Make An Entrance

This post “Make An Entrance” is an excerpt from an article originally published in the September 2026 issue of Reclaimed Living magazine.

I love an entryway that looks beautiful, but I love one that works even more.

Because no matter how lovely the mirror or how perfectly styled the little table might be, if you walk in carrying your purse, your keys, a package, your sunglasses, and possibly one shoe you found in the car, the room still needs to know what to do with you.

WHAT DO YOU NEED YOUR ENTRY TO DO?

That’s really where I think a good entrance begins. Not with a decorating trend or a list of must-have pieces, but with the question: What actually happens here? Do you need a place to drop your keys? Sit down to take off your shoes? Hide the dog leash? Set down the mail before it migrates to the kitchen counter for three weeks? Your entrance does not have to do everything, but it should make the first few minutes of coming home feel easier.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE THE PRACTICAL, BEAUTIFUL

Once you know what the space needs to do, then you can start making those practical things beautiful. This is where vintage pieces are especially fun. An old dresser can become entry storage. A bench can hold baskets underneath. A bowl can catch keys. A set of old hooks can suddenly have a very modern job. I love when the useful pieces are also the ones that add character, because then function does not feel like something we have to hide.

UN-COMPLICATE THE SCALE IN YOUR SPACE

Scale matters too, although I think we sometimes make this harder than it needs to be. A tiny table on a giant wall can look like it wandered in by accident, while a massive cabinet in a narrow hallway may make everyone turn sideways to get through the door. Look at the shape of your room, the width of the walkway, and how people actually move through it. Then choose pieces that feel like they belong to the space instead of simply fitting inside it.

ADD YOUR STORY INTO THE MIX

I also think the entry is one of the best places to begin telling the story of your home. Maybe that is a vintage mirror, a family piece, an old painting, something collected on a trip, or one wonderfully odd object that makes people stop and ask about it. You do not need a whole display of meaningful things. Sometimes one piece with a little soul does more than ten things that were simply chosen to fill a blank spot.

Read the rest of the Make An Entrance article in the September 2026 issue of Reclaimed Living.

You can also click to subscribe to read future issues.

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