My puppy who charges at me and hits my stomach so hard that it feels like I am being falcon punched. Then he tries to tear the grocery bags out of my hands. Even if I am only gone for 10minutes, he still greets me with such enthusiasm every time.

my kittens. they run over to the door, flop over onto their sides and wait for me to rub their fuzzy bellies. so awesome.

I'm working on my entry this week, and I wish I had a light switch like that! So pretty! I'm going to hang a shelf with a reed diffuser, because my entry is downstairs in an itty bitty nook - with no air flow, it smells musty really quickly. Right now it's just beige and empty. But there is my dog, who sits on the stairs and sits up, waving his paws in the air. He's always so excited to see me, and I'm just as excited to see him!

my entryway is slowly becoming my favorite room in the house. It's a cheerful turquoise with a gold rug and some cool elements like my record-mail holder.

www.compartmentlife.com

@hessiebell: Oh my, I think we might live in the same apartment! ;)
I have three kitties and they all do that exact same thing - it's so cute and welcoming :D

No entry! Just BOOM in my kitchen/living room.
I see the hallway and fridge.

Our entryway leads right into the living room. I see the wall to the left with our big glassed in cabinets. Behind the glass rest my books, all neat and in rows. Home...

My cocker spaniel has ears like none other. He hears me open the entrance to my apartment building, he hears me jangling and rustling up the stairs, and by the time I am messing around with the key in my lock, I can hear his dog tags clinking together as he shakes himself out and stretches after (probably) sleeping for four or five hours straight. It's one of the most comforting things to come home to every evening.

For now, I see my coat rack and orange IKEA rug. But I'm greatly tempted to buy this print:

http://shop.marcjohns.com/collections/prints/products/what-to-focus-on-print

My 3 dogs... the puppy will rush to the door and try to headbutt me, while the other 2 run up and down the stairs in excitement. It's crazy, but it's home.

@applebomb:

Haha, falcon punched.

Amelie - love the print!

My two dogs telling me: "Finally, finally you are home! Let's play!". A friendly yellow wall, and a calligraphy by Thich Nhat Hanh saying "This is it" (meaning there is nothing but this present moment).

Unfortunately, I'm living in a house that we are renovating ourselves, and the entry is as it was when we bought it: half painted, drab, with a hideous blue wallpaper, a badly painted mirror and almost no light. I really look forward to the day we can redo the entryway and the stairs.

When I come home, I tend to go upstairs to our bedroom, which is almost entirely finished, or to my son's room, which is finished, to feel at home.

I hear my baby parrot no sooner do I walk through the door. He loves to be snuggled and held. Super sweet.

When I walk into my home I am greeted by a Beloved Ganesha statue (Ganesha is the elephant headed Hindu God of Remover of Obstacles). He is beautiful to gaze upon. Next to him is a beautiful water fountain with soft sounds of movement to bring my attention inward as I move from the outside world into my sanctuary home.

i pretty much just see the front room, boring, but i dont feel "home" until i let my pug out of my room (shared home, can only be responsible for my stuff!)

I'm greeted by my little orange kitty running down the steps to rub against my leg and roll over for me to pet his belly.

I'm not "home" and settled in until I spend some quality time with Sweetpea AKA "SP" the albino rabbit I found abandoned on the side of the road some 7 years ago. I could have the worst day ever and watching him do his "happy rabbit dance" when he gets out always makes me laugh. SP 4-EVA!

Although I can't compete with a happy rabbit dance, my cat is always there to greet me at the door, and we walk up the stairs together with a bunch of my old black and white photographs as a backdrop.

Look what I just found out....but still the bird is the best...
http://www.etsy.com/listing/54163547/wild-flowers-1950s-vintage-wallpaper?ref=v1_other_2

There are plenty more...unfortunately in my country we don`t use this kind of switch:(

My cat greeting me at the door always gave me that feeling, but I never even realized it until we had to have her put down in December. After that, it felt like something was missing when I didn't open the door and have the cat run up to greet me (even if my husband did come to greet me, it just wasn't the same, haha). We just adopted a new kitty from the Humane Society yesterday, so I'm hoping to start getting that feeling back again!

Pictures of funky doors from each of the neighborhoods we've lived in since we moved here. I love it because my entry hallway is little more than a series of doors (front, back, closet, laundry room, etc), and the pictures of doors just brings it all home.

And then two cats who will have hopped down the stairs just to say hi.

Zoe and Bear, our two dogs, sooooo wiggling excited to see me. And of course my dear husband, who doesn't wiggle as well as the dogs, but is nonetheless happy that I'm *home*.

Happy dogs are the first thing I see :)

This was designed with the same "by the front door - welcome home" idea in mind....
Small and cheery!
http://www.etsy.com/listing/57537679/song-bird-cottage-wreath-vintage-fruit

Fantastic!!!

I actually got a little teary, reading about everyone getting such comfort and love from their pets -- and obviously, those pets also get love and comfort from their people. Currently pet-less, all of the wonderful responses warmed my heart a bit.

The first thing I see is my fireplace. Sure it probably hasn't been functional since the late 70's (it's FL after all), but it's the focal point of the room and I appreciate that it's there at all.

Oh, for a pet! Our current landlord doesn't allow them, and we're so blue about it. We tumble right into the living room, so we see the beautiful fireplace and my husband's framed photography the moment we walk in. It helps keep the living room tidy when it's the first thing you see.

Loved this post. So simple and yet, so very evocative. What a beautiful tribute to your friend's artwork.

All of it, just beautiful.

-maria

A very excited little pug! You think it'd get old or my schedule would be predictable, but every time.... just as excited.

My front door opens right into the living room. When I get home, kitty is usually at the door and bunny is across the room in his cage. I greet them both, then go let bunny out to roam. Sure, the house itself is attractive and welcoming, but the animals are its soul.

I have a collection of silver and gold spray-painted toy animals that scream and growl at me as I walk in the door. It's nice.

Excellent reminder to not bring the outside in--our homes are our castles, wherever they are we need to love them!

I'm so sad I don't have a pet right now, reading these responses.

My mini-schnauzer greets me with happy barks and his unique vocalizations: a cross between a wookie and an excited game show contestant! The next thing I see is the intake for my heat system. Ugly in the winter, but in summer I hang a very large landscape painting over it. A serene glimpse into the natural world to help me wind down. Very nice.

I usually enter into the kitchen from the garage, and when the garage door opens, both cats tend to appear waiting for attention. And the chance to dart past us out into the world, which they seem to think is fascinating (until paws hit snow!) (Indoor cats, they are not allowed out.)

Past them, I see into the living room to the sofa and fireplace, which is where I plop after my 45 minute commute. (Probably an hour or more today, with the snow and ice...)

I painted my front door bright yellow since that's the first thing I see when I get home. It makes me happy every time.