NEW FEATURE!! 'Your Doors'

Starting today, on the last day of each month I will feature doors that have been photographed and sent to me by readers of this blog. This new monthly post will be called 'Your Doors' and everyone is welcome to submit their favourite door photo(s) at the email address to the right.

To start off this new 'feature' and in keeping with my Monday 'Colourful Door' theme, I will post 3 - yes T H R E E (!) colourful doors all sent to me by Malyss who lives in France and has a wonderful blog about benches. Please be sure to visit and follow her blog at: Benches on My Way. As you will see, Malyss is to benches what I am to doors!! I'm sure you will enjoy her blog as much as I do.

Malyss took these pictures while visiting the city of Lyon (France). Thank you so much Malyss for sharing your door discoveries!! I love all the door pictures that you sent to me and hope that you will forgive me for not being able to post them all at one time!!

A nice cool blue that calms and soothes. The little door/window above the door is fabulous! How original...I have never seen one of these before!! In comparison to this window, a little peephole in the door is sooo boring!! This window allows you to stick your whole head out and get a good look at who is in front of your door...and if the are hiding a bouquet of flowers for you behind their back!!

Pink! Another first! And to think they even painted part of the drain pipe the same pink. Notice that the window next door is also pink! I love it! Maybe Inspecteur Clouseau (however his name is spelled!) lives here!

This is another great colour and what a wonderful, big solid door it is, complete with a metal kick plate at the bottom to protect the door from careless feet.

Sunday Door

Today's door is not from a church, but a synagogue. It is a side door of the Jewish synagogue located not far from the famous Jewish cemetery in Prague's Old Town.

Saturday Makeover

Normally, on Saturdays I show you a 'sad' door. Well, today I have the pleasure of showing you a door 'makeover'. One day when I was out hunting doors, I came across a door that was clearly in the process of being renovated so I took a picture of it with the idea of coming back a few weeks later to take an 'after' shot of the same door.

Here is what I found on 17 March 2010.

And this is what it looked like when I saw it on 20 May 2010.

Here is a detail of the keyhole plate before the renovation (during the renovation it was removed and was not put back).

Here is a close-up of one of the round windows after renovation.

I hate to do it, but I have to complain about something...when they renovated this wood door, they re-varnished and repainted it to LOOK like wood, but IT IS WOOD!! I have seen this before and I just don't understand WHY this is done. The paint chips off after a while and it doesn't look nice...at least a natural wood finish is honest!!

Salve

Something new: TWIN DOORS!! I've shown you single doors, double doors, triple doors, quadruple doors, doors in doors, wide doors, really narrow doors, tall doors, Emily doors, metal doors, lots of wood doors and so on, but until now, I have never shown you twin doors.

Sadly, these twin doors have been missing some loving care, but we can still see what they and the whole ensemble once offered. Begin with the enormous eagle that hovers over the doors; a powerful wing protecting each door. (Those white lines you see are not reflections, but are actually paint lines...why, I don't know!!)

Each door (or rather each set of doors) has identical undulating lines, flowers, shells and scrolls yet the design of the doors, while exactly the same, is unique.

The twin doors are set within strong high arches which keeps them from looking heavy or austere, without taking away any of their value. A small foyer separates the doors from a delicate, but imposing wrought-iron gate which folds in half on each side.

On the floor of the foyer, designed in the polished stone floor, is the word 'Salve'. I don't know if this is the name given to the building or if it was the name of the owner (original owner) of the building or perhaps it is the name of a store that was once here...hard to say.

NOTE: I would like to thank all of you for your lovely comments to my 100th post. I have enjoyed finding doors and sharing them with you. Many of you have told me that you have started 'hunting' doors as well and have even sent me photos of doors you have found. Thank you so much!! I have decided that I will dedicate one day a month to posting 'guest doors'. So, if you find a door that you would like to eventually see here, please share it with me and I will do my best to post it in time!

In it's Own World

I hate to admit it, but it wasn't until I walked past this door for about the 10th time that I finally noticed it!! Admittedly, the first 9 times I 'missed' it I wasn't doing a blog about doors so wasn't yet in the 'check-out-all-doors-no-matter-what' mode. I'm glad that it finally got my attention and hope it will forgive me for not noticing it sooner. Here is my apology to this lovely door in the form of giving it it's special 'moment of fame' here on TheDoorHunter.

