I woke up with some serious bloggers block- lots of dog eared magazine pages to scan, but not feeling it today. So instead I hopped on Flickr and typed in “Beacon Hill”- the prettiest, most charming neighborhood in Boston (the South end coming in a close second!) I found such gorgeous images from so many talented photographers I decided to just post them. You’ll notice most of them are of front doors- I have a thing for front doors- and someday want to do a coffee table book of just front doors and entryways into homes. I think they speak volumes about people and what lies inside their four walls. Call me crazy, I know, but it’s just one of my quirky obsessions.
Andrew and I are toying with selling our home and moving into the city. How much would you like to live here?
If we were to move to BH, we’d have to live through that tiny door underground where the non-millionaires reside. :)
Can’t beat the shops and littel cafe’s either- it’s very European feeling, maybe that’s why I love it so much!
*sigh* Someday I hope I can call this place home. In the meantime, for more eye candy check out this photostream on Flickr.
We migrate to Boston every year for the Head of the Charles. And every year I can’t help but do a little house-hunting while we’re there. Boston is my favorite city — historic, charming, gorgeous. So hopefully one of our children will follow in daddy’s footsteps and pursue an academic career in Boston. And hopefully that child will not mind us being there, too!
So cheers, Erin. Send us the listings of your house-hunt! Your pictures today were INCREDIBLE. xoxo
Love these, Erin!
We get our family pictures taken on Acorn Street every year (the first pictures). And, like almost everyone in the Boston metro area it seems, we go trick-or-treating on Beacon Hill. It’s really a win-win for our family. My girls get full-size candy bars and I get to sneak a peek into the gorgeous Beacon Hill homes! The foyer of the home with the red door and creamy white fretwork is absolutely stunning. My dream home in every way! So maybe we’ll be neighbors one day? :)
These are gorgeous! You’re right, front doors and exteriors really can reflect a person. What a great idea for a coffee table book, I hope you publish one :)
Gorgeous – some of those knockers! What a fabulous little neighbourhood, the Parisienne inside me wants to move there too! now!
This was tons of fun. I love a good front door and would so buy that book. Go for it! Pitch the idea now before it’s snapped up. Hello Rizzoli?
gorgeous!
Love this post! I, too, have a thing for front doors, which I think I got from living in London when I was a teenager. I also love to walk at night and look up into the windows of those beautiful houses and dream of what the interiors look like…
I love your blog! I found it through the article about you in the Globe magazine. Keep us posted on your house hunt!
Stunning…makes me want to move back to Boston asap. But of course, I too would be living in the little entrance underneath the fabulous homes! ;-)
I miss Boston. Thanks for the post. I live there for years and years and walked those streets often.
ok seriously drool. i adore beacon hill, and have past many an hour surfing random real estate sites daydreaming about homes there… these pics make me want to hop on a plane! gorgeous. great post, especially considering you were blocked!
*Sigh* – we’ve never been to Boston but we now feel compelled to do so!
Joy and Janet
What a fun post! I love front doors too… in fact I snapped a picture with my phone last night on my walk because they are by far the most gorgeous doors I’ve seen in Charlotte! Oh, and Boston looks charming, can’t wait to visit one day (when it’s warmer!) Good luck on getting to Beacon Hill! :)
I can’t believe you would want to move again after getting your current house just perfect! But I do agree Beacon Hill is very charming. With your skills with design in small spaces, it might be just the place for you!
the old carved blue door is my favorite, the older the better. makes me want to move back to the city!
Stunning. I miss the glorious New England fall so, so much.
Also, LOVE the whale tale door knocker!
This area of Boston (and especially those door knockers) reminds me a great deal of the Village- but as a New Yorker who has lived in the W.Vill for many years, I must caution you that you will have to downsize! These charming old buildings lack smart storage. On the flip side, it’s pretty hard to beat a 10 minute commute home! Perhaps a pied-à-terre?
Wow, these images are just gorgeous! The alleys, streets, and doors are so beautiful and charming. The area has a very European feel to it. This really makes me want to visit Boston!
I think I see a trend of sorts: red, black and a kind of bluish-green; those colors seem to rule. I’ve been thinking about my front door here in Colorado as well. It’s all wrong. I agree with you in that they do offer a first impression. Fun post! Thanks for sharing, -susan
yes, I could be very happy here! love all of the front doors, too.
