Siting Santa Monica: The Door I
A beautiful old door, touched by time…discovered on a walk in Santa Monica.
Adorned with peeling layers of paint,
and metal details,
the doors swing open beneath foliage, elaborate carving, and a lantern-like light fixture.
There is the sense of time gone by,
and the entrance into a magical world.
Who knows what is on the other side? Lives being lived, no doubt.
Walk with Me
Take a bucolic Santa Monica walk with me…one of many. Enter though the archway.
Feast your eyes on the magnificent purples of the Jacaranda blooms, punctuated by white paper lanterns round as moons.
Purple butterflies and pink flamingos strut and flutter across this yard.
Buried deep in the foliage of fern and palm, this house hosts garden sculpture and pink blossoms.
Intricate painting on a front gate door is enhanced by picturesque peeling, showing the effect of wind and weather.
Further Jacaranda glories line the street. Tis the season.
Intense purples collide in colorific harmony…
Passing though? Or living here…don’t miss the delights of walking Santa Monica’s leafy avenues…hidden treasures and abject pleasures await those with patience, willingness, and an attentive eye.
What is a door? A magical portal into worlds of fantasy, mystery, magic and even mayhem?
Recent explorations of LA area beach towns have yielded some a-door-able results. Please see below some examples of the door that keeps you coming back for more. Turn the key of your perception, and prepare to have your imagination turned on!
This amazing find in Venice near the storied Canal District looks straight out of Alice in Wonderland. What extraordinary creatures are playing croquet on the lawn beyond? Privacy seems to be the goal here.
Here is a more rustic version on a delightful street in Mar Vista, minus the hedge, and plus a “half” wall! The house and yard are in full view beyond. The door seems to be there for the sheer joy of it.
Energetic red animates a cottage-like Santa Monica residence, set off by soft yellow, and the colors of nature. A visual target, our eye is drawn to this door like a magnet to metal.
The red door is used again here to great effect, as a “real” element in the midst of a children’s mural. Red elements all around it integrate it into the scene, yet it stands out as a strong element, letting us know where to go to get to the other side of a seemingly safe and self-contained world.
Venice’s Canal District is home to many remarkable architectural design gems and delicious creative elements, including mosaic-ed columns which lead us down the path to the door to the door!
Giant bowling balls? Well, maybe. At any rate, these strong forms direct us to the portal of “UMG”, the Universal Music Group Offices in Santa Monica, where some of the giants of the music industry do business.
Who says a door has to be real? And what is “real”, anyway? Madame Chou Chou Bistro Patisserie on Main Street in Santa Monica is the perfect place to indulge your appetite for fantasy, and your sweet-tooth. Highly recommended for an elegant, yet fun indulgence.
What magical doors have YOU opened lately, and what fantastical worlds have You entered?
If you so choose, please share about it with us here.
We love to hear from You.
Remember, we are all opening the doors to this thing called Life, together.
Featured Work: Soulful Journey
Soulful Pilates Studio recently opened its red doors in the Haight-Ashbury / Cole Valley neighborhoods of San Francisco. It is owned and operated by Veronique and Walter Thoma. I had the privilege, referred by beloved vendor, Creative Paint, to take a soulful journey with Veronique and Walter and help them select paint colors for the interior of the Studio.
The Challenge:
To create a serene, yet energizing atmosphere of warmth, support, and intimacy in a somewhat cavernous space with high ceilings, punctuated by a pole. To create a space which is soothing and cheerful, yet energetic and alive.
Veronique knew she wanted Soulful’s color journey to start with yellow. But how to find a yellow that would work over such a large surface area, yet not be overpowering, jaundiced, blinding, distracting, too bright, too drab, too gold, or too muddy? We sampled a number of hues, but none were right. When the Thomas showed me a tiny color swatch they had found at a small boutique paint company, I was able translate that vision into the 2154 strip of colors found in the Benjamin Moore Color Preview fan deck. By using a system of colors that were inter-related, we were able to create interest, variety, and subtle accents in the large space, without the complications of choosing other hues, which could busy the space, creating distraction for the students. A strong, vital red on the doors (points of entry and passage) and the bench (place of rest and changing shoes) animated the space, providing contrast and energy.
Soulful Door
The exterior of the front door was already painted in an earthy red, and we took that idea to the interior. The door now functions as an accent which can energize a foggy day, of which there are many in our fair City!
Not Ketchup and Mustard
“Ketchup and Mustard”? No…. Benjamin Moore Spanish Red” 1301, and “Straw” 2154-50.
Front Accent Wall Contrast
Three tones of a soft ochre-yellow warm the tall space without cluttering it. The warmth is delivered by Benjamin Moore “Straw” 2154-50 on the walls, (and pole), and “Filtered Sunlight” 2154-60 on the trim. What a dream job it would be to concoct the names for these colors!
Back Accent Wall Moves it Forward
The accent wall in the back of the Studio is Benjamin Moore “York Harbor Yellow” 2154-40, providing just that slight bump up in color saturation, which adds subtle interest but not clutter to the space, as they are in the same hue family.
Royal Compliments of Gold and Purple
The golden tones of “Straw”, “Filtered Sunlight”, and “York Harbor Yellow” are offset by the complimentary purple mat, a royal combination…
Energetic Entry
The red door, clothed in Benjamin Moore “Spanish Red” 1301, pops, creating an energetic entry into the bathroom, which is
Soulful Bath
painted in Benjamin Moore,”Semolina” 2155-40, on the walls, and “Cottontail” 2155-70 on the trim. Again, the use of two related hues, less earthy and more orange then those of the main studio space, varying in degrees of saturation and intensity and thus, value.
Colors Support the Function of the Space
Using a unified set of hues unified the unwieldy space, and made it welcoming and accessible to both the Clients, and their Clients: the students and practitioners of Pilates that would come to this studio to study, learn, and grow, taking their own soulful journeys here. Red, with its associations with blood, fire, love, and life force is the perfect foil and energizer for the harmonious “yellow””.
Says Walter Thoma:
“The colors look better up than we imagined….the darker…color on the two walls looks really good”
Sometimes, what color can do for a space can come as a (happy) surprise! The results may be…Soulful!
Artissima - Blog of ArtiFactory Studio 