Part 2: Revolving Doors 

Written by Jaqui Lividini

We left off with the great flood #1 (I know that begs the question, was there a flood #2? — more on that later).  I will leave it at that for now, as the details deserve their own blog post —back to the lower level doors.  I asked my insurance adjuster on a scale of 1 to 10 how bad in his opinion this flood was, he responded immediately — a 10+.  The eternal optimist in me didn’t think this was a catastrophic incident — the adjuster, readjusted my POV.  Our VERY large wooden LL closet doors were one of the most effected items in the flood.  They were drenched with an endless source of running water pouring over them for hours, and as a result, sitting in water for hours. Since the doors were so long and narrow, they warped and peeled and eventually became moldy.  In the end, there was no saving them so even though there was a thrifty solve for the door challenge — it was for naught. Back to the drawing board.  

Lesson #1 - Find the silver lining, almost every home renovation disaster has one.  Now that I had to get new doors, (and because of the size they had to be custom) I could select any type of door I wanted - WOW exciting. Not!

Lesson #2 - Too much choice is as difficult to sort through as no choice at all.  Back to my inspiration book and countless hours on the internet surfing for the perfect doors.  My taste and all my tear sheets referenced antique French doors with complex designs, mirror or glass panels with elaborate old world details and vintage hardware in nickel and bronze.   Not really right for my ceramic “wood look” floors or the space size in general.  

Lesson #3 - Let the space dictate the design.  You must take clues from your space, and although I wanted to get the most impact for the buck, the landing called for a simpler door.  My contractor Arthur created a hybrid frame design that perfectly fit the space and we went with a traditional French door with eight mirrored panels and beautiful articulated knobs.  Enough pizazz to make it feel a bit old world, but modern enough to satisfy the space.  

Lesson #4 - The simplest approach is often the best.