another door from Ghent! This one no longer follows the medieval line, but it doesn't deviate from the traditional.
Its model is richly crafted in details in tobacco tone wood, aged metal lock and handle and upper glass for natural light. A basic cleaning and touch-up of matte colorless varnish would be enough to bring it back to life. Beautiful!
And here begins the appearance of the crazy woman with the doors! And how could you pass up a work of art like that painted in red?! Never!
This door is on one of the facades of the Church of Our Lady in the city of Brugge, also in Belgium. Note that there is nothing far-fetched. It is also a simple medieval door, but highlighted by color (and what color!). Red is one of the most used colors to highlight doors! Use without moderation!
And what a perfect combo this is for someone who is crazy about doors and crazy about cats too, right? Hahahaha
This door is in a building also located in Brugge. As I love kittens and I melt with every one I see around, and considering that on european streets it's impossible to bump into them like that, I grabbed this opportunity to photograph a beautiful kitten sitting in front of a beautiful medieval door as a prize!
Another simple and charming composition! The combination of the rusticity of the tobacco wood on the door and the bricks on the facade with the green of the plants and shades of matte black in the vases is a perfect trio in this jazz bar.
Look at t-h-i-s!!! It's the facade of a restaurant. Simple, charming, cozy and equipped with a beautiful and traditional glossy black cast iron door. The gold in the metal details and the green of the climbing plants complement the rich composition!
It's beauty that never ends! Brugge really is a charming city. The land of chocolate, rich in beauty and architecture! Let's continue with your sequence of beautiful doors!
This wider one, in a very dark and matte brown tone, with translucent upper glass and an ornate frame in raw concrete. As a complement to the composition, we have two varieties of bricks, a wooden support for a climbing plant, typical of a legitimate european facade, and more plants on the right. A beauty!
The RICH simplicity in this composition enchants me every time. It's just a door, but the way the wood was arranged in its construction and the vibrant green as a key touch, guys...
D-O-E-S-N'-T fail!!
And that cast iron handle? The richness is in the details. The obvious, because it is obvious, often ends up neglected. Take an obvious and essential function and give it a touch of beauty through shape, material or color and you will have a true and unique identity, beautiful and inviting.
Ok, that's right. Boiseries, a little lion on the door knocker in aged gold on the green background... beautiful! And more bricks, more plants, cachepots... there's no way around it, it's just success!
Oh, here she is again! The crazy lady with the doors had a party in Brugge! Here we are talking about a villa in Minnewater Park, in the heart of Brugge. A huge park full of nature to contemplate and recharge your batteries.
In this facade we once again have the combination of basic elements of traditional architecture such as bricks, wood and plants, with emphasis on the blue of the frames. Only color. A point of color to make all the difference in something so simple and beautiful.
"Oh! I found a door painted white! But just white, a color so used and boring. Where's the highlight of that?" Maybe you thought that, or you think that white is not a color with standout potential. I would even say yes, but the answer is: it depends! "What do we have around? What are the other materials and elements in the composition of this facade?"
As with any intervention, these are basic questions that we must always ask ourselves and take the answers into consideration when planning and executing any change. Let's see again that it's not about the need for luxury, extravagance or exclusive materials to achieve a good result, but just about having a sense of beauty and harmony. When we have this notion, it becomes easier to attribute value to what is commonly despised due to lack of vision and see beauty where we least imagine it and use all of this to our advantage!
This is the third facade of this same village, and I photographed because of this shade of green, which always catches my attention when used on doors and walls. And we've already seen that the composition with the black cast iron grille and translucent glass is a great success, so we can only admire it!
And here to close the sequence of doors in Brugge, another example that modesty and beauty can and should go together! No extravagance, no high investment in materials, just care and care for the resident. Plants arranged in a simple and welcoming way and a shade of baby blue in the frames. Even the incorporation of the lower weathering into the smooth cladding into the facade composition was successful, albeit modest. It's all a matter of look and whim, friends.
Let's now go to the city of Antwerp (and give it Belgium! hahahaha). I love this city. In my short stays there I developed a very special corner for her in my heart, due to all the beauty present in its center, coffees and croissants :D
These facades are on one of the most charming streets there, Tolstraat. I saw a sequence of beautiful compositions and lots of green, and this facade with baby pink frames caught my attention due to the delicacy and details of the tone and the boiseries of the door.
This one is simply perfection. "Oh, but the wood is worn out!", yes, but it's still beautiful when combined with all the rusticity, however, it is clear that revitalizing this wood or even replacing it at some point will be necessary.
Now let's look at the elements: here we don't have cast iron to reinforce security or add aesthetics to the door, but I believe that because it is a commercial establishment (by the way, an architecture and landscaping office) they preferred to preserve visibility and provide more clarity to the business.
Plants are a prominent element of this project, and we already know how much they add value to doors.
Look at that brand new medieval door!! With a facade of cold shades in raw concrete and silver metals, the blue stood out without escaping the temperature. It worked very well!
To close the sequence of doors in Antwerp, look at the grandeur of this one! This medieval door has its natural wood tone very well preserved with the aged gold metals highlighting this tone even more. With a rounded top stop to create a model, it stands out even more thanks to the light-colored bricks on the facade, which make the facade shine all on its own.
Here we go for fun! We don't see much clarity regarding this lady's role here, but I put her here to illustrate how we are also not prevented from being playful if we decide to use our beloved doors, especially if we are talking about some commercial establishment in the field of creativity and/or that be located in large urban centers with a large young audience for photographic entertainment purposes, for example. Film and Quentin Tarantino lovers will never be distracted by this darling.
It is in the center of Amsterdam, a city full of life and wonderful energy, youthfulness, movement and also, of course, lots of tradition, plants, good food and beautiful architecture!
Now we will take a flight from Netherlands and Belgium directly to the Middle East, more precisely in Larnaka, Cyprus. Jeez! Yes, a country that is a modest little island, but full of history printed in its landscape and architecture in the middle of the Mediterranean (how delicious!). Oh, piled high with kittens everywhere, it's not hard to imagine how I looked at such a feast hahahahaha I loved it so much!
Look at this work of art here. The building, until then, was empty and out in the open, but this precious thing did not go unnoticed by me, despite the lack of maintenance. Maintained in the tone of natural wood, with cast iron work, aged gold metals and black painted concrete frame, which gave a beautiful highlight in conjunction with the surroundings suffered due to the action of time and with the soothing touch of flowerish vegetation next door.
Beauty is in everything, there's no way not to fall in love!
And to close, of course, the crazy lady with the doors is present in this outcome, showing this beautiful work with cast iron painted in the same soft shade of blue as the door, perfectly adorned with the earthy yellow tone as a frame, generating a lot of harmony and identity. Earthy tones are very present in the region's landscape in general, as an allusion to traditional desert and/or historical characteristics.
Well, cuties, that's all I had to explore about doors for today. I'm passionate about them and I photograph them wherever I go, because they are the elements that say "hi" to us, that call us and welcome us, but that also, when not taken into consideration, are done anyway and/or without thinking or positioned in a more hidden way, they also tell us "what are you looking at?", "I'm sorry for not doing my job well" or even "pretend I'm not here, go away!".
It's like I mentioned in the first article on this blog: our house communicates, it's OUR reflex. So we always need to be aware of what we are communicating and make sure that it is happening in accordance with our objectives always!
Kisses and see you in the next article!
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