The threshold is where a visitor begins learning how welcome they are allowed to feel.

Hospitality gets settled in the first fifteen seconds, before anyone has said anything meaningful. How quickly the door opens, whether you are met or waved through, whether your coat is taken: these small mechanics tell a visitor how much room they have been given. Everything afterwards is read in that light. Welcome is a set of actions rather than a sentiment.

When someone arrives at your door, stop what you were doing and meet them properly. Give one clear instruction about where to put their things, since not knowing is what makes a guest hover.