Wow! That’s really an eyesore! Lucky that the dog is not using it for a bathroom! I would remove the soil from it. Then you could put potted plants (real or artificial) in there as a temporary solution until you demo it.

Agreed, wow! Second choice, cut plywood to fit, and paint it and the stone/brick the same color (maybe white or gray). Then use it as a display shelf or put a small light on a timer under there.

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Before demo-ing, I'd make sure that those little poles don't serve to support the landing!

Being extremely lazy but liking plants I would get some large flat heavy rocks and nice river stones + pretty gravel and cover the dirt so the beloved dog can't dig for dinosaur bones there any more and then I would tuck in a few live plants here and there, rather zen. You do get enough light there for some attractive low growing housplants. I would especially plant a few that soften the edges of the structure, spill onto the edges in spots. I wouldn't bother with flowers, just foliage you think is pleasant to look at. If you have kids, let them add figurines and bridges etc.

https://www.msisurfaces.com/blogs/post/2020/09/26/garden-rock-the-best-rocks-for-your-garden.aspx

PS; You don't need to actually plant anything into the soil. You can buy potted plants and put the pots there and cover them with stones, and water the plants in their pots. You can also begin the cover-up project by putting black plastic over the dirt to deter the dog, and if you want to plant things, just cut a hole in the plastic with a knife.

A friend of mine once lived in an older apartment complex with big planters like this and they were really lovely filled with plants. That said, I can understand why you'd want to remove yours, especially if your mischevious doodle is using it for a digging box. You could remove all the soil and replace it with pots of plants. Or you could build out a cover for it out of wood or even plywood. I hope the support post in the soil is doing ok (not rotting from moisture). Demoing it would be feasible but then presumably you need to patch the floor and be careful not to damage the support posts in the process.

The culprit. Unless that's a rug!

@paul yes that’s the culprit🤪🤪 a neighbor with same floor plan put plywood over the hideous hole until they were ready to demo. He gussied it up so it looked like a little reading nook for little people 😉. But it was indeed less hideous than current view. Prior owner had some silk greenery . I was trying to make it less busy and threw it away. I welcome all ideas except a KOI pond😛 That’s a big NOPE

Yes remove the dirt. Cover it with plywood with some structural supports underneath such as 2 x 4‘s and carpet it, with a remnant piece of carpeting. Add some toss cushions and you will have a reading nook or a nice place for your dog to sleep and look out the window. I would put some hanging plants in the window either real or fake.

It looks like there are supprot posts in there so until you are ready to deal with all of that I like the idea of fake grass and a bed for the dog.

Putting green….

I would think about boxing it off with 2 large pieces of plywood attached to the bottom of the stair landing if that would work. Like a crawl space closet. You could paint it. Maybe hang a piece of plywood from above so you could have some infrequently accessed storage by temporarily removing the loose piece like a painting. You would still be able to see it through the window unless you blocked the view. It’s hard to say if this would work without knowing how the construction of the stairs align with the stone, but I suppose something could be built out if necessary.

If it does work well, you could actually make it a semi-permanent under-staircase closet/storage space by using studs and drywall and hinged doors.

Search “built in planter” in Discussions on Houzz. There are multiple threads on the topic; maybe you’ll see an idea that appeals to you. Good luck!

I think it's possible if you put in fake grass the dog will pee and worse in it.

I would take that out of there and clean that up. I agree with poster ci_lantro about biting the bullet and getting a sledgehammer. It sounds like that is what you want to do if truth be told. Before you do this, I would speak to someone about the support beams there as you may not be able to demolish that if they are supporting the stairs and landing? If that is the case, I would take the dirt out, fill that area up with pretty rocks and put some large potted plants in that space. Would look nice.

I would speak to someone about the support beams there as you may not be able to demolish that if they are supporting the stairs and landing?

OP can safely demolish everything around the posts. Those posts are transferring the load to the ground. Stage one demo, the posts and whatever the posts are resting on has to stay. The neighbors who removed their planter should be able to tell OP what to expect. Can also do some selective removal of material surrounding the posts at any time prior to get an idea of what to expect.

The walls look like they will come down/ out relatively easily. Looks like a combo of blocks & bricks and mortar with lots of joints. Would be nice if the window was bigger so the pieces could be chucked out through it.

