Free and cheap: A fleur-de-lis door on the side of the road

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As you know if you've been keeping up with my blog, I've recently become enthralled and obsessed with the rebuilding of New Orleans. I visited the first time in mid-February and have been there now four times.

So it was with some excitement, in my own Southern California neighborhood, that I came across this door left by a neighbor on the side of the street.

As I drove by, the morning sun glinted through the orange, green, blue and yellow of the fleur-de-lis stained glass. I backed up, got out, did an inspection and called my husband: "Can you bring your truck to pick this up?"

He said: "Do you think you need to stay and guard it?"

Of course! This was too good. Bill was amazed at the solidness of the tight-grain fir of the door. It's heavy. Bill said they don't make doors like this anymore. And we got the door framing to boot.

At home, I researched the fleur-de-lis symbol, which you see everywhere in New Orleans and which has become a symbol of the rebuild. See it here spray-painted on an old refrigerator after the hurricane.

The symbol is found all over Europe, especially in France, Spain, Scotland and Germany, and in the United States in southern Louisiana cities such as Lafayette and Baton Rouge, as well as New Orleans.

Where I will use the door, I'm not yet sure. It's only 30 inches wide, six inches too narrow to replace any of my exterior doors. But I just realized it's the perfect width to replace the door from the hallway into my bathroom, where I'd like to get more natural light. Can I imagine myself soaking in a tub while the morning sun from the living room lights up this window? Oh, yeah! I can see it.

Comments

[lil_gaucha]

wow! Great find!
And the stained glass work is appears to be really, really meticulous.
They probably threw it out because the color scheme didn't fit. Truly one man's trash becoming another's treasures!

[Angela M]

Great find! You definitely would have had a fight on your hands if I came across it. One great way to use a door like this is the crop the glass portion and attach two chains, then hang it from the cieling in front of a window. It's a beautiful piece of art that lights up the room!

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KPR: You know, that's a fabulous idea!
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[riley]

scored!

[Inland Empire]

We definately need a map of the streets you drive if this is the type of treasure to be found.

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KPR: Ha ha! Well, as this is the first treasure I've found in 13 years of living here, it might be 13 years before another one turns up!
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[Stephannie]

oooh! jealous!