Door Photos Are The New Live, Laugh, Love Sign—And I’m Totally Okay With It
The posters are seemingly everywhere: The Doors of Charleston. The Doors of Beverly Hills. The Doors of Dublin. The list goes on and on. I use to see these and laugh—how could someone buy something so boring? They’re just photos of doors. They all start to look the same after awhile, right?
But then I started actually looking at the doors on my travels, pointing out beautiful doors to my husband, dedicating entire pages to door pictures in my travel photo albums. Now I’m one hundred percent pro-door, and I’m not alone: The @dortraits Instagram account has more than 21,000 followers, and nearly 3 million photos are tagged #doors.
How did something so ordinary become an art form?
Doors aren’t just a way into your home, they’re the first impression you make to the world. A stunning door gets compliments (or Instagrammed); it’s something people spend a lot of time looking at. When people first arrive to your house, they see the entire facade as a whole but as they move closer to entering, their vision narrows until all they’re seeing is the door.
Plus, if you’re like me, your friends might stand looking at your front door for a few extra minutes as you scramble to find your pants and hide your secret shame piles because you forgot they were coming over. Why not give them something interesting to examine while they wait?
Doors can be a focal point in showing off how festive, playful, or cool you are—and you only need to take one look at Pinterest to know that door decorations are a must if you want to achieve Pinterest Perfection. Wreaths aren’t just for Christmas anymore! If you don’t have a flip-flop wreath up on the first day of summer, can you even call yourself a crafter?
Doors are also a fun way to take in the architecture when traveling to a new place. And different places offer up different types of beautiful doors. If you’re in a desert local like Palm Springs, it’s all about those pops of color. But in a coastal New England town like Newport, Rhode Island, colonial doorways and classic Cape Cods line the streets. Front doors provide a feel for a location and a city. You notice when they all fit into the same aesthetic, or when one doesn’t—somehow they all work.
Growing up, my house was white with a red door, and it became the way my friends and family would describe the house. It was our home’s calling card. Inspired by Mondrian, my mom had all of our external doors painted bold, primary colors. And those doors brought me a lot of happiness.
A colorful door is a way to showcase your personality in a world that would like everyone to be the same. My mom’s red door was a way to show color in an area controlled by a neighborhood council that wouldn’t allow something as loud and lively as a red house. But a scarlet door was her way of saying, “This is me.” A bold door is the blue streak of hair or emerald nose stud of the built environment: a confident statement of self-expression.
And lest you think photos of doors are basic as word art, consider this: Their universality is what makes them resonate. They are ubiquitous, yet unique. When you start to think about how much of one’s personality is in the door—whether it’s an ornately carved portal on a historic building, or a faded entry to a cozy country home—they really start to sing to you. They define a city and create moments of unexpected beauty, like delightful public art displays.
And hey, with enough TLC, your own door just might start trending on Instagram.