Now, take a look at this beauty. A nice, big, solid wood door rich with detailed carvings and lovely wrought-iron work nestled in a tastefully decorated recessed arch.

Take a few steps closer and concentrate just on the door. Do you see all those different forms and shapes...scrolls, circles, urns, semi-arches, repeating patterns, etc.? And there, among all those carvings is a face, top and center, watching over the door and greeting all who hope to go through it.

As I write this, I had a thought: I seem to be coming across more and more doors with faces or heads carved into the door itself. I'm not sure if there is some sort of symbolism with this or a message or if doors simply used to be made with faces or heads on them. Did their presence (no pun intended) have a particular meaning? Were the faces purely fictive or were they actually portraits of the buildings owner or other important person? Were they there to keep evil spirits out? I will have to see what I can dig up on this subject as surely there must be something more to these door personalities than just aesthetics!

Finally, if you look up, you will see this very unusual ceiling. I have to say that so far I have not come across a door and entry like this. Sure, I have found and posted recessed doors that consist of a gate then the door and maybe in between there is a corridor or open area which might have some ornament or simple design. This recessed door, however, is without a gate and the open space before the door has a very pretty, but not pretentious ceiling mural which gives the door a more important presence. I hope I find more of these kind of doors...perhaps they are out there just waiting for me to find them!

Back from the Whiteout!!

A 'whiteout'? In Spring? Well, not a real whiteout as in a snowstorm, but another sort of whiteout. We had several rooms in our house painted (white) during the last couple of days and, of course, it meant a lot of moving stuff around, covering things, taking things apart, hiding things, etc., so TheDoorHunter was forced into a temporary 'whiteout' ('blackout' sounds too drastic!!). Sorry about that!!

Today's door is another 'back door' to Obecni Dum. On 20 April 2010, in the post called 'Simply Golden' I posted a service door to this building. Though today's door is very different from the door posted in April, it does repeat the art nouveau theme and feel to it. I'm not exactly sure what this entrance is used for, but I have the impression it is the entrance for the artists as this building, which contains not only several restaurants and exhibits rooms, also has a fabulous concert hall and several large ballrooms (which include incredible murals by Mucha and other painters). This building is an absolute 'must-see' when in Prague and is called, in English, the Municipal House. I strongly recommend visiting as much of it as possible as you will not be disappointed!!

You might recognise the 'P' on the top of this handle...it is also in the arch of the door posted in April!! This 'P' is very unique...even if you only see it one time you will recognise it every time after! I'm not sure what the 'P' stands for in the context of this building, but for me it means 'Prague'!!

For more information visit: http://www.obecnidum.cz/web/en/homepage

Colourful Door Monday AND my 100th Door!!

OK, so today is Monday, but even though it is the beginning of the week (and not the end) it is a good day because today marks a special day: the 100th post of 'The Door Hunter'!! Wooo-hooo!! In honour of this special day, I am giving you a very special (AND Colourful Monday) door.

I came across this door near the Jewish Synagogue and before I actually saw it, I felt it...as if it was calling to me...really! Yes, you're thinking: "Sure, this is a fabulous gate, but where's the colour?" Well, just wait. Enjoy this part first because it is so worth enjoying. (By the way, this is NOT an 'Emily door' even though it may look small it really isn't!)

I envy the people who live in the apartment building that this door belongs to because they get to come into and go out of these doors everyday. What better way to start and end your day than to go through such inspiring doors. As you can see there is a date of 1911 in the wrought-iron door which puts it in the period of Art Deco. I look at this door and just can't seem to find enough words to describe the way it makes me feel so I will let you find your own to describe your own reactions to it.

AND NOW, for our Monday dose of COLOUR: BLUE!! Isn't this a gorgeous shade of blue? When I saw it, I think my heart skipped a beat and I sucked in a big breath of air all at once!!

A NOTE REGARDING MY 100TH POST: I started this blog because I love doors...this, you know. I hoped by showing these doors that I could not only interest other people who love doors to look at it, but maybe to also lure people to this wonderful city. I didn't start this blog to collect 'followers' (which is a good thing, because even after showing 100 doors, I still only have 13 followers!!), but to just give anyone and everyone something nice to look at each day. As I mentioned before, I enjoy your comments and I hope that you will continue to enjoy my posts. If you want to suggest this blog to friends that also like doors, please do. The more of us, the merrier. I do know that it is addictive to look at and for doors; since starting this blog, I have the nearly annoying habit of checking out every door that I pass on the street or that I see from the car or bus or tramway!! It definitely has become second nature for me...but maybe you know about this. If you do, write to me, I would love to hear door hunting stories from other 'door addicts'. Thank you for reading my blog and for your wonderful comments. Have an excellent day and week! Cat

Church Door Sunday

Actually, this isn't a door to a church, but rather to a chapel that is in an old cemetery.

