Marianne Suhr: A welcome sight

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We are now coming to the end of our project. I know I keep saying that, and I have to confess that having a baby does rather scupper progress, but we are very nearly there – promise!

With seasonal festivities upon us, it seemed like a good time to tackle one of the few remaining jobs – the porch and front door – which had been neglected for far too long. When we bought the house, all the exterior woodwork had been coated with the ubiquitous white gloss paint, rather poorly applied without proper preparation and now flaking away as a consequence.

The front door dates back to about 1840 and as we stripped off the paint to get back to the bare wood, we found a dark green colour scheme in the earliest layer. A rather mean letter plate was added to the door, probably in the early 20th century, but was far too narrow to receive my monthly copy of Period Living, so that had to go.

The porch probably dates from around 1900, and simple in style it was in need of a little ‘jollification’. The tiles to the porch roof were damaged when the scaffolding came down, and the need to re-roof presented an ideal opportunity to add some detail in the form of decorative ridge tiles. But it’s easy to get carried away, and while I was off on a terracotta finial fantasy, Richard reined me in and we settled for some nice and simple spiky ridge tiles, more in keeping with our limewashed front elevation.

The ironmongery, however, was a different matter, and if it’s possible to have a love affair with a letter plate, it happened to me during a recent browse at an antiques and collectors fair. It was love at first sight. Just as Carrie Bradshaw has to have the shoes, I had to have the ironmongery equivalent of a pair of Manolo Blahnik shoes. A frighteningly capacious hole was cut in our lovely front door to accommodate our rather splendid Edwardian bronze letter plate. Accessories included solid bronze door handles, a wonderful find from a local junk shop.

The postman can now deliver almost anything; on the other hand, the large letter plate has caused the temperature within the entrance hall to plummet as the wind whistles through. So we got to thinking about making the area more energy-efficient by plugging up all the draughts that we could find. Escutcheon plates over keyholes, draught excluders and heavy curtains have all become part of the battle against the blizzards.

As for New Year’s resolutions, I have bought a bumper size bottle of Brasso and fully intend to polish the front door fittings on a regular basis to keep it looking good. Considering last year’s resolution, ‘to finish the project before the baby is born’, I suspect there is little hope for my door furniture.

ABOVE (clockwise from top left): Overhauling the lock box; Relaying the tiles to the porch roof and setting the new spiky ridge tiles; The new bronze letter plate in situ.

Keeping in the heat

• A heavy curtain, lined and interlined, will definitely assist in reducing the draughts. To stop the fabric getting caught in the door frame, hang the curtain on a specially-made rail that opens and closes with the door.
• Even small gaps can cause heat loss, so fit an escutcheon plate over the keyhole to minimise draughts, and a flap over the back of your letter plate.
• Draughtproofing around old doors is possible, but not always as straightforward as may be thought. A brush strip can be set in a rebate within the frame itself. For a simpler solution, fit a rubber strip against the frame and paint it the same colour so it blends in.
• A good old-fashioned draught excluder at the base of the door is a cheap and easy idea to minimise draughts and will always do the job.

Five ways to perk up your front door

• A fresh coat of paint will always smarten up your door. Try to avoid gloss white which is far from traditional. Prepare the substrate really well, going back to bare wood if necessary. Linseed oil paints will give the traditional look, but can only be applied in the warmer months. Farrow & Ball makes exterior eggshell paints in a range of beautiful muted colours.
• Good external lighting makes a front door seem much more welcoming. A downlight will illuminate a front door and show it off to its best advantage. Any light fitting can be connected to a PIR sensor, so it will come on automatically as you approach it.
• Quality ironmongery is worth the money. Lacquered brass degrades over time as the finish wears away. Scour junk shops and antiques markets for old handles and letter plates – consider bronze for an attractive alternative to brass.
• Plants or shrubs around a front door help soften its appearance. For an immediate effect, think about a pair of bay trees. Alternatively, train a climbing plant to grow around the doorway.
• Commission a letter cutter or signwriter to make a name plate for your front door. Design it on a computer so you can play around with fonts and sizes.

WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHS MARIANNE SUHR
Featured in the January 2009 issue of Period Living