I like the idea of doing something in it that is vertical and also drapes over the sides.

Is that a water feature? Might add one if possible.

Yes, that is a little wall fountain above the planter box. I should add, though, that I'm not crazy about the idea of having a bunch of soil and needing to water real plants inside the house. The plants in the photo are cheap silk ones that are leftover from when the house was staged, and the planter box is currently empty (no soil or anything). THanks!

If you don't want to have live plants in it, I'd rip it out.

O.K. You have a toughie. Can you tell me how you use the entryway? Do you have small children? Is this a foyer that is totally enclosed or open to another room? How deep is the closet next to it? Are you thinking you want to rip it out? Do you like the brick wall?

Lastly, Budget?

Without knowing the dimensions or budget, I'm thinking rip out the stone and frame in a deep banquet, flat upholstered bench about 18 inches high from the finished floor. It will keep you from having to re-carpet the stairs. If you like the fountain you can keep it on the wall just move it up higher. You can cut back the carpet and the existing stairs and square them off to the bench, trust me this is easy to do. If there is damage to the side wall or the back brick wall then you could upholster panels and attach them to the back and the one side. So essentially, you'd be looking at kind of a deep upholstered nook, a deep banquet. I'd frame it so that I could lift the top for storage.
houzz=][houzz=]


If you don't like the bench idea, and you don't like the brick, you could build in very elegant niches, (fairly deep I imagine), squaring off the stairs and carpet to the new niche.

If your budget is non existent, then you could cap the rocks as is and upholster the top for a sitting area, although I realize this is not the best solution, because it is really far off the ground, (Don't get up in my grill people, I 'm just throwing out ideas here)

Niche ideas:
[houzz=[houzz=]

If you give more info, one of the great designers here can come up with an even better idea.

I'd remove it, whats behind the brick wall? might be able to play up a wide staircase there

Shame because I like it. Best idea is planting vertical with plants that drape over the side :) If you don't want to water plants, is it safe to assume that lining the planter and installing proper equipment for an indoor Koi or angel fish habitat is also a no go? The older styled wood doors, trim and walls would bother me more :)

thanks for the thoughts! yes, a big reason i hesitate to do soil and water for plants is because the planter box is NOT properly lined.

Easy Button! Tear it down. It looks weird and awkward. If its not too, too expensive, I'd tear it all down , drywall it and just paint it to match the brick, or paint the brick too.

That looks like a little nook that Frank Lloyd Wright would put a little desk and small chair in, when he built his first house for his own family. You could rip out the planter and remove part of the bottom step, straighten out the stairs if you like, and build in a shallow hanging (no legs) flip top desk. Then add a small chair.

Also if you tear it down, drywall and paint it , you could put a few potted houseplants there in various heights. Use attractive flower pots also. A good plant choice that doesn't require a lot of light if the snake plant. It grows straight upright and has attractive foilage. Another great house plant is the chinese evergreen. this plant has flowers similar to the peace lily, another great house plant. I think I would paint the wood panels in cream or white to brighten up the space too. Good luck and let us know what you decide to do.

HI -- To be blunt - I would take it out -- it does not look nice . Even looks a little crooked and the stone does not go with the brick wall on the back. I think the area would be much better served with a nice desk or storage cabinet with a mirror above and some decor items and or a table lamp displayed. Or if you clear it out and ajust the stairs then there might be enough room for a nice chair. PS: If there is nothing behind the brick wall ,maybe you could open that whole wall and have some nice wide stairs.

Gosh, am I the only person who loves this thing?

@thinkmink, yep, think so!

my thoughts, take the carpet off the stairs, second create a potted herb garden and yes add a Buddha statue. This creates good energy flow into the home.

Leave the rock as a base and add an aquarium!

If you want to keep the improved indoor environment theme - I would make the rear a living wall and hang a combination of air plants (in glass balls) with a feature light (hung at various heights). Light to be distinct - bringing warmth and pop of colour.

You could have an arrangement done by a pro..with natural materials...including branches, etc...No plastic or fake flowers however...

remove rock planted. have a vertical stone wall where fountain is. keep simple

I vote for removing it.

The wood paneled walls remind me of the Brady bunch. If you don't Sheetrock those, whatever else you do, whether you decide to tear out the planter or not probably won't do much for updating. I'd tackle the walls before the planter, and the. Maybe you wouldn't think of it as such as retro eyesore.

