LOL....saw the door & the tassles, but didn't see the 'surprised look' until you said so. Good call!

The person who did this is obviously a flea market hunter and must have got the pillars on the cheap and nowhere to put in the house. But seriously, the tassels traditionally serves two purposes....one to "sweep" away bad luck when the door is closed, and two to "sweep" good luck into the house every time the door opens. The words on the door roughly means the soft wind cometh like the mellow moon? The two stools placed there could signify this is a place of peaceful rests for any weary visitor that happens by. The pillars carved with up-ward creeping vines signify continuable growth / prosperity. The colors have their cosmological significance. Red (prosperity), yellow (imperial / grandeur), green (color of jade, signifying eternal beauty and strength of character) The two lanterns on top is just an old Chinese superstition which "fears" dark doors at night. The white rectangular box on the right is just to cover up some pvc piping.

The person who did this is obviously a flea market hunter and must have got the pillars on the cheap and nowhere to put in the house. But seriously, the tassels traditionally serves two purposes....one to "sweep" away bad luck when the door is closed, and two to "sweep" good luck into the house every time the door opens. The words on the door roughly means the soft wind cometh like the mellow moon? The two stools placed there could signify this is a place of peaceful rests for any weary visitor that happens by. The pillars carved with up-ward creeping vines signify continuable growth / prosperity. The colors have their cosmological significance. Red (prosperity), yellow (imperial / grandeur), green (color of jade, signifying eternal beauty and strength of character) The two lanterns on top is just an old Chinese superstition which "fears" dark doors at night. The white rectangular box on the right is just to cover up some pvc piping.