Cascade Style Paulo-White

This two-panel interior door is part of our “affordable luxury” philosophy as well as a full-fledged member of the cascade style collection, which is to say that the moldings are put together in layers, rendering the resulting item not just charmingly elegant but extraordinarily reliable in terms of structural integrity.

It is named – this interior door model is named – after the celebrated late Baroque sculptor Paolo Persico whose lavish style makes you see luxury in a whole different light. Our designers felt they owed the fellow a debt of gratitude. They may have been right about that. As a source of inspiration, Paolo’s works are unique.

As prolific as he was, he is best known for his contribution to the Royal Palace of Casetra whose construction, which began 1752, was ordered by Charles VII of Naples. The insightful monarch’s purpose was to put together something that would rival the Palace of Versailles (the halls, the gardens, the fountains, the interior doors, and so forth) constructed a century earlier. (Because Emperor Hadrian’s villa was ruined in barbarian attacks on Rome and a number of civil wars, Versailles has been the yardstick against which luxury is measured ever since it was finished). A secondary purpose was to have a magnificent royal court and administrative center in a location protected from sea attack, and distant from the perpetually restless city of Naples.

It is curious that in 1998 the palace served for four days as a filming location for Star Wars: The Phantom Menace. But that’s not the point.

Persico was responsible for creating the fountain statues of Diana and Acteon in a fountain, as well as the Lions for the entrance stairway, a Faun, The Gladiator, and an Apollo. These creations truly look alive rather than striking a pose, a theme characteristic of late Baroque luxury and taken to a whole new level by the sculptor.

As for the finish (we’re talking about this interior door model again), it is the result of a number of recent technological breakthroughs. While at least as pleasant to look at and smooth to the touch as anything produced by traditional methods, this interior door finish is “wrapped” by applying heat and pressure working on molecular level. This effectively renders the interior door warp-resistant, water- resistant, and scratch resistant, all at the same time, and absolutely fade-proof. As a result, this interior door requires virtually no maintenance apart from the occasional dusting.

As it is with all Almes interior doors, this one comes with all the usual great features, one of which is the state-of-the-art hardware. The Italian-made 3D- adjustable self-lubricating concealed hinges make the installation ten times easier, ensure that the door will never creak, and augment the overall elegance by hiding the pin from sight. Actually, there is no pin. For more information on how this is achieved, please refer to our hardware page. Then there’s the magnetic lock, making the operation smooth and absolutely silent. Finally, the automatic sweep activated each time you close the door ensures privacy as well as providing thermal insulation which will dramatically reduce your electrical charges.

And now let’s discuss the finishes.

This is a bit tricky. Isn’t White the default finish that would look great on any interior door? Well, not quite.

W. is the color most often associated with perfection, honesty, cleanliness, newness, neutrality, and exactitude. The pigment has been known and used by humans since prehistoric times. In ancient Egypt, W. symbolized purity. Roman patricians paraded around in W. togas to distinguish themselves from the common folk. It was the color of choice of French monarchs. Architects of all epochs used W., with considerable enthusiasm, in various projects and for various reasons. In the United States, architects favored it when designing churches, capitols, and municipal buildings – which is, in fact, a tradition they inherited from classical and Renaissance architecture. According to some experts, most of the buildings in the celebrated Forum were either made of, or clad in, W. marble. In Taoism, it represents the yang or masculine energy, one of the two complementary natures of the universe. Many authors, both classical and contemporary, have referred to W. as a sign of purity, either physical (like William Shakespeare, whose treacherous usurper monarch wishes a heavenly rain would cleanse his blood-stained hand, washing it “white as snow”) or spiritual (like Tennessee Williams, who named his lead character Blanche (derived, incidentally, from the Germanic word blanc)) as a symbol of her innocent child-like spirit, perceptible from the moment she makes her first entrance (through the interior door stage-left).

Back in the Seventeenth Century, Sir Isaac Newton discovered that sunlight is composed of light with wavelengths across the visible spectrum which the human eye perceives as W. It is the lightest of the spectrum, and achromatic (hue-less) to boot, because it fully reflects and scatters all visible wavelengths of light, absorbing none. W. objects stand out in the dark. Depending on the surroundings, an interior door with W. finish might come off as emphatic or tactful, dominant or complementary. It blends seamlessly into most types of decor and, once the owner’s needs and disposition are taken into account, can symbolize – oh, so many different things, while bringing back a myriad memories: from those glorious snowy Alpine slopes and peaks to the fluffy tops of the wayward herd of cumulus cloud heap over the horizon on a balmy afternoon in the Caribbean. Tropical sand beaches are W. due to the high quantity of calcium carbonate they get from tiny bits of seashells ground to powder by the waves. In a number of cultures W. can also symbolize festivity, and be used lavishly to brighten up weddings, birthdays, and anniversaries. It is beautiful. Make sure it goes well with your interior door model, though.