I agree to take it out. You have a lot of wood going on, so I wonder if dry walling a curved low wall will stand out too much. Maybe a curved wood covered wall with a wood or stone top. Use the space for display - or just to set the stuff you're going to take up stairs on the next run (you know that's the truth). Wood on the stair treads would be nice, but it can wait if needed. The stone with that dark mortar doesn't relate to anything else in the space. I think you know this - just looking for support.

I actually kind of like the wood too. It is very mid century and it is nice to leave some of those things intact if you can. I also kind of like the Budda Idea, or maybe a big Tiki with some cool light hanging down. Have some fun with it. Change it with the seasons. Maybe pink Flamingos. Seriously.... this is the kind of thing that you see on websites like Apartment Therapy where the people comment about how wonderful the home owner is because they come up with super creative ideas, and don't spend tons of $ ripping everything authentic out of an older home. Look at websites like Retro Renovation, and get some Atomic Ranch Magazines and look for ideas. Figure out if there is a way to embrace it for awhile, especially if you just moved in. I speak from experience. I have a mid century house and the first thing we did is tear out the planter in the entry way, thinking that everything would look better with it opened up. 5 years later, I am thinking of how I can rebuild something there because it provided an necessary division for the rooms. It would cost way to much money to have someone come in and rebuild what we tore out.

Not being mean. The stone work is not quality craftsmanship and is not adding any character. Ten years later and it will still look bad and you'll still be looking at it. I liked the idea of a curved wall. Studs and drywall would do the job. As another suggested a full height wall with niches and lighting would look great. Draw the niche design
on a piece of paper before you start. A tall niche lighted in the front would make a statement and smaller ones asymmetrically layed out.
Should you revisit the idea of a planter, a short wall with 2 x 2 mosaic tile would also look good.

I think taking it out is mistake, but agree the plants and water feature are weird in a home. It feels like a commercial space. Cap of the brick planter with a matching piece of wood. Then add some thick floating shelves on the walls with some art work and down lighting to make it a feature wall. You could even hang a pendant light. If you are a fan of Frank then choose decorative things that give a nod to him. Configure the shelves in an interesting way. A cool mirror maybe?

I wonder how putting a staggered height grouping of 2 or 3 interesting vases in it would look o.k.?

Turn it into a landing and accessorize to your taste. The stone wall will become an attractive feature.

I like Nancy's picture. If you could do wood on the stairs, adding a trim piece at each tread, the same width as the tread nosing, and wrapping the curve is a really nice detail.

Where does that door lead to? Light switch indicates it is an entrance. If so it changes the perspective. For a low budget fix I would get rid of the stone and have an alcove possible bench. Keep the paneling on one wall to the left and drywall the rest. Take entrance door and beef up the molding, it doesn't have to match if its the entry door. Don't forget about lighting. If appropriate and in the budget you could add a window on the right side of that alcove.

I would demo it and the rock wall. Looks pretty dated.

Thanks for all the great ideas and time spent chiming in! Keep 'em coming! Pahanley, the door is just a coat closet, and the main entry door is perpendicular to the right of that.

for what it's worth - I like Nancy's idea, - great rendering - and put a 'wall fountain' ? against the wall.

Get a rubber pond liner and cement and line the thing if you want to have plants, which is what I'd vote for. You could also review the cost of a custom liner and put in a fountain, which is a nice idea in a dryish house, a really bad one if you have problems with damp.

That thing is gruesome. My first thought was dynamite! I'd remove it and continue the stairs across. Give the area some breathing space. You can always add some cut flowers in a tall vase, or grasses. Keep it simple.

Old post

Hi Nancy, curious to know if you have done anything with this yet? I see it was back in 2013 when you had asked.

Shirley, this wasn't my post. I did a rendering above.

Unfortunately, I'm seeing this post too late to save the rock. The problem here isn't the planter or the wood. It's the carpeted stairs! The stairs should be wood, or possibly stone. The rest of the wood just needs to be refinished, or maybe replaced if it's not of good quality. The planter will look right at home then. You can buy excellent, real-looking fake plants if you go through an interior designer.

It's a fantastic feature! I'd love to have something like that.