‘Threshold’ is a rather quaint word for a home’s entryway. The word perhaps better signifies the importance of transition from neighbor to invited guest, highlighting how first impressions are important and necessarily formal. Stepping across a threshold, a bride and groom traditionally began a new life, turning a house into a home. Stepping across a threshold we shed our many public roles to enter the sanctuary of our interior life and more intimate spaces. So a bit of a demarcation seems a solid design challenge.

Let’s begin with the front door. Nashville’s Ray Novelly knows doors. “It’s impressive to walk through a beautifully crafted door,” says Ray admiring a particular mahogany beauty. Ray is the owner of Classic Doors, a company that specializes in refinishing solid doors. “If a home has a really nice door that has had the hardware changed over the years, or is showing wear from heavy usage, we can bring the door to our shop and completely refurbish it. We will strip it stain it, patch it and rehang it. “It is nice to maintain the door if you have invested a lot of money in it or if it is original to a historic house.”

If you are going to change doors, Novelly suggests replacing a standard door with an 8-foot tall model, or with double doors. “These options provide strong curb appeal to the house and make for a more impressive entrance.”

A rug in the entryway immediately communicates warmth and is both practical and artistic. Consider a handmade rug from the collection at Nashville’s Nasir’s Oriental Rug Gallery. Nasir Moharami has been selling rugs in Nashville since 1993, and says he now is serving two generations of families. His clients have appreciated his good service, fair prices, and knowledge of the distinct craftsmanship that goes into his products. “Some people buy for an investment, some people buy to use and enjoy,” he says, noting that his company also does rug repairs. Investment pieces include antique rugs from Persia, and Moharami can help buyers distinguish those from other pieces and conduct appraisals for insurance purposes.

“Cost depends on the quality, the age of the rug, and the patterns and colors of the rug,” Moharami says. “Most of ours are the famous Persian rugs, but we carry some beautiful rugs from India and China, though they are all a variant of the Persian design influence. The antique rugs only come from Iran, from Persia.

Moharami encourages his buyers to try out rugs in their homes so they don’t have to make a firm decision in the showroom. After all, he wants the right rug to go to the right owner.
“Each run is handmade; each rug is a piece of art,” he says. “Like a painting you would buy to hang on the wall, a rug lasts forever and can stay in your family for generations as an heirloom.”

For more information, visit:
Classic Doors
Nasir’s Oriental Rug Gallery

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