Hands on:Recycle a Door!
For all you handy people out there: I am sure a door can be put to good use other than as a door, right?
Table top comes to my mind, part of a cupboard, back of a shelf, bench bed, what have you.
A cafe chain in Delhi (MOCHA) made a whole wall out of old doors.
This restaurant door wall left room for the kitchen window
This lovely web site by Margo shows you fantastic ideas on how to recycle in style.
http://www.robomargo.com/doors.html
Just as creative are the ideas from 2 ladies in Washington State who have the JUNK SALVATION web site
http://funkyjunksisters.blogspot.com/2009/04/ideas-for-old-doors.html
Now go out there and get yourself a vintage door, or simply unhinge the ones you have in your home. We got too many doors to open and shut anyway.
Sorry about the lousy photo quality this time, but can you see the doors? MOCHA Cafe in Delhi at Saket Mall
Running into Doors!
Did you ever run into a glass door? Come on, admit it? Felt pretty stupid, eh? But no worries, even birds do it. The other day -it was a Sunday shopping day before Christmas- I saw a man walking straight into a store door (too much last minute holiday gifts on his hectic mind, surely) and the whole bloody door fell apart and into a thousand little pieces. It was one of those special car window glass doors, I suppose. It happened right before closing time, and I can tell you, the shop attendant was not amused to call a carpenter who had to build a cover that night. No, no photos of this incident, it all happened too fast. Just a way to start my little blog on stumbling into doors.
No chance running into this glass door telling you that all fun stuff is prohibited here. It was a library!
When I was at an interesing bookshop around the same time of the shattered door incident, I saw this magazine being sold at a bargain price. I think it’s about architecture but by the titles on the cover, it seems to be about everything may be even doors. Perhaps some of you may have heard of it……
And when I was reading the wonderful leftist American news magazine ( I know, sounds like an oxymoron, doesnt it? HAHHA) “In These Times”, I came across a story about a writer’s workshop in Chicago run by a journal called “Journal of Ordinary Thought“, can you believe it? Academia is interested in us ordinary folks! That is a comfort. No serioulsy, I think it is quite wonderful to give underpriviledged citzens a chance to write about their lives. Anyway, darlings, one of their 2003 journals was called “Different Doors” and features stories about growing up in Chicago and all. I have been to Chicago only once for a day, a real cold day, too, but I wasnt into doors back then, so I cant even show you a nice door from that windiest of cities. But may be you like to read this journal, or at least “In These Times“. So much for running into different doors for now. Cheers, mates!
http://www.jot.org/JOTArchive/arc_2003/DifferentDoors.pdf
Doors Blog Now Famous
Hello, doors darlings!
While I was in Berlin I followed a call from a local newspaper for readers to write about their hobbies. I quickly wrote about my door obsession, and emailed it off, never to hear from the newspaper again. A week ago an excited friend showed me that little weekly from the 27th December, and said “Look here, you are on the front page!” I couldn’t believe it! They never told me they were going to publish my little article, but they did, including my photo from the door knobs of the Chinese restaurant (see blog from 16 Oct 2010). Pretty neat, eh?
Anyone can have their 5 minutes of fame, even with a niche blog.
Happy 2011, doors darlings!
Wishing you great doors, lovely entries, and happy openings!!! CHEERS!
Puke at this door!
This is a door frame that really says ENTER my business! ENTREE, síl vous plait, yes indeed!
Creativity knows no end!
PUKE MUSIC SHOP IN EAST BERLIN
Dreaming and Dying with Doors
There is a cute French movie, called “Saint Jacque..La Mecque”, in German it was called “Taking a pilgramage in French”. Three siblings inherit from the dead mother who made it a condition for her 2 sons and 1 daughter, who hate eachother, to go along the famous pilgram path in Northern Spain together. 800 km in 4 months or so. A better summary find here http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0429052/
Well, see for yourself. After exhausting hikes these travellers have some pretty good dreams. And naturally a door is for many of us part of the dream world. I myself have not yet had the pleasure. What about my door darlinsg out there? And door dreams….entering into new spheres?
