All I Want for Christmas Is...

It's that time of the year: the time when a large proportion of the world gives and receives gifts in their community, some thoughtful:

Family Tree at Württembergisches Landesmuseum, Stuttgart / Wikimedia Commons

some not so much:

Oh, look. It's a cheese fondue set. via Wikimedia Commons

It's supposed to be a joyful time of year, when family and friends come together to celebrate the holidays, but it often ends up being more stressful than not! So, for this first CuratedHouston Holiday post, we've rounded up a collection of gifts that would ease the stress of the season so we could enjoy it as we should!

Image via Amazon.com

1. Handbag Organizer - It's a seemingly insignificant gift that we think could be life-changing. We practically live in our cars, and it's almost impossible to manage the large numbers of coins, pens, emery boards, and lipsticks inevitably buried beneath that layer of Starbucks receipts and dry-cleaning claim tickets. A handbag organizer would help, seeing as that one interior purse pocket always fills up quickly! This leopard print option from Periea is calling our name!






2. Cosmetics Compact - Okay, so we already use at least one of Laura Mercier's brilliant custom compacts to keep our blush and eyeshadow corralled, and it definitely cuts down on countertop and makeup bag clutter! These Laura Mercier compacts are available at Neiman Marcus and Nordstrom, which means you have a perfect excuse to eat at Bazille or Mariposa. Also, we're trying to figure out how to apply this bundling principle to everything in our lives. Ideas gratefully accepted!

Amazing Charger Available Here.

3. Charging Hub - With a limited number of outlets in our office, it would be a godsend to have a handy charging station for all of our gadgets: iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro. Also, if it could be made of an attractive material that's made of renewable resources, that would be great, thanks. Enter this beauty of a charging hub that would solve all my problems:

4. Desktop Scanner - Organizing all the forms, contracts, and bills that are an inevitable part of business and household management, and what better way to keep track of them than by scanning them straight onto that MacBook. A small one, like this one from Epson, would fit the bill perfectly!

Doesn't It Just Make You Want to Prepare Your Income Taxes?

5. Trunk Cargo Organizer - While buying groceries to make food for a sick relative, I started to daydream about having one of these. It would mean the end of wondering if that container of cubed cantaloupe from Whole Foods will make it home in one piece.

Available in Multiple Configurations here.

6. A Dog Walker - It's difficult to fit in exercise for ourselves, never mind for our pups. A dog walker - and I don't mean a robotic dog walker, but a human - to take the dogs for a trek around the neighborhood when our schedules mean it's just not in the cards.


7. Customized Meal Plans - We're tempted to try a service like platejoy, which creates meal plans for specific tastes, goals, and allergies, and plans your meals so leftover ingredients from Monday night's dinner are used up in Thursday's breakfast. Sure, you still have to do the grocery shopping, but that's what Instacart is for, right?

8. Gorgeous Office Supplies - Paperwork isn't known for pleasing the senses, but that doesn't mean the office essentials you need can't be! We love love love Cynthia Rowley's collaboration with Staples: think moody, floral, and luscious!

Find It Here....

Here...

And Here.

9. J. Crew Endless Shirt - Our capsule wardrobes - a few select items that all coordinate - could become a single uniform with about 10 of these wonderful shirts hanging in our closets! All we'd need to finish the uniform: 2 pairs of jeans, 2 pairs of J. Crew's Pixie pants in black and gray, and LOTS of chunky jewelry.

Dear Santa, I Seriously Just Want Ten of These. Please!

10. 1,000 Square Foot Addition (or A Whole New House) - Editor-in-Chief Megan currently shares a 3-BR/1-BA house with her husband and two dogs.

It's 985 SF.

Why she wants another 1,000 square feet of space is pretty obvious: it's a little cramped (the largest bedroom is 9'-0" x 11'-3")! And, of course, more square footage means more spaces that need to be designed! And who wouldn't want that?

What are your 10 most desired Holiday Gifts? And don't worry about being realistic, because WE certainly aren't!


Note: The companies whose products are listed above did not pay to be in this posting. We just really like the products!

