At the House of the White Boot

I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but there was a time when houses didn't have numbers, but had a different form of identification: a name. For example, a house might have a sculpture of 3 blackbirds on it so it was given the address 'At the House of the 3 Blackbirds'. If you look back to the door post of 8 April, that door was in the house 'At the Stone Ram'. It used to be that people would know a house by it's descriptive name and would look for such identifying factors when in search of it. Today's door is in the house 'At the White Boot'. Yep, that is just what it says over the door and it even has a relief sculpture of a white boot! That is all good and fine and even can be romantic, but what on earth did they do if they were in a hurry? I guess back in those days people had a lot of time to go looking around for the right house...I'm just grateful that today we have street names and house numbers!!

As regards the door itself and especially it's accessories, I like the little brass plate that shows a design of a letter then has an arrow to show the postperson where the letter needs to go. Too bad if the letter is fatter than that slit in the door...only thin post will be accepted in 'The House of the White Boot'!! (I have a question: Must the people that live in or that visit this house wear only white boots? Naw, I don't think so!)

Simply Golden

Would you guess that this door, which in itself is quite simple, is just a side entrance? Yep, it is. It belongs to the very famous and beautiful Municipal House (Obecny Dum) which is known for it's art nouveau paintings, murals, stained glass work, restaurant, architecture, furniture, etc. If you know this building, you know that the main entrance is 1000 times more exotic, however, if you want to see that door, you'll have to look it up on the web (lots of pictures of it exist on various sites) because I prefer to show you the lesser-known side entrance, or rather, the service entrance. I realise that it's hard to imagine a service entrance having such a beautiful, ornate green and gold art nouveau arch to protect it from the rain, but believe me, I walked by this door nearly every work day for seven years (when I worked in a building just across the way from it) so I can tell you from those years of seeing this door that I only ever saw it being used as a service entrance. Oh what a very lovely service entrance it is!!

See the gold work? The 'P' in gold and the other touches of gold both in the front of the arch and in the sides of it. And the door handle is wonderful...simple, yet beautiful.

Colourful Door Monday

Is this not a nice colour? A nice teal blue!! I saw this door and it just made me smile. Period. So I'm sharing it with you in hopes that it brings a smile to your face this Monday day. Have a nice week!

Sunday Church Door

Once again, we are looking at a side entrances to a church (the main entrance to this church is much grander). I don't know how often this entrance is used, but apparently enough that they could not leave it as it was so they updated it with a new (old-looking) door in a bright red (!!). Personally, I am not impressed. It is all flash, but has no heart (unlike my very first door on 14 February which was also red like this, but had lots of heart)...this just looks out of place to me, but who am I to criticise it? Just a simple passer-by. Though when I see a bright red door on a church I have the impression that somewhere in the heavens there are angels sighing...or giggling. WHAT WERE THEY THINKING?? Oh well, it certainly makes for good conversation!

Sad Door Saturday

Joyless and Sad. Yep...that's what the J and S in the windows must stand for. Oh what a poor, sad, sad door. What on earth did it do to deserve such awful treatment? I think I hear it whimpering...can someone please call the SPCD*?

*SPCD - the (non-existent) Society for the Protection of Cruelty to Doors

An 'Emily' Door

And here we are, back to Friday so I thought I would show you another 'Emily' door (if you don't know who Emily is, please see my post of Friday 9 April). When you first see this door all by itself, you might think that it is quite big...but now look at it with Emily in front of it - remember, Emily is about 5 feet 3 inches tall.

Isn't it cute? This would definitely not be the door for a tall person! Well, at least one that has a tendency to forget to duck his head when passing through it!

The door isn't very ornate, but it does have a nice inlaid flower/star design and the wood is light and inviting. Finally, the door accessories pass my 'test'...they have character and to me that counts for a lot!

Simple, but Fresh

As you might imagine, I've become somewhat addicted to looking at and for doors. I see a door and my eyes wander over the whole thing then I ask myself how my heart feels about the door. If my heart likes it, I photograph it. All of the doors I have posted have gone through this routine. Sometimes the doors are fabulous; others are sad; others are unusual; while others are simple, but charming or lovely or any of a myriad of adjectives that could describe them. This is another of what I call 'Simple, but...' doors. I suppose I could also call them 'Simple and ....' doors.

I find the wood to be fresh and warm and inviting. The woodwork is well done without being overly complicated and the frame is also simple, but it, too has some character to it.

Finally, the door handle completes the picture with its delicate design that isn't too rich and in a material that a door handle should be made of - bronze (not aluminium!!).

At the Blue Lion

'U Modreho Lva' - which is what is written above this door - literally translates as 'At the Blue Lion' though, unless there is a blue lion statue somewhere higher up on the wall of this building, I'm a little confused because I don't see any blue lion anywhere in the door frame or it's ornamentation!

Granted, the door is very charming and the sculptural work above it is fabulous...but WHERE IS THE BLUE LION?! I'll just have to go back and see if I can find that blue lion, but until then, take a look at the richness of this door, it's frame, it's wrought-iron work and, of course, the arch above it. I would be happy to walk through this door each day!

Fantasy and Beauty

When I look at this door, it makes me think of a children's story; a fairy tale about a modest king. I seriously doubt that a modest king lives behind this door, but there is a modest king that lives above it. And there above him is his coat of arms to show what his lineage is...if you are familiar with coats of arms! This door and frame is all rather fun and fantasy filled...even the king's hair (or is that a sort of hat?) is all curly-cues!!

