The doors of Havana hanging on our staircase

Photos of old doors from Old Havana, stored in the storage room

We were cleaning out and organizing the house's storage room when we came across the old collection of door photos from 2017. They became like a small archive of a Havana that's gradually changing.

Today almost none of those doors exist, and the photos have become a reminder of how they were.

In that same storage room were some light wood frames we'd bought at some point and never used. So we put the two things together, so they'd be visible to everyone who comes into our house on Amargura Street.

First, test on the floor

We chose the ones we liked best, which were six. Before touching the wall, we laid them on the floor and tried out different arrangements:

• Loose, at different heights.
• Diagonally, one after the other.
• In pairs, stepping down.
• In a grid, three rows of two.

On the floor you can change everything in a moment and see the whole arrangement without making a single hole. It works the same for hanging pictures in any home.

Diagonally, next to the staircase

We went with the diagonal arrangement because it sits just right over the steps and the climb looks harmonious and even. We hung them on the building's entry staircase, the one with gray marble steps and wrought iron railings with a wooden handrail.

With a tape measure, we measured the wall and hung the frames one by one, each a bit higher than the last, following the staircase.

They're reddish wood doors, some with two panels and weathered paint, and one with an iron grille under an arch. The frames are light colored and almost disappear into the white wall, so what you see are the doors.

You'll see them as soon as you come in, as you go up the stairs. And if you then go out for a walk with our guide to what to see in Old Havana on foot, keep an eye out for the doors you find along the way.

This is how the house's details come to life

This is how many of the small details and secrets throughout Amargura 62 come to life. We've been living in and renovating the house for a long time, with lots of love, everyone's creativity, and very good intentions.

The fountain came together the same way, recovering old items that were scattered around. Today a metal bucket pours water onto an orange leaf shaped like a heart, and from there it falls into a basin among palm trees.

There are more things like this scattered throughout the house and the apartments at Amargura 62. Many have a similar story behind them to these doors.