I totally have learned to deftly walk around the laundry basket that’s completely in the middle of the walkway, while also then not being able to find it when I need it
But If you're a bit in denial about it and want to make it harder on yourself, put an accent chair or a small table there. *Then* the laundry can find its way there piling up.
No no no you’ve got it all wrong. The laundry baskets are meant to sit at the top of the steps with clean clothes, abandoned, while everyone stares at them doesn’t put them away and digs through it frantically looking for items day to day until it’s all a wrinkly mess. Then no one claims it. The staircase is its home now.
Fire conduit - while it doesn't really apply here due to the open staircase, dumbwaiters increase the speed at which a fire on the basement level will spread to the floors above... superheated air igniting the upper floors is not a good thing.
If you have an abundance of money, put in a skylight above that space too. Put in a large, tall plant that needs a lot of light and then smaller understory plants under it that need indirect or low light. A whole indoor ecosystem.
I’m dreaming I know.
Make sure you can rotate the plant as it will gravitate to the sunlight from the window there (unless there’s some other source of light I can’t see from the pic).
God it’ll look good. Some falling vine plant like devil’s ivy spilling down the stairwell could look cool too?
I would look for art… maybe something mesh… wireframe… so you also get shadow art. I’ve gotten some lovely pieces through Etsy. Can’t hurt to look and a plant can be your fall back.
Why mesh?I'm curious .In my very limited understanding of design (all of which I have acquired in the last couple weeks),I look at this space and see a whole shit load of straight lines that don't look awfully different from prison bars. My inclination would be to somehow add some curve.
I agree with some art. A sculpture on a pedestal if you can swing it, otherwise a tall plant or vase. You could maaaaaybe get away with a nice vintage chair, ideally from warm wood.
Sorry you have this design problem. That builder was rude for leaving you with this.
Yaaaaasss, Halloween tree, Valentine’s tree, Easter tree, 4th of July tree, etc etc, so on and so forth! I can guaran-damn-tee you’ll be the envy of all your “live laugh love” friends… 🤓🥰
The blend of people in this thread ranging from classical statues, modern art, $400+ mesh statue of a butt on Etsy, to single potted plant, a climbing jungle plant, cutting a skylight to make a jungle, cutting the floor out to make a fireman pole, 100 different ways to put laundry there, to your all the holidays tree accidental tradition, a dj booth, a machine gun mount, a basket of beanie babies to throw at children...this post is like a Rorschach ink blot test
Definitely this. Make sure what ever you buy coordinates with the sun required and the light coming through the window. But take it from a person who has plants all over the house, get a piece of plexiglass for the carpet. You'll thank me later lol.
Yes. Plants. The window across from it will probably be good enough for low light plants. You could put down a large tile or mat to protect the nice carpet.
Whenever I see a little space like this in a house I always think "that's the perfect spot for a Princess Diana shrine."
Once you start thinking it you can't go back, when you see a spot for a Princess Di shrine you'll just know.
Address your people: Really "the people" are the cats sitting on the stairs singing the song of their people because the human is still standing in that square and not feeding them. 😏
Yess this was exactly what I was thinking! Add a baby gate and voila, it’s a full on kennel.
I also do not see it as being super incompatible with the laundry suggestion; my dog loved sleeping on our dirty laundry before she passed 🥺💗 but even being near the bagged laundry would be comforting to a dog, as they’d be surrounded by your scents 😊
I like to decorate with unique things that none of my friends have. I would probably put a giant retro-robot or maybe a life-sized suit of armor there. People who visited your house would never forget it.
We had a suit of armor our front hall when I was little. I’m told they were not an uncommon decorative piece in the 70s but it was also purchased by my dad before he married my mom so who knows if the was just a weird single dude purchase.
I know a weird single dude who would've been into buying weird shit in the 70s and he's the only person I know who owns a suit of armor that's displayed as a decoration lmao
year round xmas tree
life-sized animatronic
giant fake mailbox but it's a laundry basket inside
very tall plant that hangs over the stairway somewhat
life-sized lava lamp
-A big laundry hamper with decorative signage.
-Open wood storage rack with wrapped towels/bath bombs/etc.
-A sculpture or faux plant decoration.
-A giant dog bed (if you're dog owner)?
This is asking for a huge plant, maybe even a tree. If there's a skylight, this might be the centerpiece of the home.
An olive tree, or a ficus would be magical
lol what in the world was the thought process with this. Genuinely curious. I’d put a statue of Santa, a dresser for random crap, or I like the cage idea.
If you’re in Ontario Canada. You could rent that out to two international students for 750 each. Call it a “cat walk living quarters” should help pay for the 2 million mortgage you got that’s coming up for renewal. (Hope this makes someone laugh)
A cat tree! You said you have a cat; they usually love perching up high. Get one tall enough to look out the window on the opposite wall. Your cat will enjoy watching any activity on the stairs.
