Fun and Decorative Door Stops

Have you ever had that problem where you have a door in your house that just won't stay open no matter what? You can either do what I've been doing for several months now, which is to stick a slipper under the edge of the door, or get yourself a funky or fancy door stop. I remember way back to the first decorative door stop I ever saw and that was a ugly cast iron bug of some nature. I don't recall exactly what it was, but it was certainly heavy enough to keep just about any door ajar.

I think that just about whatever you're looking for you may find it at kaccents.com. This has got to be one of the best selections of door stops around and if you can't find something here you like, then you must be looking for something very particular. The Jack Russell door stopper is just the cutest thing I've ever seen. This would be a great item to get for yourself or as a gift for a house-warming party or something similar. At 12" wide and 8.5" in height, this should hold any of your interior doors open with no problem, but since it is made of fiberglass resin, may not be able to hold a door in heavy wind like a cast iron door stop would. The great thing right now is that this one is on sale for $29.95 and they are offering free shipping. At that price get one for yourself and one for a friend. Another option here is a door wedge with a figurine on top. I'm sure you're all familiar with the classic plastic wedge we see in most offices, but these are made of wood and the figurine of brass. The Labrador Door Wedge is just too adorable for words. When you wedge this under your door it looks like the Labrador is holding the door open with his front paws and at $26 who can resist. If you don't like too cute, then go with the bulldog that appears to be holding the door open with his backside.

Here's a few cute ideas for maybe your back door, mudroom or a shed door since these would fit well outdoors. At napastyle.com you can get a doorstop with a little bird, a larger pig or one with a shovel and pitchfork on it. These are really fun and made of cast iron with a weathered look to them which makes them perfect for indoors or out.

One other way to go is the soft door stop which if you like cats, then check out thebackyardshoppe.com to find a few cats, a basset hound and a pig which are silk-screened on 100% cotton. These nifty little door stops are filled with polyfil and weighted with pellets. These are perfect for the animal lover and all your interior doors. You would not want to use these outside or near a back door or mudroom. For around $40 you can have these delivered to, what else, your door.

If you really don't want to spend a lot of money then there are a few things you can do instead. If you have nothing around that house that would work well as a door stop, such as a small heavy statue or planter, then you can always wedge a sachet under the door. Maybe you've got an old one laying in one of your drawers that you can toss under there. This way, as opposed to something that may be cast iron, you can easily move it with just a nudge of your toe. You can always make any small fabric pouch by sewing three sides of fabric together and then fill with a few marbles for weight and potpourri for a nice scent. Kids all grown up, then swipe one of their old bean bag stuff animals and instant door stop.

A final suggestion which could bring some quality time with the kids is to purchase a simple and cheap wedge at the hardware store and then have your kids decorate them. You can glue a strip of fabric around it for color or maybe some rhinestones. Just make sure you don't decorate beyond the point of where it will wedge under the door, otherwise everything will get stripped off. You can also take these wedges and super glue a small figurine on top. I would recommend that you do this for your kids if you need something stronger than craft glue.