I don’t really need to say much about the impact of a fabulous entrance door.
Doors
Feb 202013
Not sure I agree with this list, but here it is with pictures for your enjoyment.
- Catherine Palace, Russia
- Sleeper-McCann House, Massachusetts, US
- Castle Howard, York
- Powerscourt, Ireland
- Marble Palace Mansion, Kolkata, India
- Cheong Fatt Tze Mansion, Malaysia
- Werribee Mansion, Australia
- Villa d’Este, Italy
- Falling Water, PA
- Chateau de Chambord, France
Catherine Palace
At the top of my list as well.
Exquisite floor, ceiling, walls and doors.
The amazing Amber Room. In a class all by itself.
Love this wall of individual panels for the artwork.
Sleeper-McCann House
I disagree with this choice. Not in my top 10.
Castle Howard
Powerscourt
Marble Palace Mansion
Because this is a private residence no photography is permitted.
February 20, 2013
Architecture, Beauty Cult, Ceilings, Doors, Fireplaces, Floors, Gardens, Fountains, Sculpture, Wall Treatments, Windows No Responses »
Last month Architectural Digest showcased the latest resort Selman Marrakech, a sprawling Moorish-style hotel minutes from medina. Developers Saida and Abdeslam Bennani Smires and decorator Jacques Garcia the creative force on the project. The exteriors are pure redbrick grandeur.
Love Moorish designs with all the intricate patterns.
There are 56 guest rooms and five riads. The interiors are Second Empire elegance with Napoleon III-inspired chairs, ebony-stained plasterwork, and antique carpets.
The ebony stained plasterwork is amazing.
I so enjoyed researching the other resorts mentioned in the Architectural Digest article. I know you will enjoy seeing them and want to add a trip to any one of them to your bucket list.
The Royal Mansour – Magnificent!
November 9, 2012
Architecture, Beauty Cult, Ceilings, Doors, Furnishings, Gardens, Fountains, Sculpture, Interior Design, Wall Treatments No Responses »
This month’s issue of Architectural Digest announced the September 7 opening of “Doris Duke’s Shangri La” traveling exhibition at the Manhattan Museum of Arts and Design.
Shangri La interiors are a hybrid of Islamic tradition and 20th Century modernism. In 18th and 19th Century Syrian homes, internal spaces were privileged rather than exterior facades. The homes often featured rooms where were arranged around an interior courtyard (just like Shangri La). Room interiors were treated with a great deal of attention. This historic interior was purchased in Lebanon in 1954.
The Damascus Room
Bill Willis Interior Design for Yves Saint Laurent
Architect and Decorator Bill Willis spent four decades redefining high-end Islamic architecture and Eastern design elements. I love everything about Orientalist design. All the craftsmanship, color, shapes and textures. The room itself is a work of art with beautiful designs on the walls, ceiling and floor.
Love the Lantern and inlaid furniture.
July 12, 2012
Architecture, Art, Best Dressed Walls, Doors, Fireplaces, Interior Design, Wall Treatments No Responses »
Jun 142012
My final blog on The Hermitage with Best Dressed Walls, Floors, Doors, Panels and more. Enjoy…..
My choice for Best Dressed Walls, this spectacular gold room. Wouldn’t this make a fabulous treatment for a Powder Room.
Here is a view of the entire room, which happens to have my favorite ceiling. The doors are beautiful as well.
The chest in the Gold Room.
Best Doors and Floor
Closeup of that amazing floor.
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June 14, 2012
Architecture, Art, Best Dressed Walls, Doors, Floors, Interior Design, Wall Treatments 2 Responses »
Decorators Supply was originally founded as a carving and gilding company in 1883. The World’s Columbian Exposition of 1893 provided the catalyst for their early growth and prosperity.
Over the next two to three decades, Decorators Supply employed dozens of European artisans who hand carved the beautiful designs that they sell today. The original carvings are preserved in their vaults to make the exact mold impressions used to produce their “compo” ornaments today.
Composition ornament originated with the Italians during the 1500′s. By the mid 1700′s the formulation and techniques of compo had spread to workshops in England and France and from there found their way to North America by European artisans immigrating to the New World. Few modern carvers can match the beauty and detail found in the composition ornaments that they hand produce from their “exact impression” molds and none can match the value.
Horizontal Design 17″W x 7-3/4″H $58.31
Here are some beautiful examples of their composition ornament installed. Love this trumeau mirror.
Mar 202012
Most homes today do nothing with the wall directly above the door. One of the things I love about classical interiors is the attention they give to the doors and windows. And it is not just the door, but the wall space above the door. So, I have been collecting some great pictures that will inspire you. First though a few ‘before’ pictures that were taken from a featured interior in a blog today.
Nice space but that door could really be enhanced with some architectural details.
How about something like this?
Another great before picture of a door wall that could use some attention.
This is our inspiration image. Paint a decorative design over the door that includes the wall to the right where the clock is. The design could have borders so that the focal point clock is framed by the wall behind it.
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Feb 132012
A handsome door created with nail heads. This would be so easy to duplicate using a flat panel door with real leather or just a great faux leather and decorative nail heads.
This Roman nail head from Beaux-Artes is available in lots of great finishes and would be perfect for creating the pattern on this door. A package of 48 for $69.
One of our doors with nail heads and a stainless finish.
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Vizcaya was completed in 1916 during a remarkable period in American architecture, when multimillionaires built palatial country retreats in fanciful emulation of the European past. Two other celebrated houses Vanderbilt’s Biltmore, constructed in the mid-1890′s and Hearst’s San Simeon which was completed in 1925 produced some of the most striking examples of conspicuous architectural consumption that the United States has ever seen – or is likely to see.
The Gilded Age was obsessed with the Renaissance period of European history. These great houses were works of intense collaboration, not only between architects and garden designers, but also between decorators and small armies of skilled craftsmen – plasterers, artists, stonemasons, ironworkers, sculptors, cabinetmakers and upholsterers. The result is a work of art that endures to this day filled with inspiration for today. Like the ornamentation design of this door in the Entrance Hall along with the geometrical pattern of the black and creamy white marble floor which is repeated in the flat coffered ceiling.
Here is a suggestion for a version of this header. This would be perfect for a 30″ door. Style 9252 from Decorators Supply measures 31″ x 13″ x 1/4″ relief. (Note: The reason I use Decorators Supply is that it is very easy for me to grab pictures from their website. We do not receive any commission if you were to purchase ornament from them.)
Ideas and Instructions for Creating Fabulous Interior Doors
Working With Paneled Doors
Thought we would begin with paneled doors since most people have them. Many of them are molded to have a wood grain. These offer the potential for a faux bois finish, distressed wood, faux bois plus aging and painted designs.
Glaze was applied to these doors with a flogger. Since they have the grain molded into them it settles into the grain. We added hinge straps and escutcheons to the existing hardware in a faux bronze finish.
The pre-existing knobs had an indentation to which we added amethyst cabochons.
Entrance to a Master Bath, these doors were designed for an Indian couple with a faux finish and hand painting with gold leaf.
So many people have white trim and doors throughout their homes. In keeping with the elegance of this home all we did was add some interest to the door hardware. Rather than replace the hardware we merely attach what we call “hinge straps” to the existing hinges. They are available for $12 each and is a very inexpensive, quick and easy addition.
Tuscany Hinge Strap in Faux Finish to match existing hinge
We also like to add ornament to paneled interior doors as well as paneled cabinet doors.
These doors were at the end of a long hallway leading to their theatre. The doors had interesting panels for the ornament. We finished the ornament in brass to compliment their hardware and the gold fabric damask on their walls.
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