Tuesday, January 23, 2007

*Doors of Welcome

One architectural element that always draws me to a house is if the front door is arched, with a half-round top, because they are so welcoming. We have discussed moving the door out so we could have this. But I'm always looking for a less expensive way of getting the look I want. We were able to give the illusion of the door being rounded with a little bit of woodworking tricks.

The paintings throughout the house are almost all by husband. Although we are both artists, I enjoy his work more than I mine. I concentrated on interior design for years but now I'm getting rather itchy to create some art again. But first I'd like to just get this place done!

During the last year I repainted the LR by adding two layers of glaze. It looks the same to my daughter, but I can see a BIG difference. OK, not big, but different. The new rug came from a seller on Ebay whom I have purchased from before. It has the pefect blend of the limey greens and ochre yellows that I wanted. Everything else was chosen from the rug colors. But the rug was chosen from the colors I already was using!

We added additional moldings at the bottom of the walls when we were working on arch top for the door. My husband did all the woodwork and really loves doing it even when the angles sometimes try to beat us.

The sofa and coffee table might get replaced sometime if I ever find something else I really love. They have both been with us for years. So far nothing has jumped out at me except a smaller table. I'm not sure if a smaller one will serve as well. So for now, they old ones stay.

The silk drapes were added last year. They were ready mades that I inter-lined and made the top valances for. I'm really pleased with them and they will probably be here in 20 years. We will see.

12 comments:

  1. Oh, what a wonderful idea! I too, love curved details in doors! Now I have a new project on my "to do" list...which is endless as we have only "just begun!"

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  2. What a great idea to get the arched door feeling! I was fooled and thought it was an arched door until I read your post...Great job!

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  3. Brilliant creativity and implementation of design, as usual! Such a gorgeous entry to lead into a gorgeous room. You and your hubby make a perfect team. Love this new view of your room Donna!
    xo,
    Kim

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  4. What a picture perfect room...I love the solution you designed to satisfy your door dreams. It is just perfect. Truly, the room is a piece of art in its self. Love it!

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  5. I'm always drawn to homes with arched doors. I just love them. What a great idea to do a faux one. It looks amazing! That rug looks beautiful too.

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  6. Thank you sweet ladies! How nice of you to take the time to post a note.

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  7. Lovely stuff! Your house looks gorgeous, and it's a very fun blog. Thanks for visiting mine!

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  8. I love the openness of your entry. There's lots of space to welcome one or many with arms open wide. It's very you, Donna.

    Rose
    www.thecenterofmyself.spaces.live.com

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  9. Rose, I clicked on your name but didn't get linked. I did make it to your site by copying the url, but I was unable to leave a message. Just want to say thank you for stopping by and leaving kind your notes.
    Donna

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  10. Love your blog, love your house!

    Our entry is similar in that we just took out two walls that separated the entry from the living/dining room.

    We are going to put down wood floors and I was originally going to do a section running lengthwise to "define" the entry area and then start the rest of the room with wood running crosswise. I think your wood floors look nice just running crosswise.
    Did you all put in the wood or was it original to the house?

    Thank you in advance!
    marcia in Tx Ü

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  11. How clever you are!!! I just love this sort of ingenuity. Kudos.

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Donna