Lately I have been fortunate to have visitors to The Queen almost every weekend.
I sometimes ask myself why do people want to see the poor girl.
She is, after-all, a bit of a mess.
But I really love this house.
To me she is already beautiful.
I never thought I could have such feelings for a house.
Last weekend, I had a nice visit from some dear friends.
Laura, Sonia & Cindy
This visit was a lot of fun. Cindy presented me with a beautifully wrapped copy of the book
“How To Fix Anything”
We all giggled
Lord knows I am going to need it!
I always hold my breath as people approach, waiting to see their reaction to the house.
Thankfully, they seemed to share my vision. We spent a nice time talking as we toured the home
and looking thru the old photo books I have have of the house.
I am finding out that this little lady already has a band of die-hard followers who are some of her biggest cheerleaders.
There are, however, some days I find myself questioning this life changing decision.
I will sit in the backyard looking up at her peeling paint, sagging windows and weathered architectural details.
I hear her frail voice, a soft murmur in sharp contrast to her splintering wood
It is carried on the gentle ocean breeze.
Patience, my friend
she seems to whisper…
I have been here for more than a Century, with your help, I will continue to stand
And just like that I feel a bit guilty for questioning this process.
One of the fun things I have been doing is looking for beautiful antique doors for this tired Queen.
I am smitten with Eastlake style Victorian doors.
For some reason these doors have become all the rage.
People are using them for pantry doors, closet doors, bathroom doors, laundry doors, etc.
I have had a heck of a time trying to locate some.
As it is, Architectural Salvage in Los Angeles is a scarce thing
The few shops that sell it command a hefty price for their wares
And selection is minimal at best
Beautiful Eastlake Style Victorian Doors!
THIS IS WHAT I WANT!
Or Something such as PERFECTION…like this.
This door was featured on Fixer Upper with Chip & Joanna Gaines
It is breathtaking, and the lucky new home owners actually got 2 matching doors that were used as pantry doors.
How about this? I see this one a lot, just haven’t found one for sale!
Is it possible I have died and gone to HEAVEN?
How sweet is this next door?
This one is impressive with it’s fancy carved door surround. LOVE!
See, I told you that everyone is obsessed with having these antique doors as their pantry doors!
Gorgeous!
They all have their own UNIQUE charm!
Really….ANY ONE, TWO, THREE or SIX of these would do!
You can’t get anymore Eastlake than this. Imagine the lovely colored glass that could go in the panes around the center?
And for those of you who just have an overflowing, extra supply of these doors hanging around
Why not just make it into the most gorgeous CHALKBOARD ever!
One thing I am finding in my search is it’s very DIFFICULT to find the correct height
Most of these old doors are about 90″ tall, some taller!
My dear Queen is looking for something a bit more moderate in height
And how SWEET is this SCREEN DOOR
The pups are pretty darn cute too!
I love the idea of PAINTING ON THE GLASS!
Ok, I gotta stop this. SO much inspiration, Now I must find some for my Queen
I hope you have enjoyed looking at these doors as much as I have.
I just keep dreaming of new door
That seems so ridiculous!
I plan to look in TEXAS, Louisiana, Georgia, Pennsylvania, New York and so on!
Thank you to Cindy, Sonia & Laura for visiting last week.
If you missed the last post you can read about The First Pitfall of Restoring A Historical Home
