Is there something you always do or collect or buy during vacation? I don't buy too many things when I go out exploring the world with the family, but I do in fact bring a favorite (and free) "collectible" if you will with me from every city we visit. Any guesses from the photo above? Yes, strange but true...I always take photos of incredible doors I find. It's a little quirk that my kids give me flack for but I don't mind. They know by now to stick with their dad and I'll catch up to them once I get the shot. Leave me to my devices, and I could walk around an entire city or town and find the best doors all day!
The chippy doors that look like they have a story are my true favorite, and I think it comes from my grandmother's house. She had this old black door with interesting glass, and little corbels and trim and the coolest old doorbell in the middle. The property was even featured on a website dedicated to old southern architecture called "Vanishing South Georgia" that I literally just stumbled upon one day online!
I can't help it. I just love old things - chippy antiques, old architecture, history. I grew up in Savannah so how could I not like old stuff. I just don't think you can make things the way that they used to anymore and I love imagining who lived behind the doors I photograph and how they lived back in the day. Sometimes you can see the layers of different colors underneath each other and I think of how each color was probably a new owner of the house, each trying to express their own personality through something simple like the color on their front door.
In fact, I have a neighbor down the street that changes the color of her front door at least once every few months. My husband thinks I'm crazy but I notice this every time she changes it, and I often wonder if it's her career as an artist that affects this, or a want for something new that can be easily done in a day...who knows, but I find it fascinating!
I know I'm not alone in my obsession, I mean collection, and I love sharing the doors I find, so have a peek below at my latest finds during a trip to New Orleans a few months ago, and others from previous Charleston and Savannah trips (plus a couple from my own 'hood)!
Scroll through a little slideshow and you'll see our holiday client card from a few years ago...
As much as my boys poke fun at me for my door obsession, I like to think that they'll always think of me when they're out in the world, living their lives as grown men, and see a chipped old door, maybe in a great color, and they'll remember me and smile. What's your own quirky obsession that you just can't seem to shake? Inquiring minds would love to know...leave me a comment below or DM me on instagram.