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.

source

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. 🙂