When my wife and I completed a partial remodel of our house last year, we replaced the rather ordinary-looking front door with a solid-core faux mahogany beauty, highlighted with a stylish centered rain glass cutout. This single architectural element transformed our entry into a much more inviting space. But after many months of opening our new door, I’ve come to realize it’s not just the look I enjoy so much. It’s the sound. A door of this caliber comes with a well-machined, weighty set of hinges and lockset. Close the door and you’ll hear the latch and catch nestle comfortably and perfectly together. It’s one of the most pleasing sounds I’ve ever heard. I call it a delicious click.
Delicious clicks. Maybe you already know what I’m talking about. You hear a rich, deep sound and you immediately think “high quality” or “high dollar” or just “n-i-c-e…”. You hear this kind of a click in someone’s house and you think, “whoa, these people have it made”. If you haven’t experienced this brand of audible, here’s an idea. Your local bank may have a walk-in safe, one of those with the big spinner handle front and center on the door. Maybe you can hang around until the time they secure the safe. They’ll push that massive steel door closed on silent hinges. They’ll spin the handle until it catches, and then secure the deadbolt with a secondary lever.
That’s when you’ll hear it. A delicious click.
I’d love to trademark my little sound phrase but I must give credit where credit is due, so I summon James Bond. Rather, James Bond’s creator, the author Ian Fleming. After From Russia With Love, Goldfinger, and all of the other Bond adventures, Fleming wrote a wonderful, timeless children’s story called Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1964). For those not familiar (and shame on you), Chitty is about a nutty inventor living in a windmill with his family, the nearby candy company whose owner’s daughter is “Truly Scrumptious“, a mysterious castle in a land called Vulgaria, and the magical flying car that brings it all together.
Perfect for this post, “chitty chitty bang bang” is also the sound of the flying car’s engine when it’s in gear. There’s a moment in the movie where you hear the four-part tempo and you think, “perfect words to describe it!” But more to my point today, it’s the car’s doors that are even more pleasing. Even without a copy of the book in my hands, I still remember the author’s description as Chitty’s doors came to a close. Delicious clicks.
Mercedes just came out with its “largest and most luxurious” electric car, the EQS. It’s the battery-powered equivalent of the popular S-class sedan. It has an aerodynamically sloping hood to make speeds above 100 mph (!) smoother. The EQS can travel 480 miles on a single charge. And the purchase will set you back over $100K.
Ferrari just came out with a new “supercar” with 818 horsepower and a V6 engine. The “296 GTB” is also a plug-in hybrid. It’s not Ferrari’s fastest car but it sure looks like fun to drive. If you have the means, the 296 GTB will set you back the equivalent of three Mercedes EQS’s.
I can’t afford either of these cars; not even close. But I can guarantee one thing. Whether you go with the Mercedes or the Ferrari, your money will get you meticulously crafted doors on your car. With delicious clicks.
Recently one of my liquid soap bottles was down to its last few drops. When I pressed down for more the nozzle made a horrible, empty, nasally kind of plea for more soap. What an awful sound. Not exactly “toot sweet”.
On that note, I think I’ll close my front door again.
Some content sourced from IMDb.com.
Life In A Word 
Beautiful door. I agree, the sound of a beautiful and heavy door closing with that “click” sound as you say is most glorious!
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Either I didn’t know, or maybe I forgot, that Fleming wrote Chitty. And you’ve given me the notion to read a Bond book. I read several of them decades ago, but none since then. I wonder how they hold up. Click!
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I never knew Fleming wrote that book either. Speaking of clicks, I love vintage clutch purses and have several, the kind without straps you might bring to a wedding or that elegant women in the older Bond thrillers might carry around in casinos. They make a most satisfying click when you close them. I’m sure that Queen Elizabeth’s classic handbags make the same sound.
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I was thinking of purse clasps at some point as I was writing this post, and then I forgot about them. But you’re right Joni, those clicks are as delicious as doors.
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When I was a kid, I saw the move and wanted to have that car. For years I thought it was the best movie ever.
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I loved the breakfast machine in the windmill house. Made eggs, toast, and sausage automatically; then rolled the plates down the track and across to the table to each person. I would’ve taken the candy factory too.
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The door is lovely, but the sound, that just made it come alive! I’m also surprised to learn that Fleming wrote that book. Such a totally different view of life than the Bond books.
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I never read any of the Bond books as a kid so for me it was the other way around: I was surprised to learn (at that time) Ian Fleming wrote the James Bond books. It’s also interesting Fleming wrote “Chitty…” later rather than earlier in his writing career. Quite an imagination!
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That’s a beautiful front door and entryway Dave. I “get” the satisfying noise of the door … for me, hearing the deadbolt on my steel doors (back and side) is assurance I am safe and sound, ensconced in the house until I next venture out (and never before dawn or after dusk given the crime rate these days). Years ago, when I took the bus, on a cold Winter’s day, I’d arrive home from a long commute, often hampered by the snow and ice. I’d be so happy to be home, I’d turn the key in the lock, leave it there and proceed to put my “bus bag” on the landing and close the door. Many mornings, I’d be scrambling around looking for my keys, only to open the door and find the keys ice cold and hanging from where I’d put them the night before.
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Love the way you took an ordinary moment (turning the lock) and made it extraordinary with “delicious clicks.” I’m another one who didn’t know Ian Fleming wrote Chitty Chitty Bang Bang–an interesting bit of trivia for sure! P.S. I think the doors on our Toyota Rav offer delicious clicks!
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I will join you in an appreciation for delicious clicks. When I was in college I owned an old Cadillac from the early 60s. That car was full of delicious clicks even in old age. Those built even 5 years later were never the same.
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