But let's get to the important part here...the door...well, in this case we have the wrought-iron gate which is lovely and effective. The flowing lines of the gate are gentle and easy-going, but they don't let you forget the gate's function. We see the gate a second time in the door's reflection and it repeats elements that render it so endearing. The door itself, is unfortunately lost in the dark depths of the foyer, but I am so mesmerized by the 'show' in front of it that I can't believe that the door itself is anything but lovely as well. It need not be too complicated since the show is (and our eyes are) centered on the wrought-iron gate that protects the door!!

Colourful Door Monday

This door is a looker!! There she is (yes, it is a she...it must be...look at the face over the door), lovely in her pretty red dress; partially in the shade, partially in the sun...smiling. You can't help but smile, too when you see her.

(Just too bad that the camera planted in the middle of the door frame has to ruin the privacy of it all!)

Church Door Sunday- what once was

I found this on a dead-end little back street...the backside of a church (that I can't seem to find the name of!)...it was there, looking so sad, unloved and forlorn...it isn't really a door, but out of respect, we will pretend it is, since it once was.

Sad Door Saturday

A broken window AND crap all over the babies.

Is this not sad???

But it could be so nice!!!

Why-oh-why?

An 'Emily' Door

When my dear Canadian friend Emily was visiting Prague (where she used to live and work) recently she was kind enough to go door hunting with me. When we came upon this door and another one very similar to it (which I will post later), Emily, who is about 5 feet 3 inches tall, was delighted...the doors were just her size! Thus, they were immediately deemed - by us - 'The Emily Doors'!! Thanks, Em!! Miss you!!

This door is all smiles!

At the Stone Ram

The name of this building comes from the relief sculpture at the top right of the above picture. Actually, the ram has just one horn so apparently the building has also been called At the Unicorn since not too many rams have just one horn!!

Nevertheless, the rest of the door is what I'm most interested in...especially the carved pillars and the stonework at the top of them. The archway is heavy and strong and probably once framed a magnificent wooden door, but sadly, the present door might be very boring if it weren't for the wrought-iron work, but luckily the iron work is the saving grace. The building is early 16th century, so I am guessing that the door frame is from the same period though it is possible that various renovations occurred over the centuries resulting in changes to the original design of the pillars - that is just my guess though.

The stonework at the tops of the pillars is fabulous!

Simple but Lovely

Once again, I have been charmed by a door's accessory. And once again, it is the little grill that is used for chatting through the door. Normally, I am charmed by a door's handle, but it seems that lately I have been coming across more doors with a 'chatting grill' and I have to say that I have been charmed by nearly every 'chatting grill' (is there an official term for this thing?) I have seen. Sure, this door is lovely and very respectable (but maybe a bit dark in colour) and even if you don't go to look at it from up close, you would probably say it is a nice door. However, I am convinced that if you do go up to it and check out the chatting grill, you'll come to the same conclusion as I did - that it is a very nice door!!

Charming

I like this door a lot. When I came across it, it called out to me. I had to photograph it and I had to share it. No, there's nothing terribly special about it, but it does have character and charm. It is simple yet inviting and it has nice accessories.

Call me superficial, but I have to say that the little grill (for chatting through the door) above the mail slot, sealed the deal for me....isn't it just so pretty?

Colourful Door Monday

I like this door! No, the door itself doesn't have a LOT of character, but the frame has a story to tell which I would like to know, but don't...and the light blue color of the door is like a summer sky...light, cheery and uplifting. I like how the six square windows in the door are complimented by the 12 squares above the doors. The lions watching over the playing babies actually inspire confidence...well, they make me feel confident!

Church Door Sunday

As is often the case with church entrances, this door is huge! This church entrance also has a small enclosed courtyard in front of it (some of it's wrough-iron work is framing this picture), which seems to make the door appear even bigger! When seen from up close, one can appreciate the beautiful and incredibly complicated metal work on the door. I think I could sit and just study the door for a few hours!!

Sad Door Saturday

This is an absolute pity. Pitiful. Horrible. The people who allowed this door to devolve into what it is today should be punished for extreme and absolute cruelty. This poor, poor door deserves respect, but what does it get? Graphitti. Horrible signs posted on it. AND a metro station planted RIGHT IN FRONT OF IT!! (Thus the reason the whole picture is taken from the side...I couldn't stand in front of it because the metro station stairs are located about 2.5 meters from the door!) This was once upon a time a beautiful example of what Art Nouveau's charming style is all about. When I see what it has become, I just want to cry. Where-oh-where is the SPCD? Someone call for help quick...PLEASE!!

Simple yet Beautiful

And here we are back in my favourite era....Art Nouveau. This is a rather confusing door because it is so non-typical for an entry directly to the street. But that's just what it is. I can't tell you anything about what is behind this door (though just a few days ago I did see someone using it). It is possible that these doors open up completely to allow a car or large vehicle to pass through and into a courtyard, but somehow I just have a hard time imagining it. In any case, the door (or set of doors) is in great shape, has lovely wrought-iron work on it and the Art Nouveau designs above the door are simple yet beautiful.

Rybism

This very unique and very rare door is a perfect example of a little-known period called 'Rybism'* which was between 1210 and 1290. When I saw this door, I immediately wanted to know more so I did a little bit of research and found that it was recently discovered buried behind a wall of a palace and that it's beauty has remained intact thanks to the plaster work that covered it.

*Rybism: translated 'fishism'