Welcome on the landing

An original literary non-fiction-style account of putting a new doormat outside a flat in a shared building.

The doormat said WELCOME in letters large enough to be read from the stairs. I bought it because the landing outside my new flat felt anonymous. Every door was the same colour, and I had twice tried my key in the wrong one. I placed the mat straight beneath the letterbox and stood back to inspect my contribution.

The next morning, it was folded against the wall. I put it back. By evening, it had moved again. This time, someone had left a note asking that the landing be kept clear. I wrote a reply explaining that the mat was flat, not a piece of furniture, and left it where the note had been.

On Saturday, I met the woman from the opposite flat carrying a wheeled shopping bag. The bag caught on one corner of the mat. She stopped, lifted it over and said that she had written the note. I began explaining why I had bought it. She pointed to the gap between our doors and asked me to watch while she turned the bag around.

I watched. The mat did not occupy much space, but it occupied the space she used. I moved it inside my own door. The word WELCOME now faced people who had already been invited in, which seemed less impressive than my original arrangement. I did not buy a smaller one.

A few days later, the woman knocked to ask whether a parcel had been left with me. It had not, but I offered to listen for the delivery while she went to the shop. She thanked me and left her flat number on a piece of paper. This time, I knew exactly which door she meant.

Explain how the narrator's idea of making the building more welcoming changes.