Frequently Asked Questions

I accept a very limited number of sponsored posts, product giveaways, banner/sidebar ads, and other types of brand collaborations. I prefer to work directly with brands, and I am not under contract with any advertising network at this time.

I do sometimes use affiliate links (generated by Sovrn and RewardStyle) in my posts, which means that if a product is purchased through that link, I receive a small commission. Those links have no influence whatsoever on the content of my blog, and are only added when available after a post has been written.

I have a 100% transparency policy when it comes to my blog content—you never need to wonder if I am being compensated to write about something. If any content is sponsored or otherwise compensated, that fact will be made abundantly clear. Views expressed are my own opinion, and no one determines the content of my posts but me. I am very good at saying no.

If you’re interested in advertising on Door Sixteen, please visit my sponsorship page for more information.

Sure, but please don’t take the entire entry. Just take a photo or two, credit them clearly (the credit line can read “photo by Anna Dorfman” or “photo from Door Sixteen,” or something along those lines), and link back directly to the specific post (permalink) you took them from.

To use a photo in print: You must contact me first. Chances are I’ll have no problem with it, but I need to know the context first. I am happy to provide higher-resolution, un-watermarked photos when appropriate. Keep in mind that I do not allow my photos to be used as visual reference for any product links that may be used to generate revenue.

Please do not crop, alter, add graphics/text to, or otherwise alter any of my photographs. If you have a special request or need a certain size photo, please contact me.

If I’ve shared a photograph that’s credited to someone else and you wish to repost it, please credit the original source/creator of the image and adhere to the creator’s terms of use. There is no need to credit me as well. The same goes for using Pinterest—please pin from the original source if it’s not my photograph! I am very good about providing credit information directly below any outside photos used on my blog. Use it.

Maybe! You are more than welcome to contact me about your shop/site/product, but please bear in mind that I probably won’t reply unless I’m going to feature you on the blog. I know that might sound kind of jerky, but it’s just me here, and I get a lot of emails. I promise promise promise that I read them ALL, though, and that I really do put a lot of thought into whether or not something will be a good fit for my blog.

I actually don’t have a public blogroll anymore. I’ve experimented with having “featured” links in the sidebar, but I worry that these kinds of things become popularity contests rather than ways to actually discover new blogs and interesting people. I think mentioning stuff I like contextually—like in blog posts—is a much better way for me to share links. This is just my personal preference.

Of course! You can link to any site you want to. No need to ask permission!

Door Sixteen is currently using a modified version of the Florence theme from Solo Pine, and is running on the WordPress.org publishing platform. I use a paintbrush, ink, paper, scanner, Photoshop & Illustrator for image editing and graphics creation, and I do all of my coding with Coda.

I’ve been a loyal Dreamhost customer since 1998. If you need a hosting company, you can get 20% off at Dreamhost with the code DOORSIXTEEN.

Honestly? These days I mostly use an iPhone X.

I’ve had a Leica D-Lux 5 since September 2011, but I rarely use it. Most earlier photos were taken with a Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ5. I’m not a photographer and I don’t have much technical knowledge when it comes to taking pictures, so I prefer a small point & shoot with easily configurable options.

Or, you know, an iPhone.

I own (and use) a lot of fonts. A large part of my job is researching fonts. I love fonts. I’m a font nerd. That said, I don’t really like to do font research for other people. I’m not trying to keep secrets or be a jerk or anything, but please understand if I don’t provide lists of font names. If you’d like to do your own font research, MyFonts is GREAT starting point.

The post titles and headlines on Door Sixteen are set in Farnham, designed by Christian Schwartz. The body copy is Brandon Grotesque, designed by Hannes von Döhren.

Short answer: I have no idea.
Slightly longer answer: I’m probably not the best person to ask for career advice, but I did do a Q&A about my job a few years ago that you may find helpful.
» Part One: How I Got Into It.
» Part Two: How It Works.

No, I’m sorry. Trust me, you don’t want my input anyway!

Other than where noted, all of the paint was from Benjamin Moore.
» Moonlight White (matte): all white walls/ceilings
» Simply White (satin): white trim/woodwork throughout house
» Soot (matte): black walls in living room and bedroom
» Toucan Black (satin): black doors and stair treads
» Valspar’s Filtered Shade (matte): light gray kitchen walls
» Lacey Pearl (matte): palest gray walls in guest bedroom
» Olympic Knight’s Armor (eggshell): black ceiling in downstairs bathroom
» Black Beauty (satin): exterior black trim

Cobble Hill (all paint from Benjamin Moore):
» Moonlight White (matte): all white walls
» Deep Space (matte): all dark gray walls

Washington Heights (all paint from Benjamin Moore):
» Simply White (satin): white trim/woodwork throughout apartment
» Simply White (matte): all white walls
» Soot (matte): black walls in closet “office” and kitchen

The apartments in DUMBO and Downtown Brooklyn were already painted white when we moved in. I have no idea what shades were used.

The internet. If I don’t know how to do something, I Google it. Trial and error helps, too. We bought the house in Newburgh with zero knowledge of construction or any type of home improvement beyond painting (and we weren’t even doing that right). If I can do it, so can you. Really!

From March 2006 until September 2015, my former husband and I owned a house in the City of Newburgh. Newburgh is about 60 miles north of New York City, on the west bank of the Hudson River. During that time, we also rented a series of apartments in Manhattan and Brooklyn (DUMBO, Cobble Hill, and Downtown Brooklyn).

In October 2015, I moved from New York—where I’d lived for 40 years—to New Mexico. I lived briefly in a little town called Portales, then rented a 1939 Spanish revival bungalow in Albuquerque for a couple of years, and now I’m renovating a 1950 pueblo revival in Santa Fe.

TL;DR…I live in Santa Fe, New Mexico. (But I’m still a New Yorker.)

Fritz is a long-haired Chihuahua, and Bruno is a long-haired Chihuahua/Bichon Frisé mix. In August 2011, I did an interview about them for Dog Milk. If you ever wanted to know more about Fritz and Bruno, there you go!

When I’m in New York, I go to Danielle Peters at Little Lion in Brooklyn. I wholeheartedly recommend her. If you go, tell Danielle I sent you!

In Santa Fe, I get my cuts and color done by Antoinette at Style Labb. Antoinette rules! Tell her I sent you, too.

The best advice I can give you is to be yourself. Don’t worry about what you think a blog is supposed to be like, just focus on getting out the stuff that you think is interesting. If you like it, chances are there’s someone else who does, too. Aim for quality of content over quantity of posts. Don’t apologize for liking a trend. Don’t lift content from other blogs. Include your own photographs. Let your readers have a little window into your life, not just a bunch of product photos. Make it personal.