kensington bliss: 2017

Friday, November 17, 2017

Loving a Red Door for Christmas!

I am dreaming of a glossy red door for Christmas! Whenever I start to look for Christmas design inspiration, I always stumble upon images of bright red front doors that are so festive and cheerful for the holidays. I am seriously inspired to paint ours this year, why not?!

In fact, after reading a bit online, it seems that a red door is rich in history and meaning. According to the American Red Door website, "The earliest historical reference to a door being covered in red is found in the Old Testament account of the Jewish Passover in Exodus 12. Prior to Pharaoh commanding the Israelites to leave Egypt, God commanded the Israelites, while being held as slaves in Egypt, to cover their doors in the blood of a lamb. This blood would act as a symbol of their obedience to God so that when the angel of death would come through Egypt to kill every firstborn male as the last of the 10 plagues, the angel would pass over the homes of those that had blood on their doors. Some churches still paint their doors red to symbolize Jesus' shed blood and that the area beyond the doors is sacred and holy. Other churches paint their doors red with the idea that protection from evil spirits is offered within the walls of the church.

The principles of Feng Shui state that bold colors invite chi (positive energy) and that bold colors like red invite opportunities and abundance.

The Chinese consider red to be a lucky or sacred color. Many doors are painted with a fresh coat of red just before the Chinese New Year to invite good luck and happiness.

Scottish tradition holds that homeowners paint their front door red to signify that they had paid off their mortgage.

In Ireland, a red door is supposed to ward off ghosts and evil spirits.

In early American tradition, a red door symbolized to tired horse and buggy travelers that a home was a safe place to rest and stay.

During the Civil War, "safe homes" that were part of the Underground Railroad supposedly painted their doors red to guide escaped slaves to places of refuge and safety."

For our home, I would love to paint the front door red just to say WELCOME!

The following are several inspiration photos of beautiful front porches with red doors! I also included a few additional images with design ideas for the holidays.