I often think it is a little bit bizarre to love everything worn, chipped and ever so slightly broken down.... To search for objects that aren't perfect, that exhibit the passage of time in full force and that tell a story seems in direct contrast to the contemporary world of instant and internet that we live in. I do appreciate the modern life we live and I esteem the brilliant designers who can make it all happen with concrete, glass and a serious amount of engineering... but my heart belongs to the old world, to patina that can only come from wear and tear and the passage of time...
When I see doors such as these I don't think of practical matters such as entries and exits I imagine 'who' and 'why'... I wonder where this doorway leads to and who are the inhabitants of such a fine and imposing doorway. I consider the artisans who crafted the wood, the ironmongers who forged the bolts and the stonemasons who carved the decorative pediment. The limestone blocks framing the door are shaped, each one perfectly supporting it's neighbour and the detail.. although simple is there... These buildings were built to last a lifetime, many lifetimes... and therein lies their tale... if they could speak...
'Knock knock' who's there? I wonder how many acquaintances that slender hand has known.... How many have knocked and held her fine form to announce their arrival? There seems to be a penchant in Provence for ornamental hands... some with bracelets, some with rings even... and most are smooth and sleek with the passage of time... I like the elegance of her form... the relaxed drape of her fingers and the solid nature of her bracelet... She tempts me to knock... to know more...
To me, patina means life well lived... the good and the not so good... the joys and the heartbreaks... Patina shines with the continuity of life... xv
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It does too. I can remember many years ago to earn extra cash,I took a little cleaning job. I was young and didn't know anything about patina or such. I thought I was being extremely particular and conciencious by scrubbing and polishing lots in this very old home. One of the things was an old brass firescreen. The type with scenes. I got out the brasso and polished until it shone. I will never forget the Lady of the houses face when she walked into the room. Instead of the praise I expected,I was severly reprimanded in a very vexed manner. I have never forgotten that word patina since.
ReplyDeleteInfact I love ancient and well worn vintage things,especially the ones in your pics. The hand knocker is beautiful.
Your post certainly brought back a few memories.x
Divine... love the two images together.. Gorgeous colour palette.. Carla xx
ReplyDeleteGood Morning Vicki
ReplyDeleteHow beautifully you articulate the sense one gets when viewing the patina of a beautiful doorway.
As a painter of architecture, I am drawn to doors, shutters and reflections in windows. There is a time when a door is at it's prime and paint is unnecessary.
Thank you for bringing this joy
Helenxx
Hi Vicki, These are the questions I, too, ask. Many times I feel privileged to participate in the life of an object or building. The glorious entrance in your photo--did dukes and kings pass through? These buildings, built to withstand all time, closely guard their secrets. thank you. Mary
ReplyDeleteBrilliant, beautifully written post Vicki!!! It's the sense of history and the real and imagined stories that are so meaningful. I love the modern too but it can't exist or be designed without a knowledge and sense of the past. And it's those who understand and use this concept that hold the most interest for me!!
ReplyDeleteI also like everything with a worn patina. Even most clothes and jewelry.
ReplyDeleteIt's all softer that way.
That door knocker is the best!
ReplyDeleteIndeed. Worn and still beautiful in Japanese is called wabi sabi. The article in question cannot be broken or run down in a shoddy manner (junk), but its history and use which is apparent, does merit its own word in that language. There is recognised beauty in such things.
ReplyDeleteThings with patina have meaning. I'd much rather fill my home with "patina-ed" things than brand new anytime.
ReplyDeleteI sometimes overdo the well worn look and know I must mix it up with a few crisp & new objects ... . . but, just for the contrast to keep it fresh and add a note of surprise.
ReplyDeletePatina Rules !
jjj
I am a door lover as well. I have quite a collection of door photos from Europe and have an array of them framed in my entry way.
ReplyDeleteI love doors as well. In fact, I have a collection of photos of doors from European trips and have many of them framed and hanging in the entry way. I am fascinated by them.
ReplyDeleteAgree, Vicki! Love to look at the beautiful, modern rooms, but I want to live in the old world.
ReplyDeleteTeresa
xoxo
I love your sentiments ......they echo my fascination for pieces with history, especially doors. I have an abum of images of doors of Europe!