You know, they just don’t build them like that anymore. The details, the quality of crafstmanship. It’s a lost art…*sigh*
oh lordy those are some gorgeous pics! charming and beautiful, they make me smile! Thanks! :)
i lived on “the hill” for 9 years before i traveled to the north shore – the happiest times of my life were spent walking down charles street. so happy to revisit it through photos. i started shooting doors of newburyport- thinking i would do a book someday too! there’s some very cool front doors here.i want to go back but my husband won’t let me!! it’s a great place to live.
Meg- we should talk about a book idea!!! :) I always end up shooting front doors wherever I go- could be an AMAZING concept!
love this post, thank you!!!
painful. this post was painful for me. you just displayed my version of heaven on earth. so close…but so far away!
I would totally love to live here. And I hope you do publish a coffee table book on front doors!!
I did live there and it was a tad too claustrophobic – esp for the dog – but the proximity was great. I moved to the hill in Charleston and was happier, I could still walk to everything and I love Meze. However, if I could afford to buy in Louisville sq. I would go back to BH in a flash.
Love laquered red or black doors!
Just got one of my clients to do a gorgeous Carriage red door by Sherwin Williams!
There’s something about Boston that reminds me of Ireland…the reasons for that are a bit clear. These photos are so amazing. I just love the different doors. I’m set to move to San Diego in the fall, and I just realized how much I’ll miss this North-eastern city style.
Thanks for sharing — these photos made my day and brought back great memories! I lived in Boston for a few years and would just get *lost* in bh occasionally because I love it so much!
beacon hill stole my heart when i came to boston late last summer… i could have spent days soaking in all those fabulous details. i love every single picture! great post!!
Yes please!! I have not been able to get down to Beacon Hill yet. I really want to after seeing these beyond awesome pictures!!! Love them:)
Sign me up for an advanced copy of The Front Door Bible!
oh they’re all so great …but I’m sure you already knew that.
Beacon Hill is lovely – I live in Cambridge, so I only have a twenty minute walk to work (grad student at MIT) –but one day maybe I’ll live in one of those beautiful homes :)
…for now I’ll just look and oogle, though!
so dreamy… it’s a place I’ve always wanted to visit, but have never been – Boston.
Love.it.all!! i have been to Boston once, but only for a quick day trip…would love to visit longer.
My husband and I moved to Beacon Hill from Greenwich Village in New York last fall – around the same time I found your blog – and we just love it. I never thought I’d last outside of NY and there are still things I miss about it, but the neighborhood feel of Beacon Hill is absolutely amazing. The homes are lovely, the neighbors are lovely, even the grocery stores are beautiful. Next time you’re house hunting in the area you should stop on by – I’d love to share a cup of coffee with you and show you around my home and my favorite houses in the hood!
Completely inspired post! I love those images they are so beautiful. Thank you for the tip and how to ‘flickr’ it didn’t occur to me that I could find those kinds of images.
So classic and elegant. I love it, reminds me of Kensington
Gorgeous, it’s so nice to stop and smell the roses once and while isn’t it? I find the past so inspiring. Amazing proportions, detail and use of color.
Have a great week Erin.
xo,
Julie
Proud to be a Bostonian…
:sigh: I miss Boston. Thanks for the nostalgia!
Holy comments, Batman- guess having bloggers block is sometimes a good thing! :)
Looking at BH real estate is truly depressing, so most likely it won’t happen for us anytime soon, but maybe someday!
Beacon Hill is indeed GORGEOUS!
Erin, I loved seeing all the photos you posted… brings back memories of all the times I’ve been there. I have a friend who lives in BH- small house in regards to square footage, but many floors up! Their home is beautiful! I know they love it there… only thing that frustrates them a tad is that they- the residents there are not allowed to change their home structurally- (so no knocking down interior walls!) which is completely understandable due to the fact that the homes are considered historical. And, too, they don’t have a backyard… but, I don’t know, if I lived in their home, I think I could do without a yard because the shops, and everything about their neighborhood is so charming to make up for it all!!
Well, girly, get to work on publishing that coffee table book you’re talking about… I’d buy it, for sure! =)
What an amazing collection of doors!! Seriously!!
I love Beacon Hill more than words! I make my boyfriend drive through all the time so I can daydream about the day we win the lottery (actually I probably have to play to win) I would die for one of those single family brownstones, but might have to settle for one of the basement entrances though.
I used to live on Temple Street in Beacon Hill for 5 years before I moved to NYC. I loved it and was just talking to someone about it earlier today. My apartment was across from a couple who used to play the piano with the windows open. It was heaven and you should definitely look into moving there! Good luck!
those are wicked awesome!!!!