The Autumn Front Door

Mary Carol Garrity

 

With my Halloween decorations now gone, the front entrance looks a bit bare. And it is too early to start Christmas decorating.

An Elegant Beach Doormat

Seashell Estate Doormat

 

This chic doormat is from the new Studio McGee collection for Spring for Target I posted on yesterday. Finding a great doormat is difficult and finding an elegant one for a beach house seems even more challenging. Most are kitschy and tacky.

The Palm Beach Front Door

Coral Door with Palm Tree Door Knocker

I found this picture and thought it would be fun to figure out how to recreate it. Alas, my home has double white French front doors that I love, so this would not work at CCC, but maybe one of you will be inspired.

Creating a Chinoiserie Entrance

via The Scout Guide

 With its blue door, Chinese Chippendale railing, and pair of blue and white Neirmann Weeks Leone urns, this is an elegant front entrance with chinoiserie style.

Here is more fabulous inspiration. Adding some chinoiserie elements to your front entrance is a wonderful way to bring personality to your home before you even enter.

The Chinoiserie Front Door/CCC

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When I bought my Florida home, the front entrance lacked personality, with nothing but painted concrete. The first thing I did was to add a pair of blue and white Chinese garden stools. They have been outside in my gardens for thirty years and I couldn't wait to use them here. They will be even happier because they are quite sheltered from the elements. I never thought about this before, but they are perfect for all of my deliveries ! Amazon Prime perches.

CCC

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I keep a pair of umbrellas in the entryway - I take lots of walks with the pups and they are at the ready and I also love combining blue and white stripes with chinoiserie. A blue key fob is a new addition.

The Blue and White Entrance

Meg Lonergan - Southern Living

After just redoing my front entrance in blue and white with blue and white tiles, I had to share this intriguing blue and white front entrance. The door is painted in Farrow and Ball Drawing Room Blue. I also love the pagoda style lanterns and the Haint blue ceiling. The floor has a three dimensional illusion that I find a tad disconcerting though. It gives me a bit of vertigo.

CCC

 

The Chinoiserie Front Door

Edith Anne Duncan - Southern Home

 

I love blue and white Chinese porcelain at the front door of a home. I have a covered entry with a pair of antique blue and white Chinese garden stools and a blue and white Chinese umbrella stand filled with navy and white striped umbrellas.

This is a lovely example with blue and white ginger jars and even a cobalt blue door to match. 

My Front Door

My Front Door

This is the front door of the Florida house - I had my painter repaint the front doors in a glossy black, added this Pottery Barn lighting fixture I have wanted for years, and hung this very chic lion door bell.  I bought him twenty year ago for my house in Alexandria, Virginia and it did not work there. I love it here.

I love my door bell!

And look who was trying to come in last night -

I was just asked to serve on the Landscape Committee in my community and my first meeting is Monday - by Zoom of course. I personally nixed meeting in person. I am really enjoying gardening in Florida - here is my home.

2020 Trends - Painting the Front Door - Inside

Amanda Lindroth - Coastal Living

A trend I've been noticing is painting the inside of your front door in a contrasting color. Painting the inside of the front door black has been around for a while - I started doing that about a decade ago. But I love the idea of a real statement color. This is Dark Salmon by Benjamin Moore.

Benjamin Moore Dark Salmon 2009 - 30

I have never been a fan of accent walls, but I really like this and it is a lot of bang for the buck. Blue is another great option that would look wonderful with Chinoiserie.

Cottages and Gardens

Miles Redd - Veranda

Coral, blue, emerald green, or red would all be great choices with Chinoiserie, especially in a nice glossy finish. What do you think?

The Front Entrance

Pottery Barn Bolton Lantern

The Pottery Barn Bolton Lantern is something I have wanted to use for quite a while. Well, I decided it would be perfect for the outside front entrance of the new house. It is quite large and dramatic with a hint of a Chinoiserie pagoda style, but very subtle. Today my painters will be over to do a few things, including painting the double front French doors in high gloss black. I will post photos when completed.

Chinese Chippendale

Alessandra Branca - Architectural Digest

Alessandra Branca's Bahamas getaway - check out the Chinese Chippendale staircase in her signature red and the coral pink front door.

The Chinoiserie Front Door

Kips Bay Show House

I love the idea of a high gloss blue for the front door. A nice preview perhaps of the blue and white Chinese porcelain inside. If you want this look use Fine Paints of Europe - Hollandlac Brilliant.

Saturday Inspiration

Kristen Buckingham

Besides my dining room, my other big project for my home this year is the outside, including a new roof, gutters, and exterior painting. So I am knee deep in starting to focus in on all those decisions. The fun part will be incorporating some Chinoiserie outdoors. I have been thinking about a Chinese blue door. I have always had a glossy black door. This is an interesting alternative - the door stays high gloss black but the surround is painted Chinese blue. Do you like this?

The Thanksgiving Front Door

A gorgeous front door to welcome guests on Thanksgiving. I love the square orange wreath suspended from a ribbon that hangs from the door knocker. Such a clever idea. In my mind's eye I see out of our sight a pair of blue and white Chinese planters flanking the door and a Greek key door mat.

The Chinoiserie Front Door - The Winner

Thanks to everyone who weighed in on the front door color through comments and emails. High gloss black was the clear favorite, with coral coming in a very strong second. Everyone really seemed to love the look of of the high gloss paint - Hollandlac Brilliant and I suspect lots of beautiful glossy front doors will be popping up.

What you may not know is that this paint can be used indoors as well - on walls, trim, cabinets, and furniture. All these pictures feature this paint. You get that incredible lacquer look without the up to ten coats that is generally needed.

 Love a beautiful red front door? My absolute favorite red for the front door is their Tulip Red. I have started my posts on Chinoiserie holiday decorating with my new Houzz Ideabook and now this is tip number 2. Paint your front door in Hollandlac Brilliant Tulip Red (for a lacquered Chinese red door) for the best red door in the neighborhood for Christmas and every day of the year.

Tulip Red

The Chinoiserie Front Door - You Choose

Black in High Gloss

 Here are my four choices for paint colors for my Chinoiserie front door - high gloss black, coral, blue, and pink. I added the pink to the original three, I thought it was so pretty with the blue and white Chinese porcelain. Please leave a comment if you would like to vote.

Coral

Blue

Pink

The Greek Key Door

Forget the model, check out that Greek key door!

The Chinoiserie Front Door - Pink?

I received a comment yesterday from someone who is going to paint their front door pink. It got me thinking how this would look, especially with an infusion of Chinoiserie. Also, for Breast Cancer Awareness Month, I thought it would be fun to look at some pink front doors. This is not an official addition to my own front door choices of coral, black, and blue, but I do like it. I especially like it on the Palm Springs home two down with the pair of agave. What do you think?

A side note. We made it through Superstorm Sandy untouched, although millions of others did not, including blogger friends. My best to everyone recovering from this.