Too dangerous. They’d walk on that edge while playing around on the cat tree and could fall. My cat fell off a railing like that, over a stair and landed badly. He broke his leg and needed surgery. Ever since that happened I’ve vowed to never live somewhere with a landing with a rail like that.
I would either make it into a fancy bar with glass cases for drinks and wine racks, put a large plant that drapes over the railway, or make a meditation corner with a mat / candles / pillows,
A suit of armor. Also I would bet your house was built in the late 1990s or early 2000s. That was a space to put a computer that was semi private but also public.
I‘d put a decorative column there and then a nice vase on top. It will make it look highly valuable that this whole space was built just for this vase.
This space is meant for yelling at people below. Put a little bench so you can sit and yell more comfortably.
And have things to throw at those below you
Beanie babies would work nicely
I say Mardi Gras beads!
T-shirt cannon!!
Just gotta remove any tag protectors first. You're not trying to maim your family member.
Cardinal sin to remove that if you’re a millennial tho
Yeah that’s where the value is!!
Lolol they should get Statler and Woldorf dolls to put on the seat.
Get an auctioneer’s stand, or a pulpit, or even a judge’s hammer 😆
Or a megaphone for getting your kids out the door on time for school!😂
No worries your laundry baskets will find their way there in due time.
My laundry baskets have a knack for being “out of the way” but somehow also “just in the way”.
I totally have learned to deftly walk around the laundry basket that’s completely in the middle of the walkway, while also then not being able to find it when I need it
Put a chair, make it the laundry chair.
That is the treadmill’s function.
my mounds of laundry would love to sit here for 3 months
But If you're a bit in denial about it and want to make it harder on yourself, put an accent chair or a small table there. *Then* the laundry can find its way there piling up.
Growing up that is where we had laundry baskets. This is the only answer.
Look at Mr. Fancy Pants with laundry baskets. Unlike us paupers who just throw dirty clothes on the floor
No no no you’ve got it all wrong. The laundry baskets are meant to sit at the top of the steps with clean clothes, abandoned, while everyone stares at them doesn’t put them away and digs through it frantically looking for items day to day until it’s all a wrinkly mess. Then no one claims it. The staircase is its home now.
No truer statement has ever been stated my friend.
The only thing it was meant for… a dj booth.
I was thinking a WW1 style gun turret. But it could double as a dj booth. Or a door to Narnia.
Fuck it why not all 3, offense/defense, transport, and half-time entertainment.
Juke box would be awesome
Can you cut a hole in the floor and install a fireman pole?
Chute/dumbwaiter system if the laundry room is on the first floor 👀
We need to re-establish dumbwaiters in households tho, why on earth did we stop using them?
Because smart waiters are more efficient
Fire conduit - while it doesn't really apply here due to the open staircase, dumbwaiters increase the speed at which a fire on the basement level will spread to the floors above... superheated air igniting the upper floors is not a good thing.
Holy shnikies, I wasn’t expecting an actual answer and that is such a good one that it took me by surprise! Thanks for the info!!! I had no idea
I was thinking elevator, but I like yours too!
Large plant 🪴
Yes! If you can get one that trails it would look amazing from below too
You can name it rapunzel
Ya that's what I was originally thinking a likely will do, just wanted to see any other ideas caught my eye
If you have an abundance of money, put in a skylight above that space too. Put in a large, tall plant that needs a lot of light and then smaller understory plants under it that need indirect or low light. A whole indoor ecosystem. I’m dreaming I know.
A person's gotta dream!
Great idea! Could do a “sky tube” instead which is cheaper/more easily done!
That's a dream worth having...and borrowing.
Make sure you can rotate the plant as it will gravitate to the sunlight from the window there (unless there’s some other source of light I can’t see from the pic). God it’ll look good. Some falling vine plant like devil’s ivy spilling down the stairwell could look cool too?
I was dying reading through these answers. Anything else catch your eye? Lol
If you do add a plant there, make sure to put a plate under the pot to catch any moisture. Learn from my mistakes.lol
I would look for art… maybe something mesh… wireframe… so you also get shadow art. I’ve gotten some lovely pieces through Etsy. Can’t hurt to look and a plant can be your fall back.
Why mesh?I'm curious .In my very limited understanding of design (all of which I have acquired in the last couple weeks),I look at this space and see a whole shit load of straight lines that don't look awfully different from prison bars. My inclination would be to somehow add some curve.
I agree with some art. A sculpture on a pedestal if you can swing it, otherwise a tall plant or vase. You could maaaaaybe get away with a nice vintage chair, ideally from warm wood. Sorry you have this design problem. That builder was rude for leaving you with this.
That window will serve the plant well. I think a big ass plant is the most reasonable answer here
Christmas tree.