ReplyDeleteI so agree! And this post reminds me of one of my favorite evenings in the South of France which was spent at an outdoor dining table in Menton on a street so narrow, we literally had to pull in our knees every time a car drove through. As we ate, cars kept driving up to a particular spot just past us, dropping people off. We kept wondering if someone was having a party though we heard no sounds of one. How could one door take so many guests? After dinner, I decided to explore and found it was the opening to a medieval stairway leading, meandering to the church at the top of the hill. The stone steps were so worn and trodden, as I made my way past the medieval, connecting houses, I couldn't help but wonder who and how many had trudged the very same over the centuries! We thought the dinner had been the highlight of the evening until we discovered and traversed the ancient stairway to the church at the top overlooking the water. Thank you for reminding me of a most splendid evening!
ReplyDeleteI love old things incorporated into a more transitional setting. I like the contrast. I own several Victorian "hand" door knockers like the one you pictured. They look lovely on an old tray with a stack of books. Besides, incorporating antiques and vintage items into ones home is my idea of recycling.
ReplyDeleteBest...Victoria
I too love the worn look but it has to go with the surroundings...but i also like the crisp modern look...if I only could stick with one thing it would be so much easier xx
ReplyDeleteI've always had a thing for antique hands like this and this knocker is amazing Vicki! I actually put finding a vintage knocker on my to do list yesterday and now seeing your post, I think the universe is trying to tell me something!
ReplyDeletexo Mary Jo
I agree Vickie, I feel so sad when I see the trend to knock down the old and build new gaining momentum here in Australia. We need to appreciate and embrace our past, as it shapes our future.
ReplyDeleteSimply beautiful! I love the hand door knocker.I feel in love with the doors of Provence last year.
ReplyDeleteI loved the villages that you mentioned yesterday
especially Gordes and Bonnieux.Have a wonderful day Vickixx
Oh, I'm so with you on this one Vicki......vintage, aged, the patina of time all add to the pleasure of a house or object. I love to wonder who owned it before me and just what their lives were like. As much as I can appreciate new builds and contemporary interiors ( and just for a second, think how nice it would be to live with clean, straight lines!!) I couldn't live in such an environment. Our house before the one we live in now was built in the 1600's when Charles 1st was on the throne and before the Great Fire of London. The house that we live in now is Victorian, but with both of them I love to think of who lived there before us.
ReplyDeleteSorry, I've rambled on but you have touched on a subject that I love !! XXXX
I couldn't agree with you more. Lovely post and photographs.
ReplyDeleteAlicia
How lovely - there's such a sense of old world mystery and romance associated with doors and door knockers. In Greece when old doors can no longer function as a door they are turned into low coffee tables. Exquisite on and off the hinges!
ReplyDeleteFrancesca
Hi Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI adore Paris's doors. I spent an entire day photographing them last year for an illustrated book on this beautiful city. It's interesting that many of the older entrances and courtyards have two doors - an outer one designed to keep the boisterous crowds out during the Revolution and other uprisings and an inner one to, well, ensure they stayed out! Some of the prettiest are in the Maris and the 6th, 7th and 8th arrondissements. I think many tourists wished they lived in Paris in a grand old apartment building with a gorgeous old carriage door!
Love your blog, your posts and your books!
All the very best,
Janelle McCulloch
janellemccullochlibraryofdesign.blogspot.com
Oh me too ! :)
ReplyDeleteI could surround myself in "old" things and be quite content. I love the idea of them .. the times they have lived through, the things they could tell us.
In my living room are two chest/armoirs , bought in auctions in NYC .. they are both over 200 years old .. my coffee table is Chinese, over 200 years old .. I like to daydream sometimes and imagine the homes they were in, the people that owned them ..
and how far they have come from where they began !
(sort of like us :)
Hello Vicki,
ReplyDeleteI am exhausted, just coming back from a few days working outside of Paris. It seems that in that region everything seems to be (again) pushing towards the shiny new black sleek and my oh my I didn't appreciate it in the least. What a relief coming back to my appartment where I have to shake the door to get it to open as have many before. You have to live here to know how to do it.
I love what you wrote about patina. My goodness, if only we could look at ourselves the same way!
Bisous,
Heather