One of the many things that I still appreciate when I was growing up in the coastal city of Mombasa was the sight of beautiful crafted doors and windows of many homes.

During those days when we were growing up and even today, most of the homes there have had very big and wide doors made of very strong wood and are also well designed.

These designs vary from one house to the other; never at any given time will you see two doors looking alike. I remember once escorting one of our friends to her ancestral home of Lamu Island. For many days we walked in the streets of Lamu at night admiring the beautifully decorated and crafted doors.

One of the features of a home is a beautiful door. This is the first thing that whoever comes into the home sees, but alas! We often take no notice of this valuable piece in our homes.

We spend lots of money trying to change the interiors every day, but forgetting that one piece, which can change the entire décor of the home in one swoop when the right choice is made.

Like the Swahili’s, Italians do pay careful attention when it is the selection of doors, because they know that the beauty of a home starts from the outside.

I promised myself that one day when I build my small house, Lamu doors and windows will be the ones to beautify my home.

For many of us, a door is seen as being merely the passage way from one room to another, but rather it should be considered an item of decor in itself.

Antique doors, or even doors that are merely old, are highly valued. For example I have seen that in the restoration of old villas or farmhouses, any original doors that are found are carefully removed, repaired and polished, often at considerable expense, in order to maintain the original character of the property, and some are also auctioned at exorbitant prices.

I don’t know whether people have run out of ideas, but today when you see one thing then you have seen them all, people have stopped being artistic.

Such crafted doors can also be made locally and at a very reasonable price. I have seen many beautiful homes, but when you get to the door step you don’t feel like going in.

Not only do these crafted doors beautify the exterior décor of our homes, but are also very strong considering the fact that they are all crafted from heavy wood.

A door to your home should not only be sturdy, but also withstand the vagaries of nature, the different seasons, and also last longer.

They should also be able to withstand an assault by an intruder trying to get into the house, which most of these doors provide.

Let’s get back to creativity, this thing of copying and pasting is killing the originality in us. We should not just strive to make the interior of our homes look divine forgetting the outside, but in fact that is where our décor should start from.

There are innumerable modern manufacturers that provide items of all styles and prices in order to allow the choice of a door that is most suited to the decor of the home in question. All said and done a beautiful home starts from the outside.

Ends