Dreaming with doors in a movie scene
Remember the movie GLADIATOR and the final scene of Maximus dying?
What a scene, eh? And here too we find a door in the middle of a field, our general about to open the “gate of heaven”; reuniting with his beloved family who is already dead…. well well. Do watch this moving scene and that door on youtube if you like.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qaki5WSPNng&feature=player_embedded
Look and See!
Many times a day we do the robotic thing: going through the motions while day dreaming unaware of what we are doing right here and now. So we end up driving home when we meant to stop by the pharmacy, owake up at 7 when it ´s our day off. And sometimes when we are unwell and a bit unnerved, we suddenly have to take great efforts in order to do all the mundane little tasks we take for granted. Then we realize what it means to pay attention. But there isnt always a “job” that needs to be done. We can simply wander around with our eyes open to look and see. BE AWARE. Life is for us to enjoy. And here are a couple of small door joys which you only get to notice when you pay attention. So LOOK AND SEE, my door darlings!
Impressive welding job. Art school in Schöneberg, Grunewaldstr.
A Chinese restaurant took the trouble to have customers be greeted by 2 bronze peacocks.
A mighty cast iron handle and hinge of a church door
Berlin KREUZBERG- where else. One heck of a door bell! READ the notice below!
DELIGHTful DOORS
Door darlings, please, do check out this site of old doors in terra galleria. The images of the photograher QT LUONG are too delightful. He must be a real door darling. You can buy them on istock, too. Would make for a lovely wall poster.
http://www.terragalleria.com/photos/?keyword=old-doors
BIO of the photographer http://www.terragalleria.com/statement.html
A Door is a Door is a DoorisaDoorisaDoor
Though this may seem banal, let us, look at the different words for DOOR in other languages
PORTE – French
PORTELLO- Italian
PUERTA- Spanish
TUER- German
DVAR- Hindi
дверь- Russian
KAPI- Turkish
VRATA- Serbian
DRZWI- Polish (dont ask me how to pronounce this)
OVEN- Finnish (yeah, I know)
Ajtó-Hungarian
MLANGO- Swahili
USA- Romanian
PINTU- malay/ indonesian
DURYS- Lithuanian
derë- Albanian
Honey, Where Are the Keys?
All of us, door darlings or not, have faced the struggle of keeping the house, car, or safety deposit box KEYS in the same place every time. But life doesnt work like this. We misplace them , and nothing is worse than standing in front of your apartment door fumbling like Hudini and getting that goshdangit-feeling with a hysteric scream on one’s lips “HONEY, WHERE ARE THE KEYS?” (men usually scream “What have YOU done with the keys, honey?” ) And so the nightmare begins, a locksmith is called for a thousand bucks a visit, and you swear from now on you will get to know the neighbors and give all of them a spare one. Yeah, right. This old man here has heard all the stories and he is prepared to give you what you need: an extra key for your lover, or that special lock to keep the ex away.
The Real Reason Why Paradise Was Lost
Dear Door Darlings,
You might be shocked to know that it was not all Eve´s fault Adam and Eve had to leave paradise. No, Adam could have easily have finished eaten the apple in peace, and God still could have expressd his anger. Sure, but Adam and Eve could only be expelled because THERE WERE NO GATE DOORS around the garden of Eden! Here you can see, how their deeparture could have been easily prevented. Inpenetrable exits.
Elegance Elates!
There is a term in sociology called “Broken Window Effect” and it states that wherever the state, the community or the landlord allows property to go to ruin, people in the neighborhood will stop caring and start trashing up their surroundings. So if there are more and more broken homes and no parks, the remaining inhabitants will for example stop discarding their trash properly etc. This would mean the opposite to be also true: when property owners do care for their houses, everyone on the block will act more careful in the neighborhood. But who makes a start? Many times the renters of homes and apartments blame the landlord for everything not working and decay. At the same time landlords blame the tennants for being too careless.
