Our beautiful new title from Instagrammer @door_jadore is out this month and we just can't get enough of the BEAUTIFUL doors from all over the world celebrated in this title. Here's a sneak peek into this great new book and a little from Nick Rowell about what inspired him to set up his door loving Instagram account and turn it into a book...
"I never used to care much for doors. They were objects that I opened and closed; whether my own front door, or someone else’s, they were merely functional barriers. Sometimes I might notice one that was more nicely kept than another, with a glossy paint job or roses scrambling round the door, but most of the time they were just things – things I needed to open, get through and close.
Then in 2008, my mum came to visit me in Buenos Aires. We would walk up and down the cobbled streets of the old San Telmo market looking at the antiques and silver while eyeing up the latest Tango partnerships on the street corners. One day mum was lagging behind, so I walked ahead to find somewhere for lunch. When she finally caught up, she showed me a picture of a door. At first I dismissed it, irritated because I was hungry, but she insisted on pointing out the details. ‘Look at all the carving– it must have taken months to do,’ she said, as I tried to flag down a waiter. I let her ramble on until I was tucking into dessert, at which point I started paying attention.
She explained how grand the door was, how much history it carried, and how many stories it could tell, how many people it had let in and out, how many secrets it held – in short, that door was beautiful.
I wouldn’t say it was exactly a eureka moment, but that day made me realize how little attention I had paid to doors in the past. Now I was drawn to their craftsmanship and the statements they were capable of making. Mum and I spent the following days snapping away, capturing every interesting door we saw. We even started varying our routes to walk through areas where we might find some good doors – it was like a treasure hunt, and we found treasure every time.
Nowadays, even a stroll to the supermarket is something of a door hunt for me. On weekends, I walk around London with friends, alert and ready for a corker. It’s exciting because you never know where you’ll end up – we have discovered all sorts of hidden corners as well as some truly wonderful doors.
This blog is from Door J'Adore by Nick Rowell, photography by Nick Rowell © Ryland Peters & Small