Framing a Doorway Gracefully

I always frame the entryway to Dove Cottage in some interesting and inviting way.  The entry to your home is the first impression, and it should not only be inviting, but establish a certain curiosity and mystique about what's beyond the door.  Right now, while you still have time to address it before the holiday season, make an objective assessment of your own front doorway, and ask yourself:  Does my entry welcome my friends and show them the joy in my heart, and how happy I am to have them visit?

I've also framed interior doorways with architectural elements in almost every place I've lived.  It gives a feeling of welcoming delineation to the transition between your living space and juxtaposed areas such as bedrooms or guestrooms.

This photo was my original inspiration in a home in South Florida in the early '80s, and I used it to inspire a similar installation in every one of J's and my homes, as well as in decorating homes for clients.  For some reason I have the photo of the inspiration and can't find my and J's photos.  I think sometimes photos must accompany socks into Neverland.  Or follow husbands into divorce.  Oh, well.  We do tend to lose photos, don't we?



Study the photo below and you'll see a proportionate doorway frame in Dove Cottage.  Note the two pieces in this application are actually different woods.  The lower oak piece you'll have to imagine upside down.  It's a mirror frame for the swivel mirror to an antique washstand.  I rescued it from the throw away pile when I was decorating for Don and Joyce Wyckoff.  I guess somewhere along the way the mirror broke, or the washstand was needed without it, and the Wyckoffs no longer found the piece useful.  I certainly did!  It could have just as easily been used around a small fireplace with a mantle piece added.  So Don and Joyce welcomed me to take it and tickle my imagination with it.  They were pleasantly surprised to see it in use in Dove Cottage.

The second piece -- the cherry arch, is from a broken butler's table that graced one of my family rooms somewhere in time. The table was broken and sent to the thrift store, but for some reason this piece was either accidentally or intentionally (I don't remember which) left behind. 

There's a definite color difference between the two woods, and I've contemplated painting them so they look more like one piece, but it's a project I've put on the back burner because once wood is painted, it's not easy to get it back to it's original state.

But without looking up close, the two blend together pleasantly.
 

There are many creative things you can do to frame a doorway.  I've taken large artwork frames as wide as the doorway, cut off one of the longer sides and finished the two cut areas with coordinating paint.  There are many corbels and crowns available at salvage yards and thrift stores.  Beautiful demi-lune wreaths can also work, with the half-moon wall inside the wreath opening painted a color to match the florals in the wreath, contrasting to the rest of the wall.  Look  in you storage shed, barn or garage, then use your imagination and you'll be surprised how many things you'll see that you could turn into a doorway frame.

I may have failed to mention that I lived in Dove Cottage for several months before I realized I'd probably been attracted to it because of it's Jueng Fui.  The front door faces due East, and when you walk in, you can see all the way through and into the West side woods through the window in the back.  It gives a sense of completeness.  Polar opposites are as important in decorating as they are in all aspects of your life.  It's commonly referred to as balance.

 
With that in mind, I've decided my next post will be about the POLAR OPPOSITES of decorating.  It's something they don't teach you on TV, because really good decorators and designers feel it naturally.   It would be akin to an artist trying to explain to you why he puts his next paint stroke in exactly that spot.  Like the artist, a designer's knowing where to apply the brush strokes is the difference between really good design and text book decorating.  It's not something I can completely teach, because it's more instinctual, but you'll certainly find the concept interesting!

I'll also be sharing the recipes for the Holiday Breakfast over the next few days.


Until.......