Far Pavilions: Far From Ordinary

Name: Far Pavilions

Double-Arched Mughal Compound Doors with Brass Studs

Owner: Ritika & Sumit Bhasin

Address:         20425 Katy Freeway
        Katy, TX 77450

Website:         www.farpavilions.com

Price Range: $$ - $$$

Trade
Consideration: Yes





What You’ll find:

One of a kind furniture, accessories, linens, and art imported from India, Nepal, Peru, and a host of other countries. Many of the pieces are antiques or are assembled from salvaged elements to Ritika’s specifications by artisans, while others are restored to their former glory prior to sale. Ritika travels to India and beyond multiple times each year in search of treasures to bring home to Texas.

Toss Pillows in silk and patchwork fabrics atop a Kantha Quilt

Large bookcases and armoires are often constructed from the lintels of an antique Indian doorway, or the arch of a compound’s gates, combined with fine carving salvaged from doorways, windows, and pieces of furniture. Most of the pieces incorporate peacocks and sacred lotus flowers, two of India’s national symbols. Indian linens include place mats, table runners, toss pillows, bedspreads and kantha quilts, and embroidered silk curtains in bright jewel tones. The toss pillows’ fronts can be assembled from multiple dresses from various regions in India, or wool paisley scarves and blankets; paisley blankets in high-quality wool are also on offer.

Hand Carved & Painted Jharoka w/ Brass Chains

Other nations are represented alongside India’s wares. New Peruvian pieces include wooden dining tables and dining sets that are coated in gesso and hand-painted. Ritika imports traditional ceramics from a potter in Spain.


Why You Should Go:

Ritika and her husband, Sumit, know everything there is to know about their wares, whether it’s the provenance behind a pair of doors waiting for you to install them at your home, or the portion of the bodice used to construct a toss pillow. You can also buy a pavilion from Far Pavilions, purchase intricately beaded tapestries to add a jolt of color to your walls, and know that no one else will have the piece you’re purchasing.  The artisans that once created the carved doorways and window shutters are long gone, and their current carvers are nowhere near as talented, especially since the craft is dying out in India.

Pair of Large Hand-Carved &
Painted Horse

Antique Teak Temple &
Statue of "Good Luck" Ganesha

Antique Teak Temple &
Armoire of Carved Antique Door & Lintels

MAI Christmas Giving Sale!

'Tis the Season to Give and Get, and you can do both at Memorial Antiques and Interiors, Dec. 5-16!

Finding Your Style: Wrapping Up

Ladies' Home Journal, 1948

Ladies' Home Journal, 1948

You’ve figured out how you want you home to look: its style, the colors you want to use, the aspects of your spouse’s preferences to incorporate, and you’re ready to start buying!

Well, almost.

Layout

First, you need to decide what furnishings you want for your room(s) and what they can hold. 

Grab some graph paper, measure your room(s), and draw their outlines on the graph paper (I recommend quadrille paper, aka 4’-0” in real life equals 1 inch on the page). Make sure you measure window and door locations, along with outlets and heat or air conditioning grille locations, too, as those can all affect the room’s layout.

Then decide what pieces you want for your room(s)? In the living room, do you want a sofa and two chairs, or a sofa and a loveseat? Or, heck, go crazy and plan for two sofas! How will they be arranged in the space? Find pieces similar to what you want, either online or in-store, and measure them. Will the size you’ve found fit into your room the way you’d like? Or will you need to add three extra feet to the living room to fit your design scheme?

A few general rules of thumb, to help in planning:

      *  Where’s the center of the room? Or, do you want to center your furniture layout on an
          architectural feature, like a fireplace or window?

      *  How do you usually move through the room? Will your desired layout interfere with traffic? If
          so, you might need a different option.

      *  Do you want the furniture to float in the center of the room, or have some pieces – sofas and
          chairs, generally - against a wall? If you plan to float your furniture, make sure you have a    
          walkway about 36” wide between the walls and the furniture to allow for ease of movement.
          Though others may disagree, I’ve found that 24” (or even 18”) between pieces within the
          group is fine for moving to a piece of furniture, and you don’t have to get out of your seat to
          put your drink down on the cocktail table.

      *  Every seat should ideally have a flat surface on which to set a drink (and have enough coasters
          so they can!). Don't just think tables, either: garden stools and ottomans with trays are
          perfectly serviceable drinks tables.

      *  If you’re laying out your dining room, try to ensure that each seat at your table will have 36”
          to the wall or other pieces, like a buffet, so there’s plenty of room to get up and walk around, if
          necessary.

