The entryway is your first impression. It should smell good when you open the door. That will be what people notice first. The entryway should be friendly and welcoming. When someone walks in, they should feel that it is a respite from the outdoors. It should feel warm and cozy when it is cold outside and cool and refreshing when it is hot. There should be a feeling of refuge as you enter, of peace and love and home.

Our entryway is the next thing to tackle in the apartment. It has been a disaster for years. The very opposite of refuge, it is a cluttered and claustrophobic space. With the New Year, it feels like a good place to make the mark for a fresh start.

My favorite entryway is my friend Anne’s. There is wallpaper in cobalt blue with a big painterly white pattern. There are framed pencil and charcoal drawings on the walls along with black and white photographs of the family. On her little table where she puts her mail and her keys, there is a bowl of opalescent stones that she got in Chinatown. They are as big as eggs and they are luminous. They call out for you to touch them, smooth them around in your hand like a worry bead as you look over your mail. I am going to copy Anne and find those opal eggs in Chinatown.