Do your front door and the plants nearby tell the world that you and your home are warm and welcoming or does it carry another message?
A few hours spent knocking on front doors collecting donations for a charity told me a great deal about the way in which front doors reflect the character of those who live behind them.
Unbending, Cool and Very Polite
The brass knocker on a smartly painted black door which was flanked by a pair of topiary trees was as formal and zipped up as the black business besuited blonde who answered my knock.
Relaxed and Really Couldn't Care Less
A half open plain wooden door had scruffy trainers and a bicycle lying on the concrete steps and my knock was answered by a plump woman wrapped in a flowing skirt, long beads and the smell of cooking.
Unfriendly and Ungiving
This minimalist grey metal clad door was answered by a grumpy man who clearly resented being interrupted. He said that he never gave to charity and was as prickly and aggressive as the spiky plants in the row of matching metal containers that marched up his garden path.
Willing to Help
A riot of petunias were clearly the pride of an elderly lady who asked if I would like a cold drink and apologized for not being able to give a larger amount to a worthy cause.
Suspicious or Timid
I don't know who lived behind the iron bars that made a double door at one house.
Perhaps there was no-one home but I heard footsteps inside and the neatly swept front yard said someone lived there.
Busy and Efficient
The letterbox had a sign that said “No junk mail” and the neat containers on either side of the varnished wooden door were filled with no-nonsense easy care succulents. The owner opened the door, thrust a donation at me whilst talking on a cell phone and closed the door again before I could thank him.
I don't know about you but I think I'll go outside now and look, somewhat nervously, at my own front door to see what it says about me.
