Debra Gunstanson Old shutters are a huge statement

libradesigneye Changing the wall color will help a lot. How high off finish floor is the bump? Is it about 48" off the finish floor? I think you paint the circle element white like the stair instead of the wall color. That will help a lot. Otherwise, ignore it - it is awkward and would take just the right floor sculpture element to work. Nothing remotely formal dining ish allows adults to use that .

kewendt I think a built-in book case could be neat

christina2222 Thank you for the responses. It is about 48 in off the ground. We can't wait to change the paint color. We were thinking about a really light mint green for this room.

christina2222 Someone suggested to just stick a few plants underneath but I thought even that would look a little odd.

mariakeating From the front angle it looks ok. It's the side view that looks a bit bizarre. How far does it come out from the wall? It looks like about 2 feet? What about extending it to the floor and closing it off completely, so there is no open space? Or, like kewendt suggested make a built in. Since it's in the DR, you can use it as display shelves. And I see you have electricity there, you could always close it off with rounded glass doors and install one or two undercounter puck lights to light the cabinet.

Check out Benjamin Moore Revere Pewter for a paint color. It's a great neutral.

libradesigneye When you paint shop, watch for a muted green. It is hard to find a pale mint that doesn't reference a nursery. I think you might want a more sophisticated shade - usually paint is the last thing to do, but here you need to get a new color up just so you can think!. Let's say you want a calming green - maybe look at http://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/paint-color/valemist Many people like to test colors by painting them on foamcore, then carrying them around in the room so you can see them at different times of day and night. Since you have some high walls here, art may be very important. Look around for large scale portrait orientation elements that you love (and can do - art prints at some of the art website vendors are more affordable printed on canvas where you can avoid a frame until you catch up to it.

tayloch What a fantastic set of shapes to be your entrance. I love the jutting out. Don't put anything underneath it as it will take away the effect. The whole area would look stunning in navy and white. Think lighthouse. It has the potential for a real wow factor

Erno Windt For a soft green, look at BM Wind Chime AF-465. I recently used that color in much of my house, customized just a bit. One good thing about the BM Affinity line (of which Wind Chime is one color) is that you can purchase a large sheet of the color for about $4 instead of having to buy a pot of paint and paint a board yourself--less trouble and mess!

tayloch Or you could go modern and add grays, blues and steel, change the bannister to chrome, add a large mirror to the beige wall at the top of the stairs. Mosaic tile or use bendy mirror to go round the bit that juts out. It really is a lovely stair you can have so much fun playing around with ideas. Does the rest of the house have such interesting design?

collettec Romeo, where for art thou Romeo? Oh, sorry, just waxing poetic about this balcony! I don't think you really have much room under the balcony to put anything and agree with tayloch that adding something will diminish the look. What will matter that can affect it is the paint color and possible art and decor choices elsewhere. Think a half round table would be great on the wall in front of the balcony, not under it. You might choose to add a rug in this entrance to direct the flow of traffic around the balcony as having a half round table in front of it might help to do as well. Then perhaps pull a paint color from that as long as it worked with adjoining rooms. Just wanted to add that perhaps you could drywall in below the balcony to mimic the balcony curvature and follow it all the way down, so that it had that round feature all the way to the floor since it is fairly low already.
...Just wanted to add that another option might be custom cabinetry so that you could use the space underneath and have it work in scale with the balcony above it.

Bonnie I wonder if you could have the half round bump removed? It doesn't look like the staircase really needs it either. Otherwise, I would paint the round part white and ignore as others have suggested.

curacaoblue A neutral color will make this a wonderful accent rather than an eyesore. Right now all that I see is the color which reminds me of the 90s

mariakeating After looking at it more closely, honestly, I like the idea to leave it alone best, and repaint of course. What color are your accessories and artwork for the room? Or do you have an empty canvas?

christina2222 Romeo and Juliette definitely came to mind when we saw it. I think we could handle putting a built in bookcase in but can't afford closing it or cutting it off. I like the idea of painting it white but if I did should I try to change the wall texture in that area to match the staircase rails better? We have a completely open canvas and like many different paint choices. I looked at wind chime and liked it. Thank you everyone for the help.

Debra Gunstanson Shutters of many colors and sizes are great we did it in my niece's home on her stair case you would not believe the difference it made

Debra Gunstanson I'm sorry the more I look the more I think about it even white trim with that color would make a huge diff

collettec I would make decisions about the balcony, in terms of color and other choices, based on the overall space. Since this is a dining room, I would decide what colors you will have in the dining room and on the walls upstairs that will also be visible, in order to work from there to decide what colors you want for the balcony and railing. I think I would work to keep the texture on the wall the same but use an eggshell or even a flat paint so that it reflected light less. I would consider the balcony as part of the design of that entry wall and have it work in terms of color, etc, with other decor items, such as tables, bookcases, art, etc. I like the idea of painting the top and bottom of the rounded portion of the railing the same color which I think would enhance it visually as a feature.

tennisanyone I like it. Not your typical entrance. . I would not add anything. Maybe a neutral wall color might help. What does it look like from the other side?

christina2222 Here is a picture of the other side. Sorry it's not great, it's the only one on me.

Debra Gunstanson That is a pretty green but I know I'm crazy but if u like to antiquing like I do or even to junk stores I would pick up all kinds of shutters paint diff colors you can even put your children on them no limit its so much fun

mariakeating @ Debra Gunstanson, You mentioned shutters, what would you do with these shutters? Can you post a pic of your idea?

rinqreation What style/styles are you decorating the house in?
I'd paint the entire hall a vanilla/creamy offwhite, semigloss. That would match in about any interior and it would give the floor some more glamour.

CMR Interiors & Design Consultations Inc. That color doesn't work at all....if you don't want to draw so much attention to the bump out than soften the color with the white part of the stairs.....right now you are only highlighting it. I say a creamy white like Monterey White would be nice from Benjamin Moore. White is a color and its gorgeous and this area where its dark and dreary. Open up the windows. Get rid of those sheers and get some nice looking crisp white shutters or romans for these windows.

rinqreation Maybe even paint the rail dark brown or black (or see if the white can be stripped).

Debra Gunstanson If u don't like the shutters try black and with fam pic of fam o white and black frames
Shelves all over the place

christina2222 We haven't started decorating anything yet. Everything in there is from the previous owner.
@ Rinqreation, The styles we like are mostly traditional and contemporary. @ Debra Gunstanson, I'm curious about the shutters but I can't picture it. Also I love the picture below and was hoping to use that for inspiration in this room.

lilion Very cool staircase. If it were me, which it isn't, I'd probably put something under it for storage, a big steamer trunk or camelback truck or even a bombay chest. Just something that is useful yet decorative. I see there's a plug-in there. Did the prior owners have something there?

Debra Gunstanson Don't panic white wide trim and shelves or of all diff sizes and even color looks like so much fun

Promethean Remodeling, LLC My first thought was to bring the curve all the way to the floor. But then I thought a custom made fish tank would be cool. Curved to fit the shape. Could still see through. Different for sure! LOL

Debra Gunstanson You could do that I would go to the floor up look at mag depends on where you live you can go with there flow or your own just have fur