It has been many, many years since either of us have lived in a house. One of things I had forgotten about houses — especially houses in small towns — is that no one uses the front door. Whether it’s a neighbor, the UPS delivery person or me and Mr. Blandings, we always use the side entrance, which opens into this little hallway. It’s partly because it’s the first thing people see when they enter the house and partly because it’s a tiny little space that wouldn’t require a lot of work that made me decide to give it a makeover now rather than later.
