What does the rest of the space look like?

Beautiful garden space! A real shame to have to get rid of it! I know there are wonderful brand new products on the market to treat old concrete that has water seepage problems. I've seem many basement projects on DIY & HGTV that makes the walls & floors waterproof. Can you get a second opinion?

Can you not FIX the mold? Replace the soil, seal the surfaces, etc.? Or Glass it in? Grow orchids and bromeliads which don't need soil.

The rest of the house is being remodeled (i.e. it is gutted right now). However, the style is transitional. There are lots of windows and good light. We are putting in chestnut hard wood floors. The other side of this brick wall is the living room with a built in fireplace.
We did like the idea of the garden but this is a vacation home and we are not there to keep it up. We need something that is low maintenance.

What's on THIS side of the the brick wall? Is it a hallway, or a room, or what? Appears to be a skylight, yes?

A photo that includes the rest of the room would be very helpful.

So you don't want a garden at all here?
It is a lovely spot. I can see a bench here with plants around it..

The garden is the first thing that you see in a pretty large brick entryway. I don't have any other pictures of this but the brick flooring is probably 20' long by 12' wide.

How wide and long is the hole? I can't even seem to be able to count brick as a reference.

I guess 8 feet long, but is it 18" or 24" wide?

My estimate is 4-5 feet wide by 12 feet long. It's pretty big. We are debating bricking it in...

Here are a couple more views of the area- one of the entry doors and one of a built in bar across from the indoor garden. Thought this might help with the perspective.

Yes, there is a skylight above the garden!

What a wonderful opportunity to have a Zen sand garden with small boulders or a black pebble "pond". Put a large metal sculpture on or in front of that brick wall to offset all the masonry. Alternatively, you can "plant" some dried or sphagnum moss, nestle large glass gazing balls and other "found" objects in amongst it and hang a piece of artwork with trees or other natural themed artwork. Hilton Head has some outstanding local artists who produce beautiful art using their own surroundings.

Put your hardwood flooring in there and then put two chairs and a Bistro table on top of it.

Bar and bar table go together. provides a separate quieter talking area for large gatherings. It is probably long enough to frame it with two tiny Zen gardens as well.

Thanks all for your comments! Does anyone think we should cover over all of the brick flooring? We kind of liked it.

Absolutely not.

Bringing the outside into the house is a good twist on extending the living space to the outdoors. It could help tie every thing together. keep that in mind for that area and maybe bring some outdoor hardscaping in there like hints of the rock garden for example.

Wonderful home. Keep the entry feature organic and artful. Consider a gravel (or the new colored glass material) garden with a sculpture, or a fountain that has no sitting water and one that you can turn on when you are there, and switch off when you're not. Then add a pin-point light fixture to highlight the object or graze the brick wall behind it.

Yes, I'd cover over your space with more brick and definitely keep the brick floors. You might consider that area with a brick design, so as to make it look like an area rug. I think, however, I would place a long, large (not too deep) carved cabinet on that wall, a place to set down one's keys, mail, purse--temporarily. Because there's so much light, I'd go with an over-sized oil painting (with lots of drama and/or color). I think it would be fun visiting art galleries throughout your area, or consider looking for student artists through your college/university art departments. You could get a good/affordable price and support a young artist too!

I like fountains, but I never see an easy way to drain them.

I totally agree with hsharrington! Large sculpture!!! And I love your house AND hilton head!
Do not cover that brick!!!!! :)

I really appreciate the comments. The brick and the garden were some of the elements of the house that attracted us. We are trying to keep the spirit of the home while updating it and cleaning it up a bit. These are really good ideas!

[houzz=]

You could add large rocks inside the planter and then add 1,2, or 3 potted plants that are tall. They can be removed in the off seasons when you are not there. Just an idea....IF you wanted to keep the greenery of the space. Or 2 potted plants on either side of a large piece of sculpture.

Another option would be to hang something artsy (long and dangling,) that will reflect light, from the ceiling and skylight. Rather than going from bottom to top...think from ceiling to planter!

Another element you could bring in from outside would be to match the railing I see out the front door. Put a 4 foot (assuming that is the area width) on each end or a 5 foot piece out in front of it in the center to create its own little "niche"

I like the Zen gravel garden idea with boulders/rocks

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