As I stumbled across this 1949 picture on Life.com, it conjured up so many feelings – a time when life was more simple, when boys were content to play with one truck on the floor, and when Family Managers focused on hanging their prized china plates over the doors…just so. 😉
And from that tangent, I started questioning if I was utilizing the decorating space above the doors in my home. The ceilings on our first level are 9 1/2 feet tall, so it leaves interesting decorating challenges.
When we first moved into the house, I hired someone to build this shelf over our french doors in the kitchen. Slowly, I am buying up aqua and blue glass pieces at yard sales and thrift stores. It’s funny to look at it through the eyes of this picture. I’m going right now to take down the basket, and the yellow vase, which will leave it more clean looking.
I picked up these two decorative pieces at a yard sale for $0.50. In ten minutes, the gold was gone and a white washed look took its place.
It lends a perfect visual pop for the door leading from our kitchen to the laundry/mud room.
Decorating with words of blessings and encouragement is very important to me. I found this long wooden blessing for my laundry room at Goodwill for $10.
As well as this reminder to Love, Honor and Cherish, also at the Goodwill for $15. The price was definitely past my “flinch” point, but I knew it was a good investment for an important reminder.
Repeatedly, Dayspring’s online store comes through with inspirational reminders, and this was a steal in the clearance section last year. (Sorry, it’s gone now.) This hangs over my front door in the foyer.
As the yard sale season picks up, start thinking about what spaces you’d like to decorate. Is decorating above your doors an option? You can literally create eye candy in unexpected places for a few dollars and a can of spray paint. (Yard sale find below – $2).
If you’re incredibly artsy, you could try painting something above your door. This look could be created with a beautiful stencil.
My biggest “above the door” dilemma stems from the walls in my great room. When I designed windows and doors for our home, I went with tons of windows and French doors every where. In my opinion, the more light the better.The doors below connect our great room and my small “sitting room.” (A fancy name for “I haven’t done much in here yet” room. Directly across from these doors are more French Doors leading outside, but they also have transom windows all the way across the top. (See Great room picture at top of post.) Neither of these above the door areas are decorated, but the French Doors below need some serious help.
I bought some of Dayspring’s beautiful wall art, thinking that it might work over this door way, but as much as I love it, it’s not quite the Shabby Chic look I want, and I am going to put it elsewhere.
I will be painting these walls this summer a lighter tone, so I’m brainstorming what to do with this large space above the French Doors. It’s calling for something, and if you hear it answer, please feel free to let me know what it said to you because I am not hearing it yet. 🙂
I’ve seen some really gorgeous things done with natural materials. How about scouring the woods for a couple of beautifully weathered branches to hang up there? (I’ve seen something like this on a blog recently, but can’t put my finger on where…). Also, bookshelves look great up by the ceiling. By my reckoning, you can never have too many funky old books lying around.
Love your kitchen shelf. While you’re editing, you could remove the couple of other things that aren’t in the same color family (i.e. blue or blue-green glass). Or mix in lots more milk glass to make it a blue/white, sheer/opaque thing.
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I’m imagining curtains of sheer cream or white, with either a ruffled cornice or valance hanging over the top of the door to add more height. Or you could do that pretty draping thing where the cloth is draped around the curtain rod….
I really like the bookshelf idea, too!
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One long vintage window or several single frames to mimic the transom windows. Then decorate in some of the openings.
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Very inspiring. 🙂 I love the idea of decorating above doors and windows…unfortunately our ceilings are too low for that, there is hardly any room between the molding to do anything like that. We decided instead that we will do a little extra with the molding above the doorways so we’ll see how that goes.
Maybe the space above your doorway is a good place for a series of family photos in lovely frames? Looking forward to seeing what you come up with. 🙂
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Such a great space above your door. You are right, it is screaming for something!!! You can never go wrong with an iron scroll. I think it would love adorable up there. A nice long and skinny one! 🙂
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Jen Reply:
March 18th, 2011 at 12:57 pm
You and I think alike, but unfortunately, about a foot to the left, there’s a big iron scroll over my desk. 🙂 Yep, I like that much.
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LOVE your ideas…my latest decorating-above-the-door-inspiration: frame “prints” from an old garden-themed address book in matching (cheaply bought and then spray-painted) frames in a grouping of three or five (depending on the width of the frames and of the doorway!). Old calendars work GREAT for this idea too.
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My new favorite store is Kirklands. They can tend to be a bit pricey but I have found wonderful decorations for my walls in their clearance section. They also have coupons which work on clearance items. The other place I love shopping for my walls is Hobby Lobby. They almost always have wall decorations on sale for 50% off or have a coupon for 40% off a single item. If you sign up online then you can have both places email you your coupons. They both do online shopping as well. A friend of mine paints scriptures on her walls which is both beautiful and inspiring.
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I love your ideas and am very inspired when I read your posts. I love the vinyl wall art that is so popular right now. The nice thing is that a lot of it seems to be Bible verses or inspirational sayings. Something large in white vinyl (that sounds like it would be cheap looking but it’s not!) would look great. Hobby Lobby is a good place to get this and it’s super easy to install. I love their 50% off sales and 40% off coupons!
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Sharona Reply:
March 21st, 2011 at 1:26 pm
Several of my friends have used a projector to paint a verse over the doorway. You can pick your own font and phrase. project it as big ir little as you want and trace outline with a pencil. Then just fill it in with a paint pen in your selected color! This looks really cute over a headboard too!
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Ohhhhh, you need to head to Raleigh! I have so much stuff at my shop that I could give you for a SONG!! I love the vintage window idea to mimic the transom idea or the branches idea…How about a fun old screen door? Or a long shutter? It will be very cute whatever you do!!
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Hi! I have enjoyed reading your blog for quite some time and especially enjoy your Frugal Fashionista posts.
This is completely off of todays topic, but you were the first person I thought of when I got this email.
I just got an email from Forever 21 saying that until midnight tonight, 100% of their online orders will be donated to Japan relief efforts.
It would be great to get the word out!
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Now my husband is going to be wondering why I keep gazing at the spaces above our doorways…
Love that black and white photo. I could write about that for days…
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..Something that is like the window above your front door…love that
look! Can’t wait to see what you are blessed in finding..-ann
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I agree with the family photos. I would use weathered/old barn wood frames with a whitewash, with white or cream matting, and have each picture sepia or black and white…maybe a series of family group shots past to present?
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I think I hear the french doors saying to put old single pain windows above them…maybe several different sizes and shapes…left empty! At least that’s what I heard it saying! 🙂
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I just stumbled across this site… beautiful ideas! 🙂
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You got me thinking…:o)
http://makingitmerry.blogspot.com/2012/08/decorating-over-my-doors.html
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I have some 8 inch vintage plates I want to set on top of the entry way moulding between the dining room and living room. I can set the plates there but they slide off. I don’t want to hang the plates or put nails into the wall. I want them to look like they are just leaning against the wall on top of the moulding. Is there a simple way I can display and secure the plates on the moulding without them sliding right, left or forward?
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Jen Reply:
December 27th, 2013 at 3:18 pm
Maybe You could affix something to the back of them right at the top so that it kind of sticks to the wall without it looking like it’s leaning and not actually hanging there? Just a thought.
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