ANTIQUE Windows & DOORWAYS of CHARLESTON, South Carolina

I decided to drive down to Charleston, South Carolina for the day and see what I could find to post online about my favorite city. I got lucky and my youngest daughter went with me and we got to walk all over the neighborhoods to try to discover more architectural elements that make Charleston special. Here I am above at St. Philip's Church on Church St. , where I start all my treks. I am wearing shorts in late October as it was 75 degrees and that is the lucky part of living in the Deep South ! Let's go..

Here was a typical example of the large windows with some brick cornices above. I have said in  my other guides ( from Sept. ), that no storm windows are allowed over any windows here because of historical renovation restrictions. See the leaded glass windows, they are wavy, distorted and thick-looking..cool.

This is the most common windows here with the quintessential Charleston shutters with some original old hardware tiebacks. These are almost always open, rare to see someone close these on any home . 

 Beautiful unusual larger triple window with original old glass.

I really liked this old wood gate , painted brick red , that I found down a small side street.

The entire view of the red gate with old original brick surround wall with climbing ivy.

Here was a very grand doorway surround across the street from St. John's church downtown.

Close-up of the doorway, I remember taking this shot as my daughter was fussing at me to get out of the street so I wouldn't get run over . She gets that from me . 

More paneled old shutters, I would say 85 % are painted black here. Maybe 90 %.  There are a few renegade shutter-painters that drift to some other colors of the rainbow..but they are few and far between.

Black wood gate with metal insert .Wood gates are much rarer here than wrought iron gates which are more common.

Here was a long row of plantation shutters on a 1700's brick home.

As usual, charm galore with window boxes overflowing with flowers. Since it was late October, there was less flowers in the window boxes in most homes.

Black shutters, black door, with the salmon surround and elaborate molding and sidelights. Great ' Charleston ' look to mimic where you live.

Occasionally you run across doors that are stained, this was a large double-door with a historic marker to the left ,( which of course I did not read as I had so much territory to cover ! ).

These were great windows , can you see the old glass shine ?  New glass windows don't do that.

Close-up of the windows.

These were high up with their over-flowing planter boxes beneath.

I hope you can see these are NOT the ' faux' shutter made of vinyl or fake wood that we all buy at Lowes or Home Depot.  They have to be wood here, and yes the maintenance is more , but the look is so much more authentic and charming than vinyl ones. Almost all have the hardware tie-backs you see here.

Last one, this one is located right across from St. Philip's church . I like the anchor in the wall , nice touch . 

I will be doing a few more of these ' sights ' of Charleston . I have many more that I posted in September, check them out if you have time.

I hope you have many blessings today...especially the small ones,

Gina

 " Bring all the tithes into the storehouse , That there may be food in My house. And try Me now in this. " says the LORD of hosts, " If I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it. " Malachi 3:10

Doors of Downtown Historic Charleston, South Carolina

In this guide I will show you the front doors of the historic downtown homes of Charleston, South Carolina. I have to tell you though, that every time I took a picture of one of these beautiful old wood doors...it made me think of my husband. That is the  WOOD of the doors made me think of my husband. Stay with me and I will explain. We have been married a looooonnnngggg time, and  he still does this every time we go out to a restaurant. I sit across from him, raise my big brown eyes to him and smile. He in turn, looks at me seriously...then taps the table in between us with his finger and says...." Do you know what kind of wood this is ?" EVERYTIME we go out...for 28+ years ! I have learned to decipher the wood pretty well, he has his Masters in Forestry and is a Master Carpenter...so I have learned to forgo romance when he is around any wood products, including tables. 

Ok, let's go look at these gorgeous antique wooden doors ! 

This was a 1 Meeting St. Built in 1849 by a cotton broker , it has these two large double wooden doors with etched glass.

This was a typical door in Charleston, painted black...and has the original beautiful marble entry steps. See the planters are also painted black beside the door ?

Here is a grand , large door also painted black with large columns that are actually part of the house.

Again, large double doors painted black and wrought iron railings up the sides. These doors are about 15 feet tall.

Some very grand , yet typical for Charleston, large wood doors with etched glass.

 They also have the dark stained wood doors here.

One of my very favorite doors I found in a inner , quieter street. Stained glass transom and door inserts. Plus gorgeous wrought iron all around this home.

Here is a closer look at the door.

So nice ! Large wooden door ( I can just see my husband tapping this and asking me " What kind of wood is this ? " ), and it also has the large sidelights as well. Oh...I would say this is oak.

These were very grand, very tall double wooden doors.

This is a close up of the doorknobs and escutcheon plates...again , very grand on this old Victorian home.

These were some fabulous double wooden doors with elaborate molding and marble steps and entry in the front.

Here was a different door, as most doors were not painted white here. I remember taking this shot as I backed into a car ( it was parked ), tripped backwards on the sidewalk, and then got honked at by a woman wanting me out of her way. This was on a very narrow side street off of Church St.

I keep showing you these doors painted black as it really is so dominant here. Doors painted black, fountains and statues painted black, black wrought iron , planters painted black. I believe I was all in black that day , so I fit right in.

One of my favorite doors , not grand at all like the others...but I'm not really a ' grand'  kind of gal, I appreciate charm more. This was a precious door, I loved the curved top and more than that the 1/2 behind the number. That is a common element you see here, many side addresses of homes with the 1/2 behind the number. Just love that about Charleston !

I hope these inspire you to give your front door a ' Charleston " feel to it.

More later,

Gina

" I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go out and find pasture. " John 10:9