A door for all seasons

By Betsy DiJulio
Special to The Virginian-Pilot

Welcome the NEW year with a new look. For your front door, that is.

Front doors are like bows on packages: They entice, provide the finishing touch and offer a hint of what 's inside.

A wreath is nice, but with a tad more effort and little or no cost, you'll create better curb appeal and a warmer welcome for guests.

We challenged Karen Comeau Watson of Virginia Beach-based Open Door Design to achieve four seasonal looks for the same front entry, spending no more than $50 for a year's worth of style.

Leo and Gloria Wardrup offered their Virginia Beach home for this staging extravaganza and provided items they already owned, to be combined with those purchased, for the four-season challenge.

Watson recommends choosing a couple of elements that remain constant, such as a pair of flanking chairs, and building seasonal looks around them.

Winter

For our winter look, Watson began with a fairly traditional wreath of fruit and greenery tied with a silk bow. To the chairs she added animal-print pillows that lend pattern and pizzazz. Behind the left chair she tucked a tall lantern, and in front of the other chair, a yellow ceramic garden stool.

She nestled greens, graceful branches spray-painted gold and bright red bows into the apple-green pots of pansies on the left. The stately nutcracker can be swapped out for another tall element after the winter holidays.

Spring

For the spring, Watson exchanged the wintry wreath for one sheathed in moss and the animal print pillows for ones with a brighter, bolder pattern more in keeping with warmer weather.

The yellow garden stool and green pots remain, but she replaced the lantern and nutcracker with urns topped with balls of greenery and the pansies with tulips.

Summer

During the dog days of Hampton Roads' summers, crisp white cools things down.

Watson replaced the wreath with a whimsical wooden plaque from a local discount store. A coat of bright white paint brings contrast against the dark door. (These fairly flat embellishments work well under storm doors.)

Cool-blue pillows with bold white designs and a white garden stool continue the motif. Potted palms add a tropical vibe, while American flags and stone garden sculptures signal that summer has arrived.

Fall

An updated harvest theme is the look for fall. Watson replaced the wreath with a long basket filled with greens and an autumnal bow.

Behind the left chair, a tall basket with a generous bouquet of berries is set off to advantage by Watson's choice of a bold and unexpected zebra-print pillow in the flanking chair and the return of the yellow garden stool.

On the steps, natural branches add height and a fall feel to the pots of pansies, which she balanced on the opposite side with pumpkins spray-painted gold. (The paint actually helps preserve the pumpkins.)

These doors are proof that with just a few thoughtfully chosen objects combined in unexpected ways, you can welcome each new season with the freshness of a new year.

Betsy DiJulio, jdijulio@cox.net