Palladio Prima Solid - Black Gold Patina - Swing

The Palladio interior door collection includes this three-panel interior door with raised moldings especially for those who, like certain ancient Greek architects, are fond of symmetry. It is in keeping with Andrea Palladio’s principles of taking inspiration from classical antiquity themes.

The usual wonderful Almes features are all present, including the Italian-made 3D-adjustable self-lubricating concealed hinges that make the installation easy, efficient, and quick as well as ensure comfortable operation (this interior door never creaks). There is also the soundless magnetic lock whose mechanism never gives out due to the absence of moving parts; and the automatic sweep activated whenever the door is closed which gives the owner privacy as well as take the sound-proofing and thermal insulation qualities of this interior door to the next level.

An assortment of excellent finishes is available for this interior door: please study those carefully before picking the one that best suits your decor.

So, what does it take for an interior door designer to come up with something like this model, to reach this level of visual simplicity without sacrificing any of the classic elegance?

Well, to begin with, any follower of Palladio’s principles has to turn to the source first, which would necessitate a trip to northern Italy and, specifically, the Veneto region. All those villas (with all those interior doors!) are just waiting to be explored, and discover first-hand how the brilliant builder deviated from the Renaissance themes that were all the rage back then. His urban period followed these early efforts, when he began to get commissions for luxurious palaces from affluent city dwellers. Palazzo Chiericati in Vicenza is especially informative in that sense. Its principal facade is composed of three bays, the central bay projecting slightly, with two superposed orders of columns, Doric on the lower level and Ionic above.

The designer would then need to move on to the “rustic suburban” and just suburban villas, and spend some time at the Villa Cornaro, a type of country house the builder practically invented – designed for both country living and entertaining noble guests.

He or she would then have to move on to the most famous suburban villa constructed by Palladio called La Rotonda, sitting on a gentle wooded hilltop, with views of the countryside in all directions. It is perfectly symmetrical, with four identical facades and porticos around the domed center. It became especially influential in the United States, where it inspired so-called "Neo-Palladianist" buildings, including the third President’s own creation in Monticello (interesting interior doors, by the way).

With all of the above in mind, the designer would then have to return to the workshop and start working on this interior door. From a series of sketches to miniature models to blueprints, the process would have to involve a lot of hard work, making sure that the final product not only looked and felt like an interior door Palladio himself would install – in any of his villas – but was also in keeping with contemporary technical and aesthetic requirements.

This intriguing combination, if tastefully applied, can do wonders to your decor not only because interior doors with this finish can easily blend seamlessly into any arrangement, but also because of the associations it is certain to invoke.

First things first: the method we use to apply this amazing interior door finish is two-fold. First, traditional application is used to cover the entire surface. Once that is done, an actual craftsman comes in to apply the gold patina to the raised moldings by hand. That’s right. Even in this day and age, some tasks cannot be entrusted to technology alone. In some cases, the artistic touch is as indispensable as it was three and a half centuries ago, when Charles Lebrun, assisted by a dozen pupils, covered the ceilings of the Versailles Palace with colorful picturesque frescos. (Before that, he also did an equally wonderful job on the Chateau Vaux-le-Vicomte, but that’s a story for another day).

What associations?

Well, the color black has been a symbol of utter elegance and solemnity since at least the advent of the Industrial Revolution. Black-tie events, evening gowns, concert pianos, limos, etc.: the list of associations goes on and on.

Following the American and French revolutions, fashions began to change rapidly. In men’s attire, the doublet, cape, tricorne and bicorne, stockings, wigs, and ceremonial swords transformed – in a matter of a decade – into the trousers, tails jacket, and top hat, all black, for all social engagements. Suddenly elegant solemnity was favored over the excessively colorful late-Baroque garments. This was, among other things, a justifiable reaction to the excesses of the preceding epoch. The aesthetic values that define any society were re-examined and corrected to fit the boundaries of this perennial concept: good taste.

Good taste rules – in everything, including interior doors.

Today’s definition of high culture bears residual hang-ups dating back to the late 18th Century instead of emphasizing what is obvious to everybody: in civilized society, prosperity is nothing without a corresponding list of aesthetic values that pretty much everyone has agreed on.

Art music, a.k.a. serious, classical, canonical or erudite) is an umbrella term used to refer to traditions implying advanced structural and theoretical considerations. It is said that it is performed to an audience playing close attention, while folk and popular music are more participatory. Therein lies a paradox: popular music tends to be compartmentalized, differing from stratum to stratum and from one generation to the next, while, ironically, classical music is far more inclusive, with staunch fans from all walks of life and speaking dozens of different languages.

Imagine a symphony hall (with all those interior doors) just before the scheduled concert. Some of the audience are still looking for their seats. The musicians – in black – gather on the stage, some of them going leafing through the score, others tuning their instruments. There’s a black grand piano in the middle. The conductor and the pianist, both wearing black, appear and are greeted with an applause. The lights are dimmed. An expectant silence ensues. The conductor raises the baton.

As for the gold patina: it stands for museum quality, the highest imaginable, in everything, including interior doors.