its more of a safety than aesthetic thing in my opinion. I am not a fan of the railing . But putting up a knee or half wall would do the same thing, I think be more attractive, and give you more wall surface for furniture arrangement. I had the same issue in my own home, put up the half wall and love it

IMO you need something there. An unprotected step-down is an accident waiting to happen. A pony wall would look good!

Not up for discussion to remove and do nothing. Looking for ideas. :-)

In that case, I think a solid wall would look best; it would give a more substantial effect.

Why do you have a gate there now? How long will that be needed?

I want my 2 dogs out of that area. So when I can trust them not to pee on my carpet it goes.

I think a pony wall would be a good separation. I would get plain round tapered spindles that are closer together.

Remodel by the Beach · More Info

normally I like unobstructed sightlines, but I feel like there's just way too much going on when facing the kitchen. my vote is for a knee wall to help calm the space.

I don't even think it would majorly impact your sightlines. as a mockup, throw a white sheet over the current railing to give you an idea of how different the room would feel if that spot was visually blocked.

Consider a shelf wall. A half wall or knee wall, but with built in shelving either on the kitchen or family roomside.

also, does that column have to be there? is it load bearing? I'd remove it if at all possible.

Are you mostly referring to the image from living room to kitchen. Remember That will always be an obstructed view because it’s a sunken room. Never will be a clean sight because chairs or coach will be there. The view to consider is kitchen to living room. I can sit in my kitchen and watch tv easily.

yes load bearing column and there are two columns, the one you see and the one on the other side of the baby gate next to stairs.

Since you mentioned you need to block the dogs in for a while I'd go with a half wall there. This gives the furniture a backdrop and looks less cluttered.

Labra, good point. I have always said the divider is to high. the height of the baby gate is where is needs to be anyway. a half wall or something similar to what Mauren posted would be nice. The fact is we are a family of 6 and my house is lived in.

C Hogan

"Are you mostly referring to the image from living room to kitchen."

yes. when I look at the picture facing the kitchen, I can see between the chair, the side tables, and the lamp. the fact that you can see the back of the console table in the dining room, the basket under it, the pet bed, plus clutter, cables, etc. there is too much going on. we all have everyday clutter and that's ok. but in this picture, I can see it all at the same time and it's a bit much. a short wall will divide and calm it. (or a short cabinet or bookcase like auntthelma and Maureen suggested. then you can have some extra storage!)

as for the view from the kitchen to the living room-- I don't think a solid knee wall will obstruct your view too much. like I said, if you're worried, hang a sheet (or cardboard or something) and see if it blocks things too much.

BF I agree. Thanks for your answer, Yes, extra storage is always good. I would love to find something that isn't custom,. not against custom but it's pricey. Any suggested pieces would be greatly appreciated. I am at a lose on what to type in my search engine.

Look at bookcases that can be installed sideways for an easy diy divider.

C Hogan whenever I need furniture to fit a very specific size, I have to look for an extremely long time, and many times I have to settle on something sub-par in quality. or I find something close and "hack" it. sometimes I never find what I need.

in your case, you will have very specific parameters (fitting between columns, and also not too high or low). seems like custom would be worth it.

either way, you're going to need to have something built there. could upgrading a pony wall to a very simple bookcase be that much more expensive? (honestly, I have no idea.) have you gotten quotes? could you save money by painting it yourself?

Look at using IKEA kitchen cabinets (the upper depth) and see what you can make based on your dimensions. Also consider how much depth you might need. The good part about you getting new flooring is that you don't need to be able to have an exact number of inches. Just within an inch or so of what you have now. Then cover the cabinets with a wide trim board and paint. This way you can have closed storage too and less to dust regularly. You could even put it together so the lower part of the column is hidden inside a cabinet to look like the column sits on top.

What is that lovely wall color in your middle photo, please?

https://www.benjaminmoore.com/en-us/color-overview/find-your-color/color/1564/beach-glass

Beach glass by BM

thank you!