People, we all have to look after our places of living, rented or owned. Dont just sweep in front of your own steps, sweep the street, why not? And make your entrance to your home look nice.
This apartment house owner spent a lot of money to make this building entrance look gorgeous. Elegance is elating!
Snake Eaters and Pelicans
Yes, door darlings, once upon a time, stories were told within some beautiful door details and frames. This here pelican mother is protecting her brood against those beastly snakes left and right, but YOU HAVE TO OPEN YOUR EYES to see such precious things in your city. Go out and have a good look around, guys and gals! Cheers!
Who lives NEXT DOOR?
Do you know who lives behind the door across the hall, or in the next house, or right above you? Most people dont, that must be the reason why there are so many books speculating about the mystery person called neighbor.
There is “The Millionaire Next Door” (by Thomas Stanley). Will his wealth rub off on me? I better be really neighborly here.
Or “The Sociopath Next Door” (by Martha Stout). Will I become crazed from living next door? An object of obsession?
There even is a “Universe Next Door” (byJames S. Sire),which will be the reason the kids are not in bed at night.
If your neighbors have a maid, you may have “The Slave Next Door” (by Kevin Bales) . Can you suppress your envy that he gets his shirts pressed every day and doesnt have to do his own shopping, or will you blow the whistle on all that human trafficking?
We all have had “The Girl Next Door” in our ´hood who is supposed to be especially innocent andsweet, the one your mother wants you to marry, but things are not always as they appear (remember the movie “American Beauty”? Some neighbors they were to eachothers, eh?)…. various authors and certain types of film makers have tackled the girl next door…
WOW, did you know about “The UNdead Next Door” (by Kerrelyn Sparks)? I guess that´s better than an unalive neighbor.
If we are really lucky, “Confusuis Lives Next Door” (by T.R.Reid) so we can run to him not just for an egg or some flower, but some desperately needed advice.
In today´s migratory society, you might have “The Muslim Next Door” (by Sumbul Ali-Karamali), and to avoid being scared you can learn all about his ticks and offer some humus and falafel for a welcoming Hello.
Seeing too many movies definately makes us think there is “The Murderer Next Door” (by David M. Buss) and we hope it happens while we are out. What is that weird smell over there, you ask yourself a bit later.
So you see, instead of WONDERING WHO lives next door, why dont you find out and make sure, and then write a book about it 
Cheers, door- darlings.
If you have a door like this, you might never meet the neighbor
Can You Get the Door, honey?!
Though I have so far managed this site with photos clicked entirely by my own hands, I decided to make an exception. Due to my current stay in New Delhi (where it is nose-running chilly in the house in January but of course never snows), I decided to use someone else´s photo here to celebrate the masses of snow which seem to be falling in my other home towns: Bremen, Berlin and Philadelphia right now.
The photo was taken in New England in 2005, but surely many of you experience something similar: when your loved one cried “Honey, get the door” you had no idea what lay there waiting for you. Now go out and shovel, darlings, but dont overdo it!
Somerville, MA in 2005
Source for photos: http://www.wunderground.com/wximage/viewsingleimage.html?mode=singleimage&handle=hop&number=1&album_id=0&thumbstart=0&gallery=
Doors in the New Decade
Door in Caputh near Berlin (where Einstein once lived)
Doors Darling, I wish you many, many open doors this new year, no squeeky hinges, no stuck door handles, lots of knocks from friends, lots of smiling greeters standing in door ways whenever you arrive, happy door chimes, no drafts and just a beautiful entrance wherever you go.
“Happiness is something that comes into our lives through doors we don´t even remember leaving open.”
And remember too: only knocking will open doors. Create your own opportunities. I know I need to work on that one as well. Happy New Year!