Home Page that is just a Menu

Hello,

I want to have a home page that has a header/footer and then a half dozen panels that are about 250px sq in the content area. I want each each panel as the navigation to other site areas.

I haven’t got a clue how to do that and would like a few nudges to point me in the right direction.

All the other areas of the site will be more conventional with a sidebar, blog, comments and so on.

Thanks

Martin