24/10/2026
Why we ‘ruined’ an authentic 1600s door?
Before you cry sacrilege, read what we discovered when we brought it back to its original state...
The great dilemma of every historic renovation in Italy: what do you do when the original doors no longer fit the home’s new spaces?
As Bibi explains in the video, when renovating, it is always incredibly hard to find original antique doors—yet paradoxically, you sometimes end up with gorgeous historic doors that no longer fit the new openings.
In this specific case, we had two authentic 17th-century doors from Tuscany, originally made as hinged double doors. However, we needed to cover a wider doorway. Here is how we solved the problem:
The structure: We removed the original hinges, joined the two door panels together, and mounted them on an external wall track, turning them into exposed sliding doors.
The color mystery: Why paint them in this “Tuscan Gray” instead of leaving them natural? Because the colors that emerged from the original doors were completely different from one another and simply couldn’t be placed side by side. So, we chose an authentic shade finished with an antique patina, capable of blending the necessary modern touch of the track with the beauty of a salvaged antique piece.
It’s the crossroads that divides all lovers of historic homes: is it better to modify and paint a 1600s piece in order to save it and give it new life, or should it never be touched?
We want to hear your thoughts: would you have dared to combine a modern track and a gray patina on a 1600s door, or would you have preferred to leave the two mismatched woods? Let us know in the comments!