By the way, just so you know, that isn't graphitti on the door, it's just chalk and it marks that the 3 kings (K + M + B)* visited this door on the day of the 3 kings and it also marks the year (2010). I will explain this tradition better at another time...I promise!

Sad Door Saturday

This once-was-nice door hides on a little back street and you will find it only if you know of a short-cut through a certain passageway that is not used very often and is rather off the beaten path. (Note: there are thousands of 'passages' in this city...created, I believe, so that a person doesn't have to walk around a block, but, rather, can walk 'through' it!) Perhaps because of this not-so-obvious location, this poor door has taken more than it's share of abuse. But then again, the entire building this door is attached to is clearly unloved so it only goes with the territory I suppose. Sad. Skoda (the Czech word for 'too bad').

Tilted Friday

No, I didn't photograph this door after having a couple of glasses of wine...what you see is the way it is...tilted! The door itself seems to try to trick your eye into believing that all is right, but look at the door's frame and you realise that the arch is definitely tilting. I like the play of the lines here, the fun and the trickery, but in the end, the truth prevails!!

Even the door's lock was installed in an unusual way...sideways!! But leave it to the door handle to get you back on the right angle!

Liechtenstein Palace

This palace is on the edge of the Vltava (Moldau) River and when the famous floods of 2002 hit, this building (and this door) was at least half submerged...water was up to the top of this door. Seriously! Since that flood, the city developed and installed a system of removeable flood walls, unfortunately, due to the location of this building, the wall system is such that it passes in front of this building which means that if Prague were to have another flood like the one of 2002, this building would once again find itself underwater.

Given the fact that it was certainly badly damaged by water, we can only imagine that this door was either repaired with remarkable skill, or replaced. At first view I would bet on the latter, but when I look at it up close, it looks as if it has had a life longer than 8 years. Nevertheless, this beautiful door and simple, yet tasteful arch is a pleasure to look at.

I like how this big door becomes 2 as well as 4 doors. How? Well, 2 big doors, and in each of those doors, another smaller door! Cool, huh? I think so!

Lovely handle, keyhole protector and flower decorations. The color of the wood is also incredibly rich...like warm honey. A very beautiful door!

Wednesday Quiz

OK kids! Let's see who has been paying attention to my blog. Look at the above photo. Look carefully. Based on what you see in the photo, what was this house's address before house numbering existed. See my blogs of 5 May, 21 April, 14 April and 8 April for help if you can't figure this out, but I'm sure you can figure it out without looking. Come on, you can do it...I know you can!!

I love the door. I love the frame. And I love the two together!

It's pretty clear why I love the door and frame - it's Art Nouveau!!

But even if this wasn't Art Nouveau, I would still like it. Definitely!

Colourful Door Monday

Monday!! Eye candy day!! Well, I try to make every day (except Saturday) eye-candy day, but Mondays are special because there is always a colour to look forward to!! I think we all have liked all the colours, but red does seem to be a favourite. This nice door was recently repainted and I think the designs on it were also worked on at the same time. It appears that they changed the handle though...to something less than exciting. Oh well, we can't have it all now, can we?!

Sunday Door

I don't know why, but I always prefer my Sunday doors to be in sepia...I guess like that they seem more other-worldly and spiritual.

Sad Door Saturday

If doors have spirits, the one that used to live here is very probably haunting this spot!!

If this isn't sad, I don't know what is!!

Immense

Not big....IMMENSE!! You wouldn't really know it by looking at this picture, but this is one big door. Ok, so it isn't gigantic and no, it wouldn't be big enough to let the Trojan Horse pass through it, but it is really big considering it is in the city. To be fair though, I think this door falls more in the category of a 'gate' because it is not a door in the sense that it leads into a building; this door leads into a courtyard so maybe it is technically a gate, but just for here, we'll call it a door. OK?

Only the last picture can give you a real idea of this door's size...that is my small hand on the door's lowest hinge which is bigger than my hand (and I had to reach UP to touch it). A hinge that size is only necessary on a big, big door!