St Ives: A Composite Door That Can Handle the Light and the Salt
By Cornwall Composite Doors · 17 November 1969 · 4 min read
TR26's famous clarity of light is unforgiving on tired paintwork — here's how we specify doors for the town's granite cottages and studios.
The light that made St Ives famous also ages doors fast
Artists have been drawn to St Ives for over a century because of its exceptional quality of light, and that same intensity is hard on paintwork. A timber door that would fade gently elsewhere shows chalking, cracking and colour loss noticeably faster here, particularly on south-facing frontages around Porthmeor and Barnoon. A composite door's factory-applied finish, backed by a 10-year colour-fastness guarantee, is a genuinely practical answer to a problem that's specific to this town's setting rather than just marketing.
Granite cottages in the Downalong conservation area
The old fishing quarter known as Downalong, close to the harbour and Porthmeor Beach, is one of the most characterful and tightly packed parts of town, with narrow lanes and granite cottages that carry real conservation sensitivity. On these properties we lean towards heritage-style panelled doors in muted, period-appropriate colours, checking against the conservation area guidance before finalising anything, since St Ives Council and Cornwall Council both take the town's historic character seriously.
Salt air off Porthmeor and the harbour
St Ives faces open sea on more than one side, and salt spray reaches deep into the town on a westerly. Every install we do here within reach of the coast — which in St Ives means most of the town — uses stainless fixings and a drained threshold as standard, the same specification we'd use on a clifftop village further along the coast.
Chartwell Green and Anthracite Grey lead the way
Against the whitewashed render and pale granite common in St Ives, Chartwell Green and Anthracite Grey are consistently our best-selling colours — both keep the kerb appeal these highly photographed properties trade on, whether that's a holiday let listing or simply a well-kept family home in Carbis Bay's near neighbour.
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