Is it wrong to love your front doors so much?

A Renovation Story RSS

Today was going to be, the day.

I had picked my new front doors out of hundreds of salvaged doors.

I had chosen the stain color and the varnish...

I labored over reed glass or cross reed glass...

I selected the handles and the door locks...

I worried that maybe I should have mounted rod iron on them.

and today I would get to see my new stately front doors, actually hanging on my house. Boy am I glad that Chris Hanley talked me out of buying the $600 craftsman door I was looking at. He's good about helping me spend my money with suggestions like this. But he was right.

Like everything else in this house however, before we could do something to make it beautiful, we had to undo what had come before and make a mess.

First Raul had to cut the drywall back to expose the brick.

Then Paul fought with the steel frame.

After a tough morning, we finally had the original brick arch back.

Then  the team from Amighini placed the wooden frame in the brick framed opening.

And we hung the doors and I could see the light coming in my house.

There were men on ladders.

and more men on ladders.

The team from Amighini.

There are still casings and moldings to install next week, but in the end, my new front doors reflect the respect, appreciation and love I have for this house and the work that I and the whole team have put into it.

It's as if the house is saying, " I may be old, but I am still beautiful!"

Before today I had a front door that was ugly and unwelcoming.  Now it's like my house has eyes. Eyes that sparkle, spilling light down the stoop to the street, for all the neighborhood to see.

The house looks happy now.

It can't be wrong to love something so vital. It makes me even more inspired to move on to the windows and complete the effect.

—Laurie

• June 2017 1
  • Jun 1, 2017 A place for morning coffee or evening cocktail. Jun 1, 2017
• May 2017 4
  • May 18, 2017 Descending to the Garden May 18, 2017
  • May 14, 2017 Every Girl Needs a Little Income Property. May 14, 2017
  • May 12, 2017 It's Springtime in Brooklyn May 12, 2017
  • May 12, 2017 Barbie's Dream Kitchen Is Revealed May 12, 2017
• January 2017 2
  • Jan 18, 2017 Imagine a Really Big 3D Puzzle That Needs to Be Assembled Jan 18, 2017
  • Jan 18, 2017 It's Beginning to Look A Lot Like Kitchen! Jan 18, 2017
• November 2016 5
  • Nov 22, 2016 What a Difference a Floor Makes! Nov 22, 2016
  • Nov 21, 2016 Bring on the Grout Nov 21, 2016
  • Nov 19, 2016 We're Getting Ready for Winter! Nov 19, 2016
  • Nov 10, 2016 Sprayfoam is even better than silly string Nov 10, 2016
  • Nov 10, 2016 Now, it is now free to snow! Nov 10, 2016
• October 2016 1
  • Oct 17, 2016 Now We're Cooking With Gas! Oct 17, 2016
• July 2016 4
  • Jul 23, 2016 The House is Getting It's Bones Jul 23, 2016
  • Jul 23, 2016 New Eyes for The House Jul 23, 2016
  • Jul 15, 2016 My BackYard Looks Like an Erector Set Jul 15, 2016
  • Jul 11, 2016 The Waiting Game Jul 11, 2016
• April 2016 1
  • Apr 9, 2016 The sweet sound of concrete. Apr 9, 2016
• March 2016 4
  • Mar 25, 2016 The Big Dig Has Begun Mar 25, 2016
  • Mar 25, 2016 P.S. My Finished New Doors Mar 25, 2016
  • Mar 11, 2016 Every Girl Needs Some Iron In Her Life... Mar 11, 2016
  • Mar 7, 2016 Is it wrong to love your front doors so much? Mar 7, 2016
• February 2016 1
  • Feb 1, 2016 Things are looking up! Feb 1, 2016
• January 2016 2
  • Jan 28, 2016 One Pair of Stately Front Doors Coming Up! Jan 28, 2016
  • Jan 11, 2016 You know what they say about idle hands? Jan 11, 2016
• November 2015 1
  • Nov 12, 2015 In Defense of the DOB — Well Sort Of... Nov 12, 2015
• October 2015 6
  • Oct 12, 2015 The Master Bath Oct 12, 2015
  • Oct 12, 2015 The Master Suite Oct 12, 2015
  • Oct 12, 2015 A Master Suite — The Before Pictures Oct 12, 2015
  • Oct 12, 2015 Creating the Shell Oct 12, 2015
  • Oct 4, 2015 How Hard Was It? Oct 4, 2015
  • Oct 3, 2015 The Jewel in the Parlor Oct 3, 2015
• September 2015 5
  • Sep 24, 2015 Heavenly Stairway Sep 24, 2015
  • Sep 23, 2015 I'm Deckless Sep 23, 2015
  • Sep 18, 2015 How Hard Could it Be? Sep 18, 2015
  • Sep 17, 2015 The Making of a Copper Ceiling Sep 17, 2015
  • Sep 6, 2015 Putting the Labor into Labor Day Weekend Sep 6, 2015
• July 2015 7
  • Jul 26, 2015 Structural...but not visual progress Jul 26, 2015
  • Jul 18, 2015 There will be no roaring fire... Jul 18, 2015
  • Jul 15, 2015 Satisfaction Jul 15, 2015
  • Jul 13, 2015 The Tyranny of a Temporary Kitchen Jul 13, 2015
  • Jul 11, 2015 Let There Be Light Jul 11, 2015
  • Jul 6, 2015 The Power of YouTube! Jul 6, 2015
  • Jul 1, 2015 Let There Be Art! Jul 1, 2015
• June 2015 5
  • Jun 16, 2015 I'll take it...Progress that is. Jun 16, 2015
  • Jun 13, 2015 Houston — We Have Beam! Jun 13, 2015
  • Jun 11, 2015 Houston — We're gonna need a beam! Jun 11, 2015
  • Jun 4, 2015 An addendum on symmetry and perspective Jun 4, 2015
  • Jun 3, 2015 Symmetry, perspective and the eye of the beholder Jun 3, 2015
• May 2015 5
  • May 13, 2015 Human Cranes! May 13, 2015
  • May 11, 2015 Company is Coming! May 11, 2015
  • May 10, 2015 Let there be closet! and Master Bedroom! May 10, 2015
  • May 4, 2015 "No, I am not a victim of domestic violence.... May 4, 2015
  • May 2, 2015 How about a little curb appeal? May 2, 2015
• April 2015 3
  • Apr 27, 2015 The DOB — Its all about the Permit Apr 27, 2015
  • Apr 20, 2015 It will put hair on your chest. Apr 20, 2015
  • Apr 17, 2015 Spring has Sprung! Apr 17, 2015
• March 2015 2
  • Mar 24, 2015 The cavalry has arrived, but the grate is blocked! Mar 24, 2015
  • Mar 4, 2015 I thought we were done with Winter! Mar 4, 2015
• February 2015 6
  • Feb 16, 2015 Moving Day Feb 16, 2015
  • Feb 13, 2015 I just want to do a load of laundry! Feb 13, 2015
  • Feb 11, 2015 Let's See The Floors! Feb 11, 2015
  • Feb 10, 2015 A New Closet For Me. Feb 10, 2015
  • Feb 9, 2015 Let there be brick! Feb 9, 2015
  • Feb 6, 2015 An Ominous Start Feb 6, 2015