Upholstered doors are perhaps the crown jewel of detailing. One thing is to add moldings, dado rails and/or to cover a wall with mirrors but upholstering one door is the epitome of attention to details. Although most commonly used in the glamorous times of the ‘30’s; according to Suzanne Rheinstein, upholstered doors were also used in kitchen doors of the English Estates to keep the sound and the smell of cooking from spreading. Very clever! One of the first old images that come to my mind is Helena Rubenstein’s Paris apartment ca. 1937 where sumptuous satin fabric covered the doors in her bedroom. In the time of glamour and exuberance of the ‘30’s, doors were a lot more elaborate with patterns that not only emulated the shape of the door but were more like plain canvases where different designs patterns were created. Keep scrolling down to see Miles Redd’s upholstered door featured in New York Social Diary.
Helena Rubenstein’s Paris apartment 1937. Image via Corbis.
John Saladino did it a little bit more like the old times when doors were more elaborate. He covered these doors in leather creating big squares with x pattern inside with nailhead.
sanctuaryhome
All of these are great, but I got goosebumps when I read the words "suede covered doors". Yum!