Beauty

On the street called Parizska (Paris Street), there are some very chic stores and in between them, some nice doors, some ok doors and some wonderful doors. This door and it's gate are what I consider members of that last group - wonderful doors!! Just look at this beautiful wrought-iron work....so rich, so elegant, so charming...it suits my tastes perfectly because it is beautiful without being too rich or too anything but, well, to repeat myself, charming!! Notice the little cut-out hearts at the bottom? (That's my new puppy Ellwood peeking through one.)

As for the door itself, it is of a caramel-coloured wood that is rich and friendly. It's simplicity invites you in and it's rounded windows are like delicate kisses to your eyelids. On the floor of the tiny 'foyer' between the gate and the door is a delicate mosaic of polished stones while on the walls a similar pattern repeats itself as a sort of garland of warmth enveloping the welcoming space before you actually enter into the building. You can certainly guess that I like this door/gate combination. Or did I already say that?

Oouff!

Yes, "oouff"! My first reaction when I initially saw this door's 'maidens'. Why? Well, I don't exactly know, but for some reason these two ladies just seem a bit too present for me...sure, they seem to be smiling, but what if they don't like you and decide to kick you upside the head as you walk into or out of this door? Sure, I know, 'they are not real!!', you're right, but you have to agree that they have a spooky quality to them. Once I tear my eyes away from the stone maidens and look at the sculptural work between them my blood-pressure drops to a normal level. The designs are very interesting, attractive and clearly from the Art Deco period (unless you know this building, you wouldn't know that the entire building has Art Deco decorations all over it). I seriously regret that I was not able to physically distance myself enough from this door and arch to get a complete picture of everything, but as always, a car was right in front of it...grrr!

The door itself is simple, but I can't figure out why it was not put directly into the wall, but was, instead, put into a construction that gives it the feel of being a pay booth to a cinema and not the entrance to an apartment building. I half expected to see someone behind the glass ready to ask me which movice!

For once though, I'm glad the renovators of this door went with a simple, sober door handle...anything else would have been over-kill!!

Watching and Waiting

I love the lines of this door....especially in the window above the door. I like the delicateness of the door coupled with the strength of the columns that stand by it like sentinels. The ironwork in front of the windows is also very nice as is the ironwork of the balcony above the door's arch. Regretfully, the day I photographed this door, a big truck was parked right in front of it so I had to do my best to get a decent picture of it. If ever I go by it when the view is clear, I will re-take the picture. Promise!

I like the lady waiting above this door, however, the wooden lady waiting ON the door looks like she is half asleep. Perhaps both of them would like to hop down and do some shopping. Why would I think that? Well, this door is on the very chic street called Parizska (Paris Street) where all the haute couture boutiques are located (e.g. Hermes, Louis Vuitton, Cartier, etc.). Just next door to this door (and these ladies) is the Dior boutique ... I guess we could say that it is just next dior! (Sorry, I couldn't resist!)

The door's accessories are nice, but nothing very exciting and it looks like someone's set of keys have, after numerous times of locking and unlocking the door, done a good job of scratching up the varnish...too bad!!