      *  Buy furniture that can handle the scale of your rooms: an enormous overstuffed sofa might not
          work well in a cottage living space, and conversely, a tiny settee will probably be swamped in
          a family room with 20’ ceilings.

The Forbidden Conversation Topic, a.k.a. Money

Via Wikimedia Commons

You also need to think about your budget. Decide the maximum you’re willing to spend on the room, as a whole, and stick to it. You’re going to spend $5,000 on the dining room over the next 3-5 years? Great! You have $20,000 to spend on a blowout living room? Awesome!

But you also have to decide how that budget is going to be apportioned.

Look at the rooms you love: you didn’t toss all those design images, did you? Which of the rooms’ elements really jump out at you? Or, which of the elements do you want to jump out. What’s the focal piece going to be? A large artwork? A French deux-corps? A pair of Art Deco armchairs?

Once you’ve settled on what you want to be the standout star of your room, you need to decide how much you’re willing to spend on that item, versus the rest of the furnishings you want. You have to be patient and understand that The Knockout might not be the first thing you buy. It might be the LAST thing you buy, but you need to be patient.

If you’ve been buying “stand-in” furniture until you can afford The Knockout – an IKEA credenza, or a loveseat from Target instead of that mohair upholstered baby you really want – STOP. Don’t spend your money on things you intend to toss in the future, or items that will wear out in 5 years and require re-purchasing.

Whatever you do, don’t buy anything you don’t love, or that won’t fulfill a function in your home. If you can’t decide whether you love that area rug, don’t buy it, even if it is 50% off. Once you’ve lived with it for a year, you might loathe it, and then out it goes! And a portion of your design budget is wasted. Remember William Morris’s maxim:

“Have nothing in your house that you do not know to be useful, or

believe to be beautiful.”

Instead, save that money you were going to spend, and deal with the fact that your grandmother’s porcelain dinner service is going to live in cardboard boxes a little while longer; you can always unpack them if called upon to host Thanksgiving or Christmas dinner, and repack them when everyone’s gone. After you wash them, of course.

The money you save should be set aside so you won’t spend it on other things. If that means opening an online savings account to help, then do it! When you get those Christmas checks from Aunt Rita and year-end bonuses from your boss, deposit them in your savings account!

Why? Because you might not find The Knockout immediately, but when you do find it, you want to be ready to seal the deal. Whether you decide you’re willing to spend $3,000 or $15,000 on a credenza, you can’t buy it if you don’t have the money for it. Did you spend $1,000 of your Knockout money on a half-price mink vest? Too bad: The Knockout isn’t going home with you, and you’ll have to deal with the fact that someone might buy it before you scrape together the cash to purchase it at a later date.

Unless there is an emergency (your roof blows off, or your house floods), don’t dip into your Design Fund.

Ken Teegardin via Wikimedia Commons

Patience is a Virtue

Meanwhile, remember that it’s okay for a room to be “unfinished” for a while, where “a while” means “several years”. (Just tell everyone you're trying out Minimalist Interior Design for a while.) Rooms take time to mature and show their personality – and to reflect your personality – and you don’t want them to be decorated haphazardly.

You didn’t spring from the womb fully formed and with predetermined character traits, and your style won’t either. Over time it will take shape into a style and layout that is comfortable for you and your loved ones, be they spouses, children, parents, or pets. If your living room looks like a skating rink for a while due to the expanse of bare hardwood floors, then so be it.

Jose Goncalves via Wikimedia Commons

If you’re patient, you’ll eventually end up with a room you love to be in, as will your family, be they children, spouses, parents, or pets. Above all, remember to follow the words of ole' William Morris and the folks at Baker Furniture:

“…choose things well instead of often.”

Finding Your Style: Getting Started

Last week, I discussed how my style has grown more defined as the years have passed. This week, we’ll focus on you, and how to refine your interior style to suit your personality.

But where to start?

Many of my friends are purchasing their first homes, and they know how they want their rooms to feel – warm, traditional and welcoming; industrial mixed with modern; the cool Belgian look popularized by Axel Vervoordt before being mutated and spread like a virus by… well, I won’t name names. Figuring out how to achieve what they want is an entirely different matter.

