Welcome mats have come a long way transforming from functional floor coverings to decorative expressions of personality, interests and sense of hospitality. Today, when you step onto a floor mat, you're not just entering a home, but perhaps a lifestyle.
There's over 300 apartment homes on 5 floors in Clocktower Apartments, the converted mill where we reside. On walks through the two connected mill buildings, I've seen some fairly average floor mats like this ↓ one ... and then there are others like those below.
The first known floor covering in dwellings dates 25,000 years ago to the Paleolithic period. The earliest records of woven rush mats were found about 6,000 years ago in Mesopotamia western Asia in the area now known as Iraq.
The term doormat emerged in the mid-17th century, derived from the Latin doormata, which means doorkeeper. It first referred to a person who tended the door and, over time, evolved to describe a mat placed outside the door.
In the early 20th century, the term welcome mat became popular, emphasizing its function to welcome guests and create an inviting atmosphere. The introduction of synthetic materials like coir, nylon and rubber led to a surge in the production of durable and decorative welcome mats.
Welcome mats hold cultural significance beyond the practical purpose. Placing a welcome mat outside the door is a way to invite guests into one’s home.
Sadly, the term has been applied to humans, who are sometimes called a doormat as they let others treat them unfairly, and don't complain. It should never be tolerated.
Enjoy Your Weekend, Everyone
Rainy Friday but sunny the rest of the weekend
Winter is still here, but no ❄️. Recently, there was an overnight dusting, gone within a day.
32 comments:
...I like your fabulous Friday Funnies, great alliteration. The river views are gorgeous, the clouds in the first image are a wonderful addition.
There was a house in our neighbourhood which had a sign which said, “Go away.” It was a decorative sign, probably meant as a joke. The key is probably!
Great series. I like how people decorate their apartment doors which you see when walking down long hallways of multi story buildings. I think it rather gross when they aren't allowed to do so.
I used to tell my mother she was a door mat, i should not have but it was the truth. she was so kind, she could not say no and never said what she wanted. poor sweet mama would have loved a door mat that said welcome, come on in but she lived with Daddy and me, the other daddy from the same pod, so never got the welcome mat
These are all very cute!
I love the blue skies best!
This house is doormat word free!
Great view from your apartment.
The snow we had last weekend was so pretty to wake up to, and melted on the streets and sidewalks quickly... my favorite type of snow.
Interesting bit of history on floor coverings/mats,
Welcome ~ Just don't expect much. Haha Visitors bringing wine would be my fav kind of guest. LOL Good vibes only is sweet, too.
Enjoy your weekend!
~Mary
They are keeping your lives interesting. This is a good one for me.
Oh nevermind. It wouldn't accept the link.
Absolutely LOVED the post dear Dorothy ❤
Enjoyed learning about doormats and 25,000 ago wow
Woven one 6000 years ago quite old history indeed they have 🤗
Here only plastic doormat are affordable for common people. Others are too pricy.
I once fall in love with one insanity but shopowner insisted 0n 7000 .it was gorgeous and stunningly woven. Some kind of woolly thick cloth it was .sorry can say actual name of type.i skipped it because my range for doormat is 2000 maximum.
And thanks for sharing images of river
Such an enchanting view 😍❤
I absolutely love to see the sense of humor people feel free to show. And they make me feel good too.
The guy living next door to me in my apartment building still has a huge, cute Santa sitting outside of his door--lol! Was fun to see how people decorate. :)
Your last two photos are gorgeous!! I had no idea about all these floor covering facts! They are really interesting!
I need one that says, "Shalom, y'all" because I live in the South.
Loved this post and all the interesting doormat sayings. Gee, mine is boring...It just says "Welcome", but there is a lovely red Cardinal on it! I think it was meant for Christmas, but I like it well enough to keep it out all year round. However, it is on our back porch, where it is under shelter, since our front door is not under shelter. I didn't want it to get ruined by rain, etc., however no one ever comes to this back door, so they don't know they are welcome! LOL. The one I have at the front door is just a plain generic one to wipe your feet on, and it is waterproof. No message. I enjoyed your post and pictures. Always learn something when I come visit here!
It's interesting how far back they go. I don't think mine says anything!
Hi Beatrice, Your blog topics are quite imaginative! Never would have thought about doormats. Ours are just doormats...no verbiage but the examples you pictured are definite clues to the personalities of at least one resident of an apartment... Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
Love the...don't expect much...doormat!
Fun post, thank you
I am surprised they have been used going way back when. Your view there is always beautiful.
This one topic that has many parts. Interesting .
The one that makes me giggle says, "Welcome-ish. Depends on who you are and how long you're staying." That being said, I'd never have that doormat.
Love your views and all of the door mats too.
I had no idea about the history of door mats before..
Thanks for the tid bits.
Sue
This is a clever post Dorothy. Some doormats are really funny. Mine says Bee our guest with bees and flowers on it. :) Enjoy the rest of your weekend. hugs-Erika
I would love to have a fun or pretty doormat. Somehow though are doors have hardly any space underneath and we need a very thin mat for that reason. These seem to be of the boring variety. Which of the above is yours?
"Pets welcome, people tolerated" I like it!
These doormats are a hoot! I chuckled at "Pets welcome, people tolerated" – sounds like my kind of household! It's fascinating to learn about the history of floor coverings too. Thanks for sharing, Dorothy!
Have a great week ahead!
Isn't that interesting? Lovely views across the river too.
The riverscape pictures sure are beautiful but sure don't look like a hard winter ... In Oregon have doormats with pictures of birds on them -- they make me smile, but not laugh out like a couple of your neighbors do!
What a funky post! I didn't begin to know the history of doormats. I didn't know they had a history!
I like your examples of welcome mats--some of them are pretty funny.
One of my sister's neighbors has a doormat that says "Lose the shoes."
I understand why they would ask visitors to remove their footwear, but I find this off-putting.
Thanks for the history of the doormat. I don't have one, because I might trip over it. Besides, David uses a walker and a wheelchair, so doormats would not be ideal for him.
We have such a variety of durable doormats here! The material and background colors are more or less the same. The writing differs: humorous, informative, or welcoming expressions.
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