Sunday 31 August 2014

What does your front door say about you?

Our front door is black.  It was this colour when we moved in and we haven't got around to changing it.  A black door is said to suggest authority; seriousness; order and reservedness.  Certainly those are the kind of traits you would expect for somewhere like No. 10 - probably the most famous front door in Britain (regardless of whether the current, or any previous incumbents live up to that or not).


I guess that's right.  I mean, how seriously would we take a PM who lived behind a cerise door?

But are these character traits for me?  Well let's take a closer look at my door.  It's more than just a colour.

Abandoned scooters entangle unsuspecting postman with their handles.  Not just one scooter, but two.  I don't know why, since there's only one child living here, but why have one scooter cluttering up your porch when you can have two? And then there's the discarded boots of all shapes and sizes.  Remnants of family walks, encrusted with mud, kicked off at the door, which we've meant to return to and clean but somehow never get around to.  There's a collection of sticks, some of which should more accurately be described as branches, that the dog has triumphantly carried all the way home from the wood, resolutely refusing to let go.  There's pine cones and smooth pebbles, treasure found on days out which seemed the most beautiful items in the world earlier, but somehow I now don't quite want to come over my threshold, so they languish on the doorstep for months on end.  I can't quite get rid of them either so they exist in the limbo of the storm porch.

Often there are parcels tucked behind all this detritus of daily life, left by lazy delivery drivers who can't be bothered to wait for me to come to the door. The newspaper is shoved annoyingly halfway through the letter box by the monosylabic newspaper boy, inviting the cold wind to come howling through and into our hall.

There's sticky fingerprints at child height, and unpolished silver door furniture - yet another job that never seems to make the priority list. There's the doorbell which hasn't worked for months because I never remember to buy the correct battery to replace the dead one.  Those in the know bang the knocker, and those not privy to this information - the door-to-door salesmen, Jehovahs Witnesses and political canvassers never get answered because I live in blissful ignorance that they were ever there.

But this is the door where I stand, laughing and chatting with friends who gush "I'm not stopping, got loads to do" and then proceed to spend half an hour on my doorstep chewing the fat.  This is the door that gets thrown open wide to family and loved ones, the welcome message on the doormat a true and heartfelt sentiment extended to most.

This is the door that my daughter rushes to when her Daddy gets home from work, hurling herself at him for bear hugs.  Provided there's nothing good on the telly of course.

This is the door that the dog sits behind.  Excitedly welcoming our homecoming as enthusiastically when we've popped to the shops for five minutes, as when we've been out all day, her mouth holding a random shoe and her tail banging the radiator in delight at our return.

This is the door that keeps us safe and sound.  That looks after us.  The door to a house of love and laughter, of arguments and irritations, of mess and too much stuff.  A family.  My family.

What does your front door say about you?



12 comments:

  1. Your front door sounds much better than our paint peeling 1950's ill fitting door surrounded by spiders! However i did smile at the mess of too much stuff.. that is so familiar!! X

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    1. Ahh yes, I'm guilty as charged as a hoarder Goriami!

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  2. What a brilliant post! Our front door is white and mainly open. We didn't even have a front door for years and people had to come around the back!

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    1. Thank you Dom. I kinda guessed your door would always be open - and I bet there's always fresh cake on the kitchen table too.

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  3. Love that last paragraph, and what a gorgeous family you are!!

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  4. Am I the only one wondering what your paper boys name is now? Ed? Jo? Bob? Jim? Tim? Tom? I should stop this now, I'm getting a little carried away now...

    All I wanted to say is that I loved this post. You really feel how much love there is for everyone and everything behind your door x

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    1. What a lovely thing to say, thank you Carolin. x

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  5. Your front door clearly tells of a house full of love and fun and happiness (but I think the fact that it remains black shows that Missie Lizzie rules the roost ;) My front door has a lasercut Pashley Princess on it, so I guess it says someone with a bike, and a boyfriend who has a laser cutter, lives here :)

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    1. I bet your door is as stylish as you are Molly!

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  6. I totally agree that your front door says a lot about who you are and what your house happens to look like on the inside and out. This is why it is essential to get great hardware and to have it all professionally installed so that you know you are making the right choice for your own home and family.

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  7. I think the front door can say a lot about the owners of a home or store. I honestly don't think that much people think about this. However, it's a bit fascinating how simple things like the color can affect the way people view it. http://azcommercialdoorrepair.com/about.html

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