Fancy Doors in the Family #ThursdayDoors

One of Charlie’s sisters has bought a big house in conjunction with one of her sons, his wife, and their two children.Β  It’s more-or-less two houses in one, so she can be independent and yet not alone. We went there for Charlie’s family’s Christmas Eve pitch-in.

They don’t have cats, which is a shame, because it’s a house that cats would love: labyrinthine, with doors here and there and everywhere. There ARE cul-de-sacs wherein a cat could be cornered, but also endless loops for breathtaking games of scattercat.

Here are some of the doors.

First, the back entrance. I love beveled or fancy-paneled glass, and I love sidelights, so I could stand and stare at these doors all day. Except the food was ready, so….

Next, this cabinet, which I insisted on calling The Narnia Box. The word on this is that somebody brought it back from a trip to Mexico years ago. It’s hand-carved by one artisan.

The doors on a lot of the rooms were pocket or sliding doors. I adore sliding doors — they’re like magic! Door … no door … door … no door. A lot of the old houses in the West End of Louisville had sliding doors between the front room and the dining room, so these doors took me back.

The balcony is accessed from one door, out of my SIL’s part of the house which hardly seems fair; she can come out and see what’s going on in her son’s part of the house, but son and fam can’t access the balcony. They’re talking about putting a spiral staircase up to it so she’ll have an alternate exit from her part of the house in case of fire, but we know they really want access to the balcony, don’t we?

It’s a pretty nifty house. They’re glad I won’t be there alone any time ever. I would be sliding on the hardwood floor in my socks and careening through the loops and hiding in the Narnia Box and throwing things off the balcony to see if they bounce and playing with the sliding doors. Oh, well, in my dreams.

This has been part of Norm Frampton’s Thursday Doors link-up. Hop over to his blog and, when you reach the blue frog button, click on it and POOF! you’ll find yourself in a wonderland … well, a list, actually … of links to other Thursday Doors posts.

A WRITING PROMPT FOR YOU: What’s your character’s dream house like?

MA

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About

I was born in Louisville, Kentucky, but now live in the woods in southern Indiana. Though I only write fiction, I love to read non-fiction. The more I learn about this world, the more fantastic I see it is.

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One thought on “Fancy Doors in the Family #ThursdayDoors

  1. Dan Antion

    December 29, 2016 at 9:59am

    I love your description of your play-day in the house. I think you should give them a cat. Then, they’d have to ask you to watch the cat when they go on vacation. Great doors.

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      December 29, 2016 at 11:38am

      Considering the fact that my SIL’s DIL kept a sharp eye on me the whole time I was there, I doubt they’d go for that.

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  2. Joey

    December 29, 2016 at 12:30pm

    I get the practicality of living together but not together, and to get to do it in such a FUN house, that’s awesome. I’d play, too. Narnia box, yes!
    My in-laws had pocket doors in their old house and now they have a stupid new house with no pocket doors. Lame.

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  3. Norman Frampton

    December 29, 2016 at 5:05pm

    Oh, that cabinet is just amazing!
    My wife has a thing for pocket doors too – I liked your description of the novelty factor with those: “Door…no door, door…no door” πŸ˜€
    Looks like a fun time was had by all.
    Have yourself a safe and happy New Year!

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      December 30, 2016 at 8:08am

      I can’t imagine an actual person actually carving all that intricacy — and then selling it. The only thing I ever did that was that labor-intensive was give birth.

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      • Jane

        December 30, 2016 at 9:57am

        People who can carve a thing like that can just carve another one whnever they like. Yeah, they’re that good!

        Remember the Elizabethan carved hall at the Speed Museum??

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        • Author

          Marian Allen

          December 30, 2016 at 10:47am

          I sure do! I seriously need to return to the Speed, now that it’s reopened. I think the hall is still there. What an amazing place!

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  4. Deborah

    December 29, 2016 at 9:39pm

    I love side glass panels too, and hoped we’d have enough room in our new entryway/doorway to add one, but no go…hey I thought how about a transom then? No, couldn’t have that either…no room. πŸ™ I did put in a pocket door though. A glass paned one. I love it. I laughed out loud reading your thought, “door. no door, door, no door.”. That’s it!

    I love your description of the fun you have at the house alone. I love the Narnia Chest. I’ve only brought back Vanilla, blankets, silver bits and bobs, and a Nativity set back from Mexico. I’ll have to broaden my scope!

    Happy New Year!

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      December 30, 2016 at 8:10am

      Ooo, a glass-paned pocket door! Pictures, or it didn’t happen! πŸ˜€

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  5. janet

    December 30, 2016 at 7:50am

    I see why you thought of Narnia. What a great cabinet/armoire! I really like the together-yet-separate house idea, too.

    janet

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      December 30, 2016 at 8:14am

      Now that I think of it, they might have gotten the idea from Charlie’s and SIL’s mother. She had a little two-story house with an indoor and an outdoor (for the purpose of fire escape?) staircase to the upper story. She rented the upper story out and kept the inner staircase door locked, unless she rented to any of her children or grandchildren.

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  6. Gordon

    December 31, 2016 at 2:03am

    Fun post and I’m smilin! I’m just wondering since it has been claimed that the U.S.A. is shipping manufacturing to Mexico to have the merchandise then resold in the U.S.A.; did Mexico have the Narnia Cabinet manufactured in the U.S.A. then shipped to Mexico to resell to American tourists to bring back to America?
    Happy New Year!

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      December 31, 2016 at 10:13am

      That hurts my head, Gordon! But Happy New Year, anyway. πŸ˜€

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  7. Elaine

    August 13, 2017 at 3:55pm

    Oh my goodness! I love the Narnia box! I love it when people share their unique homes, and have always found myself drawn to unique layouts with those details that give the home personality. I have a number of colleagues (I’m a Realtor) who prefer to only show houses that don’t have anything that might “scare away” your average buyer, but I would much rather list homes that have that personality that will separate them from the rest of the neighborhood. P.S. – a spiral staircase is a brilliant idea!

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    • Author

      Marian Allen

      August 13, 2017 at 6:33pm

      I know houses that are “staged” to look generic tend to sell faster, and I can understand that. I can understand not wanting somebody else’s vision interfering with the buyer’s vision. Still, I’d rather look at — and, if I were a realtor, show — homes with style, that show what CAN be done with a blank canvas. Thanks for the comment, Elaine!

      Permalink  ⋅ Reply

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