The entryway is the first thing anyone sees when they come in, and usually the last place that gets decorated. It doesn’t need much room. These ideas work in an entry as narrow as three feet, and nearly all of them come down without a trace.
If you have a console table
Even a 30-inch console is enough.
A lit garland across the back. Lay a 6-foot pre-lit garland (on Amazon) along the back edge of the table and let the ends pool a little. On a 30-inch console that leaves about 18 inches hanging at each side, which looks generous without sliding off. A narrower table needs only 4 feet. Tuck a few pinecones or dried orange slices into it. Pick one with a timer (six hours on is typical) so you never have to remember to switch it off.
Three small wreaths above it. One big wreath overwhelms a small entry. Three small wreaths (on Amazon) in a loose row, each on a different length of ribbon so they sit at slightly different heights, look like one arrangement. Small removable hooks hold them.
One tray. A 14 to 18-inch tray (on Amazon) with three things: a candle, a small bottle-brush tree and a few pinecones. The tray is what makes it look arranged rather than cluttered. Choose one with an edge at least an inch high so things don’t slide when the door slams, and keep it to two or three colors. In January it goes back to holding keys and mail.
On the walls
Stockings on removable hooks by the door. Two or three, at slightly different heights, with tissue stuffed in the tops so they keep their shape. Plain knit stockings in cream, grey or plaid fit in anywhere, and slightly bigger ones (around 20 inches) look cozier than small ones.
Lights around the mirror. Loop a strand of copper wire lights (on Amazon) loosely around the mirror frame, letting a bit spill onto the wall. The reflection doubles the glow and the entry feels bigger at night. Battery with a timer means no cord across the floor.
Things that do a job
A lidded basket (on Amazon). December entryways fill up with hats, gloves, packages and presents you’re hiding. A lidded basket about 18 inches wide hides all of it, which makes the entry look tidy. The lid matters: an open basket full of dog leashes isn’t decoration. It also gives you somewhere to set a package down while you find your keys.
A small bowl that smells good. Pinecones, two cinnamon sticks and a few drops of pine or clove oil, refreshed each week, in a small bowl on the console. Or a sachet of dried orange, cinnamon, cloves and star anise. People notice the smell before anything else when they walk in.
In January
The garland coils into a bag, the wreaths hang together on one hook in a closet, and the hooks peel off. Stockings fold flat. The basket stays.