Iron work

Growing up, to me iron work meant the black iron railings along the front step of a house. Most of them were similar, if not downright the same. It’s like there’s a giant factory to manufacture railings and they offer one style fits all. Kind of like a driveway, they were just there.

I was looking through old pictures and found examples from two of our previous homes. Both look the same. This picture also has not one but two dogs in it, Charlie The Rug and Bella I Must Get As From You As I Can.

I once watched in growing dismay as a neighbor spent almost a month’s worth of weekends sanding the black paint off of his railings so that he could remove the rust and repaint it. Black again, naturally. Even a fresh coat of glossy paint does not improve them.

There was one exception. Around the block from us someone installed a gorgeous railing. When I first saw it I stopped dead. I had no idea that railings came in something other than tedious.

Thanks Zillow! The wiggling handrail and the graceful curvings instead of plain vertical ballisters were like a breath of fresh air for me.

Being in Lisbon is mind opening in so many ways, especially visually. I've written before about the tiles and the sidewalks and we've talked about murals and art in Metro stations. The sum of all these pieces is an entirely new aesthetic that I cannot stop marveling at. Separating each of these different components and looking for them throughout the city provides a new way to look at the city and to see how the city’s many neighborhoods neighborhoods have different aesthetics. Mostly, though, the enjoyment of each individually adds to the enjoyment of the whole.

With pleasure, I bring you some of Lisbon’s ironwork. Whether hidden in door panels or trumpeted on a front gate - to say nothing of the ubiquitous iron balconies - the styles amaze. Without further ado…

Josie here is showing off the balcony in our first apartment. Your eye might pick out that there’s not quite enough space out there for a barbecue. Good job! Josie’s head is resting on the toe balcony. The ironwork here is the European equivalent of the boring ironwork in the US. This, or something similar, is not uncommon.

Most of the ironwork on display throughout the city is on the astonishing and amazing balconies. I have - barely - managed to limit myself to three. I was first saw just the side panel of the one in the middle, and instantly fell in love. This is for a standard balcony, larger than a toe-balcony, but not enough room for a chair. There are bigger balconies, but those are not as common. If you are interested, I can do a post on balconies. They are stunning!

If the other style is common, so are any variation of this more fanciful, thinner design.

The next place you’ll likely find iron work is in the panels of doors. It took me a bit to get used to the idea that typically the front door, especially of an apartment building, has a small window in it. But not of glass - a design of iron covers the hole.

The white one on the far left is quite common, especially in my neighborhood.

These two examples are for taller doors, and are much more vertical. Often there are two panes side by side. The taller ones tend to have glass behind them.

Finally, a couple of doors just too magnificent to not share.

The “door” on the right is from Santo Amaro Chapel, a stunning 1549 treasure.

Lisbon doesn’t boast a lot of gates - it’s a city after all. But this one, with the two tone effect, is quite something.

Construction is different here, obviously. Besides open holes in doors, we also have open holes in buildings. Sometimes they are ground level, sometimes where a window might be.

Generally these … windows are about 2’ to 4’ large. The one on the right is all but level with the street.

The light on the left is the kind found in our neighborhood. The black cat was watching me carefully to make sure I captured it well. The center is from Praça do Comércio down by the water. The last is from the touristic areas downtown. The boat design found in this one is found all over Lisbon, usually in the cobblestone sidewalks.

I will leave you with one of the many pretty building facades.

That’s all for now,

Love from Lisbon,

Amy