@ci_lantro you have some good points. Those posts support the stairs and they are set inside a cinderblock and then encased in cement . The neighbor that demo’d and renno’d removed original posts replaced the entire staircase . I think I need to take this in small phases. Dig out the dirt which is probably 72 cubic feet 😵‍💫😵‍💫, cover with plywood which will make it a nice place for dogs and less of an eyesore I just don’t have the $$ to do a full blown renno right now 😩😩 .

What an incredible dog den. My big guy would love hanging out in there. I'd remove dirt, add plywood bottom, cover with a cheap deep pile rug, add a dog bed, and toys if your dog is in to that kind of thing. Who knows, maybe you'll curl up in there with him too and take a nap!

A complete renovation/excavation of this corner will be extremely expensive. But I love @Kendrah’s idea to dig it out and make it a doggie play pen.

If you like the idea of an indoor garden, then you can see it as a huge benefit that came with the house.

Why spend good money on a temp fix?

Yes, you could install plywood around the folly, but plywood and lumber framing is no longer a cheap temporary fix. Building materials are expensive.

There's no way around this messy labor intensive project.

The soil needs to be removed & the stone wall broken up with an electric chisel and hauled away. After that, the issue will be the flooring. Also, a project that will require some $$$.

There's no magic wand that will fix this.

A less expensive fix than custom plywood would probably be to remove the soil and fill the bottom with a shallow layer of pebbles. On this, you could put potted plants. Maybe a sculpture of some kind, too.

This could be a fun space and inexpensive and an artful area for your pup and you.

Remove the dirt and cover it with black plastic.

With inexpensive decking, to match your existing wood floor, raise it up (with a simple substructure) and overlap the top of the stone wall. Keep the stone as is, no need to paint or cover. It will be a recessed base detail.

Place a wood square log as a "bench" from the window to the edge of platform for art and a small lamp.

Paint the window frames a color - apple green, and the columns - blue.

Paint the wall on the left, just the area that aligns with the platform, deep brown flat.

Add a texture over that entire space using laser cut "ventillation panels". Inexpensive and by layering the space it won't like an afterthought.

Add a colorful printed dog bed or two big floor pillows. Think abstract art.

Blow up a favorite picture of your pup and hang it off center of that wall area.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/1410198540/ventilation-panels-decorative-air-grille?gpla=1&gao=1&&utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=shopping_us_b-home_and_living-home_decor-wall_decor-other&utm_custom1=k_Cj0KCQjwy4KqBhD0ARIsAEbCt6iTlFq5GuMFyTle7iX5uco0x691bh1ysvCCWjK6I_6uYVZUwp2OOKAaAqAOEALw_wcB_k&utm_content=go_12561589161_119138324293_506897881194_aud-2007167693269:pla-307501513391_c__1410198540_12768591&utm_custom2=12561589161&gclid=Cj0KCQjwy4KqBhD0ARIsAEbCt6iTlFq5GuMFyTle7iX5uco0x691bh1ysvCCWjK6I_6uYVZUwp2OOKAaAqAOEALw_wcB

Or you could always get chickens

Thank you so much I love your ideas

Kendra’s idea makes the most sense! I wouldn’t want dirt stones etc in that area at all.
Please post pics when your done

Miniaturized zen garden. E.g. this look, but with Bonsais, smaller stones, etc.

I’m not sure a dog would want to have or use his own play area, but wouldn’t it be cool if it could be an aviary for birds (as long as they were potty trained😉)?

…not the chicken type🤣

Expensive tho, since I think they are usually tiled…..

Or…I have a friend who somehow raises and releases butterflies, Monarch’s and a black swallowtails. Especially nice if the window glass was operable and could be opened to the outside….

@Tybeeboy …love the zen garden.

What Denise rendered (Great job BTW). It’s not cost-effective for you right now to take the whole thing out, I think a storage or a relaxation area are your two best bets.

Do you know what is under the dirt in the planter?

What is the wood? floor laid over? Slab? Framing?

Laying plywood over dirt isn't a good idea because of moisture and termites and other critters.

If the adjacent floor is over a slab, then the sensible low cost thing to do would be to pour concrete to match the height of the existing slab. Hand mix--sand, cement & gravel are cheap and nothing is wasted.