Even More Door Ideas

I know the title says more door ideas but I decided to add in old windows too. Above is a display of old windows that contain some of my husband's photographs. Candice is staying in this room and has added a few things like the Christmas tree sign and a picture that Ali Edwards gave to her. (Lucky Duck, huh?) Below is a close up of one of the windows.



Sorry these pictures are blurry. My camera battery was dying and so I did the best I could. I would have taken more but it is now dead. I thought that it would be better to post blurry pictures than to not post at all. I only have so many windows of time. I don't know how so many of you post every day and such complex posts too. Amazing! These pictures are of some doors in a cemetary in Paris. Humm...I think my husband has a love of doors too. No wonder I love him so much.

Here is a close up of another window and sunflower picture. (If you want to see his current work, click on his name on the right side of my blog. It will send you to his website.)

Below is another close up. Can you recognize this famous architecture? Think French. This is in a guest bedroom that my daughter is currently residing in. Can you see the reflection of my chandelier? I love chandeliers in bedrooms. Cotedetexas.blogspot.com has a great post on chandeliers.

This is a painting that I picked up in Ohio. It it hand painted on an old window and I carried it home on the plane. I couldn't resist and it was a great price.

Here it is on my studio wall. I'm still trying to get it reorganized in there. My sweet husband did assemble my new table, that he got me for my birthday, so I'm making progress. I'll post it soon...I hope.

The next door is a new door so I painted it to look old. It is just a hollow core door that they use in new construction. The hinges and key plate are hand painted directly on the door. This is in our son's room who is on a mission in Brazil until June. It is currently occupied by two of our grandsons. Needless to say, I won't be showing the rest of the room until after they leave. It has a ship theme. We added mortis and tenon/post and beams. My husband built the shutters on the windows. It has a loft bed, more leaded glass windows,...I'll show you it in about a month.

As I looked around my house, I realized I even have a picture of a window. It was painted by my neighbor, Robert Barrett. It is a copy of a watercolor he has hanging in his house of a window in an antique store in Park City. (I think I own the only copy.) I had admired it for years and offered to pay for the printing, etc. He agreed but it just never happened. One day he called me and said he would trade me for it if I would help frame about 30 pictures for an art show he was doing. I gladly took him up on it. Lucky me! I love it. Again I apologize for the picture/photo because it really is wonderful in person. (My husband made the frame and I cut my own beveled mat and framed it. Are you picking up in my blog about what a wonderful, talented husband I have?)

I have three old doors that we took to a door framer and put in our basement when we finished it off. This one has the original hardware on it. The glass is original to the door too. My brother found this one. It was in a junk pile by his old apartment. We finished the basement so he and his wife could live there while they finished school. We loved having them.

This last picture is really bad but it is all I could eeek out of the battery. It is a shelf I have yet to hang. I found it at this great store called "Brambles and Blossoms." It is 1/4 of an old panel door with an antique door knob, reproductions hooks, and extra wood and bracket added to make the door into a shelf. (I'm waiting for my husband to help me hang this project. It is a little too heavy for one man to do the job.) ;)

How have you used old doors and windows? I would love to see or hear about it.

My Husband's Handiwork

This is one of my husband's projects. I love it. We built it together but he did all the leaded glass windows. You can't really tell that that is what they are; I should have taken a close up of the windows. Even the cupola has leaded glass windows on every side. It gets used as a back drop for a lot of photographs at our house. This is the front.

This is the back. We also designed and he built the arch and the fence. I love it. When he was done building it, he said, "I have a name for the shed." I said, "We are naming our buildings now? He said, "We should call it the Bishop's store house." I cracked up. (He is a Bishop in our church and it is his storage shed.)

This is a work in progress but it is made out of part of my old door collection. I do love old doors. I'll try and post more pictures of uses for old doors tomorrow....oh and add in old windows too.

It will have shakes on the roof, shingles in the triangular area, and leaded/stained glass windows too. I'm so lucky to be married to such a talented and artistic man.

We love our projects and we always have lots of things in mind that we want to do. There just aren't enough hours in the day.

More Door Ideas

My daughter Candice and I had a baby shower last summer for Marissa. We used old doors for the back drop behind the food table. To see more decorations and details go to her blog here. Her pictures are always so good. I guess that is what you get when your passion and career is all about photography.

I Love Old Doors

I really do love old doors. For a while there I had quite the collection. My daughter, Marissa, used one of my doors to make a coffee table out of. It looks great. We polyurethaned the top and legs to protect her from the paint if it contained lead. It also made it washable.

Maybe I can get her to post a picture on her blog so you can see it.

My husband used quite a few to make a shed. It is in progress but I'll take a picture for you when it isn't snowing outside...yes, it is still snowing at my house.

I also used a door to create a wrapping paper station in my sewing/craft room. It just leans against the wall so if I reconfigure the room, it can be moved easily. Here is a picture of the whole door. (Sorry, I don't know how to turn the pictures so they are upright. Can anyone help me with this?)


Here is a close up of the ribbon. They are on spools threaded on a dowel and color coordinated. There are six hooks. I took the top dowel off so you could see what they look like. I predrilled the screw holes and then attached the hooks with screws. Yes, I figured this one out all by myself. (Buy your husband tools for his birthday and Christmas and you will have available anything you need for your projects. He thinks tools are great.)

I also hung a basket half way down the door. (I think it is supposed to be a window box for flowers but it fit the width of my door perfectly. It was one of those things I found on clearance..thought it was cool...and was sure I could find a use for it.) I put my iron and starch in the spot that is currently empty. I also have containers with ribbon I bought by the yard and other odds and ends.

Down below I have all my wrapping paper in this container. It was what antique bobbins came in when I used to have a retail store. My kids told me to get rid of it. It was in the family room and they were helping me declutter. You need that every once in awhile...an objective opinion. Anyway, I still liked it so repurposed it in my sewing room. It does have a lid that I keep on it too.

The door sits next to my cutting table where the tape dispensers and scissors sit. I hope this gives you ideas for organizing your own center.

My favorite door I used in my living room at Christmas and Halloween so I would have more places to hang decorations. Sorry, I didn't take any pictures but maybe next year I'll remember. My husband and daughter use them as photo backdrops too. Check out my husband's website and see if you can find the doors. mbborupphotography.com

I'll try and post Marissa's baby shower pictures where we used my old doors as a back drop behind the food table.

P.S. I like old windows too.