If you're just joining us, we live in a small 2 bedroom apartment in Brooklyn. I don't know for sure that you'd call our building pre-war, but we can definitely say it's pretty old, and that some of the workmanship around here leaves a little to be desired. This doesn't mean we don't love this place - it just it what it is. And, as I've mentioned before, I actually find the place a bit freeing, in terms of formality. If we lived in a large, well-finished Colonial, say, I probably wouldn't turn to Washi tape and postcards as my entry decor. But we don't, so I did.
The whole Washi-tape-as-picture-hanger thing is pretty standard by now, but you definitely tend to see it more often in kids' rooms and creative spaces. Those less formal places in the home. Well, our whole place is pretty informal, and I like it. I like the casual vibe, which goes a bit against my natural tendency to straighten every last book. It's easier. More relaxed. I guess those are all just synonyms, but I'm really craving ease and relaxation these days (once the temp drops to 65, I need a blanket and some hot chocolate, stat), and home seems like a good place to start.
Our door was not so pretty before we started: I mentioned some less-than-stellar workmanship, and the door was exhibit A, with an extra, non-functioning deadbolt, a pretty large eye sore of a peep hole, and general shabbiness. Add in the darkness from being a windowless interior, and it was pretty glum.
It needed some cheering, and what better to cheer than pretty things and good memories? We are essentially now just treating it like a bulletin board, with reminders of this summer's good times: ball games, shows, photo strips and greeting cards. The strawberry and carrot prints are actually 5-year-old menus from a very special meal at Chez Panisse, in Berkeley. The little train ticket is from a routine trip home from visiting grandparents in Jersey, but the conductor punched a little smiley face in it for Lou, and it thrilled her so much we hung on to it. Lots of these items evoke great thoughts, and some are just for looks: Some pretty postcards we picked up, including two hand-screened NY-based ones I'm obsessed with, some hand-stamped cards from a local gift shop, and the requisite garland. (We recently took this one out of Lou's room, so I taped it up here. Easy, peasy).
I left the fire safety card unobstructed, because safety first, but I think it, and the peep hole, are both much better camouflaged now. I also removed the extra deadbolt components and sort of of covered them up with some Yankees ticket stubs. It's not perfect, but the view down the hall is so much cheerier. We'll be out of here in a month, but there's space to tape up a few more memories or mementos. If we don't do this to our front door in our next space, we're likely to have a wall or door somewhere - likely the office - that does sport all our little keepsakes. We keep the stuff anyway, so we might as well display it. And I like to see things change with the seasons, as holiday cards and baby announcements and wedding invitations change the look of the board.
Happy Monday, and thanks for reading!