My advice: look at what you have, and think about the things you will never get rid of, whether it’s that funny squirrel-shaped candy dish from your great aunt, or the trio of prints you bought from 20x200. Do those things have a common thread? Are they all quirky, or mid-century kitsch? Be sure to pay careful attention to your art and accessories: are there common colors that run through the them? Do they contain lots of oranges, reds, and yellows? Or a mix of cool blues and greens? Or both?

When deciding the colors for my home, I looked to the art I collect (most of which is in a storage unit, because a small house=small walls). The main colors I saw were blues and oranges, so those are the colors I ran with.

I considered a blue sofa, like the Chesterfield stunner below, but when my sister, mother and I went to pick out the fabric for my custom sofa, we realized that the blue velvets made me appear tired, to be charitable. While standing in front of an orange fabric, however, I looked great! My inherited under-eye circles practically disappeared! And what good is a beautiful living room if you don’t look your best in it?

Next, find images of spaces you would want to live in, be it a cozy cottage aesthetic full of quilts and antiques tables, or a modern loft with concrete floors and leather furniture.  No matter the style, the image should sing to you, hold your attention, and emotionally transport you to a place where you feel at home.

Find a place to keep those pictures: for bazillions of women, that’s Pinterest, and it’s a wonderful resource, as I’m currently discovering. For my mom, it’s a pretty blue linen box from The Container Store. I’m rather old-school, so I have a collection of Moleskine’s A3 Sketchbooks on my bookshelves; the interior pocket on the back is a great place to collect images culled from magazines and swatches of fabric before I affix them to the pages, which usually occurs a few times each year in a blitz of archival double-stick tape and lots of iced tea.

The point is to find an organizational method that works for you and how you live. If you mostly find images on your phone while browsing Houzz or Pinterest, then use those resources. If you love to curl up with a stack of glossy magazines, then use the pages for your references; once you’ve collected what you love, you can jettison the magazines: hoarding is never a sign of good design.

Once you have the images, annotate them: write down what you love about the image: the light fixture over the kitchen island? The pattern of tile in the backsplash? The appearance of the cork flooring? In Pinterest, you can do this using the space they provide for notes when you’ve pinned an image to your board. In a sketchbook you can do it with a black pen or narrow-tip felt marker.

After you’ve collected a bunch of images and notes, you can start to narrow down the elements you want to have in your rooms: if you’re devastatingly hip, you might decide to buy an orange velvet sofa, or a 1950s MCM console. Regardless, there are a few things to consider before you become married to a design scheme:

What are your cleaning habits? Selecting gloss white floors, for example, will require almost daily cleaning. Are you willing to take on that responsibility? If not, it’s probably a good idea to change your aspirations, or at least decide how to alter your desired design. Maybe those gloss white floors become natural oak floors, or a soft grey ceramic tile. 

Do you have children or pets? Are they allowed on the furniture? (The pets, I mean.) If so, you’ll want to look at fabric options designed to take some abuse. Crypton and Perennials have some amazing fabric choices that can help.

What makes you feel happy emotionally? Though I used to be drawn to darker spaces full of deep red velvets and navy blue jacquards that sucked up all of the light, I’ve since come to realize that those colors can cause me to become depressed if the dark hues are enveloping. For me, dark green walls, a navy bedspread, and dark grey sheets mean some serious psychiatric issues!

And of course, if you’re married, you have to include your spouse’s preferences. For instance, my husband’s favorite color is Egyptian blue, so I’m keeping that in mind for the day we can bring one more tiny speck of matter into our house, because right now, it’s stretched to the point of explosion. He’s also interested in ceramics and pottery, so I plan to incorporate them into the décor in future. My sister’s husband is fascinated with the universe, galaxies, the solar system, etc., so they have an enormous photograph of Pluto on the wall above their sofa. Not only does it incorporate something my Brother-In-Law loves, it’s also a visually arresting piece of artwork.

Now that you’ve considered all the variables, you’re ready for the next step.

To Be Continued…

Defining My Style

For a lover of interior decoration and architecture, it can be difficult to decide on a style or theme for your home: you see so much beauty in magazines, blogs, and Pinterest posts boards, that it seems impossible to choose one to stick with for the long term.

As a younger woman, I went through multiple design phases, one of which consisted of yards of crimson chenille and velvet; my mother dubbed it “French Bordello”. It was only five years ago that I discovered the style that is unabashedly, unashamedly ME. 

