Moving – Start at the Front Door

June 17th, 2011

Sorry for the radio silence lately, but I’ve been in the midst of moving both my home and office (since I have a home office) and the packing, moving and unpacking leaves little time for fun blog posts. I’ve been thinking of things to say to you and share, just waiting for the time to post. So here is a post that’s been formulating in my head for weeks. 

Your home should create a great first impression, and a front door/entry that suits your home and your style is a great place to begin. Here are doors and entries I’m loving for their style, color and/or details.

Front door by Erin Loechner of design for mankind.  I love the cohesive modern styling of the hardware and house number. The color is fabulous. And the “Hello.” frosted on the bottom of the side panel? Genius. (This has been my computer backdrop for a few weeks – which is a long time for me.)

The letter (and photos) from the editor in the May 2011 issue of Dwell magazine made me happy because I do the same thing: use my camera to document the details of a city other people wouldn’t bother to photograph. I photographed doors all around Boston and Cambridge on a visit a few years ago and turned it into a composite that I loved. Too bad the file size was so enormous the photo lab couldn’t seem to print it. But I still plan on making it work one of these days! (It turned up in the move but I haven’t found it in the boxes yet.) The result is original art that tells a story about your trip in an unexpected way.  Plus look at all those great door knockers above. It’s so clear that they inject tons of personality into a small space.

Here are a few photos from a recent trip to Philly to prove my point.

Great door!

Love the mix of materials at this exterior structure on the Liberty Bell plaza.

Great woodworking details on the sides of the staircase at the Pennsylvania State House (aka. Independence Hall). Why photograph the room where they signed the Declaration of Independence when you can study the carvings on the stairs? (Though I did photograph the room because there was a great mix of Windsor chair styles.)

Pat even held up traffic so I could take this picture out the car window on our way to dinner at Pumpkin. (I’d change the wall color if I could and paint the stars over the entry is a slightly different shade to help them pop without becoming the focal point. Charcoal gray exterior and light-medium gray stars?)

Okay back to other facades I’m digging.

I love the rhythm of the facade of this house designed by Tina Manis and featured in the book “Brooklyn Modern.”  Slowly move you eyes up the facade and notice how the wood boards get closer and farther apart in a different wave motion on each section.  What a beautiful way to add interest using only one material.

 

The value of a face lift for the front of the house is clearly illustrated in this project above by interior designer Jessica Helgerson and her husband, architect Yianni Doulis, featured on Design*Sponge back in July 2009.  It’s so much more inviting and open with the planter replacing the tree. The horizontal lines of the house are carried through in the windows on the new front door and the wood on the planter. The light and house numbers fit the new look.

How great is that wood slat screen created by The Brick House? Adds so much personality to an otherwise plain white home. Note the consistent style of the house numbers, light fixture and planter.  Check out this post for details of her plans for the front yard to complete the look.

Do you get the gist of what I’m saying?

What inspired all this facade talk? Well, my new place has a similar mid-century vibe to some of the places above (it was built in 1953) and a front door with 3 horizontal windows. But the door has seen better days and I’m itching to paint it a bold color and repaint the cedar shakes on the exterior.  I’ll have to do some photoshop renderings and get your opinions, but I’d better get back to unpacking and leave that project for another day. 

Have a lovely weekend!

Tags: door, entry, front door, photographs

This entry was posted on Friday, June 17th, 2011 at 2:17 pm and is filed under Design & Home Living Tips, Inspiration Boards. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.