It’s taken a long time to arrive at my style, and it all began with a Mid Century Modern console. Fifteen years ago, I purchased a low console from the 1950s, a surprise to my mother because I typically gravitated towards dark, heavily carved antique furniture, along with forest greens and the previously mentioned deep crimsons. Still, I bought the console, then decorated my first studio apartment in neo-medieval splendor (or French Bordello, if you must). I slept under a claret-colored velvet bedspread, sat in a chair upholstered in red chenille with green ivy leaves, and ate at a dark brown antique gate-leg table. The console was woefully out of place, so I hid it beneath a homemade pleated cloth fashioned from a Ralph Lauren red-and-brown plaid.

Cul de Sac, Michell Weinberg

My next apartment was far less brooding, with a cream loveseat given to me by an elderly woman from my parents’ church; the red chenille chair seat reupholstered in aqua ultrasuede and a blue-and-wheat woven silk on the back; and the 1950s console proudly on display. My bed wore a vintage bedspread in pinks, aqua, and soft olive greens atop a crisp white blanket. Pink and purple embroidered pillowcases I’d collected from antique malls during my teens were finally put to use. (Obviously, my teenage interests weren’t among the stereotypical dating/football/movies categories.) Perhaps the change in my apartment décor said something about my emotional states during those years, or maybe it was simply because I loved too many colors and styles to decide on one theme.

Ten years later, my style is more defined, and the objects I own work cohesively, though their styles are seemingly incompatible. To preempt my mother giving my style a moniker, I named it “Delightful Mélange”. 

The living room is arranged around an orange velvet sofa, a jolt of color against soft gray walls and a rug woven in natural and faded navy jute fibers. The 1950s console lives happily across the room from a carved African drum reused as a drinks table. The antique gate-leg table is flanked by mismatched chairs, one from the 1830s and the other from the 1960s awaiting reupholstery in olive mohair velvet.

The random art my husband and I collected over the years – prints from a now defunct art magazine, Randall Munroe’s “United Shapes of America”, and wrestling photos taken by artist Zia Danger – hold their own, particularly when surmounted by a bleached deer skull. In the office I share with my husband, my desk area is decorated with a set of mounted antlers from my maternal grandfather’s hunting days, and an abstract print in pastels colors, framed in an ornate silver filigreed frame. Robert's desk is overseen by a watercolor portrait of our older dog, Fred, painted by my aunt. We intend to commission her to paint another of our young female, Ginger, sometime after Christmas.

United Shapes of America, Randall Munroe

Our bedroom is home to a 1920 Scottish chest of drawers, bedside tables from Baker’s 1949 Far East Collection, and a gaudy Rococo headboard upholstered in creamy linen and gilt to the gills. Despite my desire for a monochromatic soft green bedroom, complete with bed hangings, our bed is clothed in a navy quilted sateen coverlet and soft violet linen sheets: colors I pulled from the Karastan Kirman rug that fills the room. The bedding’s darker colors also serve a definite purpose: to mask the any trace our dogs leave behind after our nightly snuggle sessions in bed.

Multicolor Panel Kirman, Karastan

CLEARANCE SALE at Janet Wiebe Antiques!

DO WE HAVE NEWS FOR YOU!!!

Janet Wiebe Antiques is having an End of the Year Clearance Sale, beginning 

tomorrow, November 8, and ending on Thursday November 10!

And this isn't some rinky-dink clearance sale, either: Janet Wiebe's ENTIRE inventory is 40% off! FORTY PERCENT!!!!

Needless to say, this is the perfect time to snag a Gustavian commode for the guest room, or a buffet to showcase that perfect turkey you'll be cooking.

In order to take advantage of this steal-of-a-deal, get yourself to

1001 West 34th Street

Houston, TX 77018

Sale begins Tuesday Nov. 8 and runs through Thursday Nov. 10 from 10-5.

Fabric House: Entrancing Textiles

A selection of luminous silk velvets

Name:                      Fabric House

Owner:                     Connie LeFevre

Neighborhood:          Houston Design District

Address:                   7026 Old Katy Rd. Ste 159

                               Houston, TX 77024

Website:                  FabricHouseTX.com

Price Range:             $$-$$$$

Samples of Animal-Print Velvet.

What You’ll Find:     

More than just fabric, FabricHouse carries wallpapers, trims, and drapery hardware. Large swathes of fabric hang from the display racks, so you can see how that embroidered silk would drape if used for curtains in your living room. FabricHouse carries just about every fabric you could want, everything from traditional stripes and velvets to avant-garde digitally printed textiles, Ralph Lauren to Romo. The wallpaper section houses pattern books from the likes of Versace, Raymond Waites, Sanderson, and York.

Wallpaper & Fabric Samples (clockwise from top left: Thibaut by Anna French,
Natural Resource Collection, Parkland in Yellow; JFFabrics Antiquity, Style 5261 99;
  Groundworks, David Hicks by Ashley Hicks, La Fiorentina in Berry;
Versace Home, 962405 in Beige, Green & Metallic; Wind Fabrics Tramontana 0 in Red/Bordeaux)

Why You Should Go:

Three-foot diameter cabbage roses bloom against a black background, courtesy of JFFabrics’ Antiquity line of wallpapers. Hunt Slonem’s rabbit wallpapers greet you from their hanging racks. Hand-painted papers in colors of gold, silver, copper, and carbon beckon you to touch them.

Wind – a fabric line from Belgium – features all things Belgian without becoming a moody gray knock-off of Axel Vervoordt. The line heavily features linens, but these aren’t your boring beige linen: oversized spring green gingham complements a modern, painterly paisley in pink, orange, and sky blue on a background of navy linen.

Ralph Lauren’s Cornelius Velvet defies convention with its almost neon oranges and reds. A group of velvet animal prints hangs near the wallpaper library: five different cheetah prints! Five leopards! Not to mention the tiger-stripes in a range of golden to ivory colorways!

The shop overflows with gorgeous fabrics, beautiful wallpapers, trims & drapery hardware. Definitely take some time to visit FabricHouse: it’s like a candy shop for interior designers & design enthusiasts.

JFFabrics Antiquity Collection

Wind Fabrics (Clockwise from Top: Wind Fabrics, Pasha 1 in Blue;
  Barbados 11 in Pink/Purple; Amazone 3 in Green; Pagode 16 in Orange)

Hunt Slonem for Groundworks Wallpapers
(Clockwise from Top Right: Bunny Wall Small in Red;
Bunny Wall in Black; Bunny Wall Small in Ivory;
Finches in Multi/Gold; Finches in Multi/Ivory;
Bunny Wall Small in Black; Bunny Wall in Ivory;
Bunny Wall Small in Blue)

Ralph Lauren Cornelius Velvet in Madder Red

Back Row Home: At the Head of the Class

Name:                          Back Row Home        

Assorted new & antique creamware with vintage pitchers

Owner:                         Tracey Shingledecker

                                    Kelly O’Donnell

                                    Leighton Hale

Neighborhood:               The Villages

Address:                        8570 Katy Freeway #111

                                   Houston TX, 77024

Hours:                           Mon-Fri 10-5

                                    Sat 10-4

Website:                       backrowhome.com

Price Range:                   $$$

Four Piece French Screen,  Linen Upholstered Daybed,  Mutton Leg Dining Chairs, Pottery Lamps, & Petite Cabinets

What You’ll Find:

One half of the building holds an assortment of antique and vintage pieces where Mid Century Modern sofas coexist with Art Deco lounge chairs and antique bistro chairs. Gustavian commodes are topped by elegant gold-framed mirrors that reflect industrial bookshelves laden with new cream-ware and antique porcelain, and industrial lighting mingles with crystal chandeliers. The other half of the shop holds an assortment of Pinecone Hill bedding and Dash & Albert rugs (so you can binge on Annie Selke). Caspari paper goods and casual tableware are tucked into a corner behind the bedding, along with gifts running the gamut from “Weekend Waterford” – aka Styrofoam embossed with colorful bon mots – to design books.

Assorted Antique Hotel Silver

Why You Should Go:

The owners go on buying trips to Europe, then bring the wonders of France, Spain, and Germany back for our enjoyment, all upholstered in natural linen. The best part? You could put anything in this shop into almost any room or house, and it would be beautiful. Just something to keep in mind while you attend their next book signing event.

Pinecone Hill Bedding, Dash & Albert Rugs, Painted Gustavian Dressers

Butterfly Specimens in Linen-Lined Shadowboxes

Antique Doors, Shutters, & Carvings