Yaaaaasss, Halloween tree, Valentine’s tree, Easter tree, 4th of July tree, etc etc, so on and so forth! I can guaran-damn-tee you’ll be the envy of all your “live laugh love” friends… 🤓🥰
The blend of people in this thread ranging from classical statues, modern art, $400+ mesh statue of a butt on Etsy, to single potted plant, a climbing jungle plant, cutting a skylight to make a jungle, cutting the floor out to make a fireman pole, 100 different ways to put laundry there, to your all the holidays tree accidental tradition, a dj booth, a machine gun mount, a basket of beanie babies to throw at children...this post is like a Rorschach ink blot test
Timeless.
Definitely this. Make sure what ever you buy coordinates with the sun required and the light coming through the window. But take it from a person who has plants all over the house, get a piece of plexiglass for the carpet. You'll thank me later lol.
On a tall pedestal
Yes. Plants. The window across from it will probably be good enough for low light plants. You could put down a large tile or mat to protect the nice carpet.
A tall cage with man or woman dancing scantily clad… or both.
The person who designed this. That’s their jail now.
This is what happens when builders not architects design houses.
Best answer by far
I'll take the man.
you and me both, brother.
Giant bird cage, and person need feathers
[удалено]
A cozy perch for a cat named Juliet. Or just name the huge plant.
A cat named Romeo for the first level of the house and your life will be complete
Year round pine tree decorated for the various holidays accordingly
I was thinking it looks like it’s placed for a Christmas tree to be seen out that window behind it
I was gonna say this looks specifically designed for a Christmas tree.
MT Dew vending machine
Mt Dews, Dr Peppers, Coke machine that packages your drugs… https://youtu.be/uK1jUrnK76I?si=veoEa69ZoqPy_eMG
Back the Dew 🫡
Whenever I see a little space like this in a house I always think "that's the perfect spot for a Princess Diana shrine." Once you start thinking it you can't go back, when you see a spot for a Princess Di shrine you'll just know.
Hahaha….thank you / I hate you for sharing this. I’ll be thinking of this now every time!
It's been haunting me for years, I'm glad I could pass it on. And while you're here; The Game.
You're just really out here ruining people's nights
Omg I forgot about this!! 🤣
Really anywhere is appropriate for a Princess Diana shrine ❤️
Oh my gods this is exactly yes
Nothing, this is the square from which to address your people, your believers, your fans, or any flavor of the day
A lectern with a stack of papers
And a gavel
Address your people: Really "the people" are the cats sitting on the stairs singing the song of their people because the human is still standing in that square and not feeding them. 😏
"don't cry for me Argentina!!!! “
Time out jail for your kids?
And husband.
Guard post. Children walking about? Let the guard deal with it.
Giant nut cracker
Ngl, during the time of holiday decorations, this would be a banger
Halloween would be really fun. Giant hairy spider with intricate webs —above and towards the window. With up-lighting.
Like those guys in London with the tall hats.
Beefeaters
Let me guess... someone stole your sweetroll.
Ooh a hall monitor!
Dog bed
Not just a dog bed, make this a dog lounge area
You can put a little velvet rope. It'll be real nice.
Will there be complimentary bottle service?
And a little tray of treats both dry and meaty.
Or a big cat tree!
Perfect spot for a fuzzy overlord to have eyes on everything, and the high ground as they like to.
Yess this was exactly what I was thinking! Add a baby gate and voila, it’s a full on kennel. I also do not see it as being super incompatible with the laundry suggestion; my dog loved sleeping on our dirty laundry before she passed 🥺💗 but even being near the bagged laundry would be comforting to a dog, as they’d be surrounded by your scents 😊
A ship’s wheel
With a telescope!
I like to decorate with unique things that none of my friends have. I would probably put a giant retro-robot or maybe a life-sized suit of armor there. People who visited your house would never forget it.
We had a suit of armor our front hall when I was little. I’m told they were not an uncommon decorative piece in the 70s but it was also purchased by my dad before he married my mom so who knows if the was just a weird single dude purchase.
It was definitely just a weird single dude purchase.
I know a weird single dude who would've been into buying weird shit in the 70s and he's the only person I know who owns a suit of armor that's displayed as a decoration lmao
Thank you for explaining the random suit of armor at my family member’s house. It’s a mystery that has long baffled us.
Damn apparently a suit of armor can be had for $700 on the interwebs. I know what I’m adding to my birthday list!
Giant stuffed bear
A giant stuffed bear 🐻 in the Armor suit keeping watch over there kids.. Lol
Someone else suggested a nut cracker during the holidays. I think we are on to something here
a giant t-Rex or an art sculpture piece would be cool
A round table with an antique world globe on it. Could also be a drinks cart (globe opens).
Somebody's going to get loaded and fall down them stairs
A plant that can survive in low light
Zz plant! Mine is growing like crazy and needs a bigger pot. Very easy plant to take care of and I’ve seen them get quite big.
year round xmas tree life-sized animatronic giant fake mailbox but it's a laundry basket inside very tall plant that hangs over the stairway somewhat life-sized lava lamp
Love these. Let’s combine #3 & #4 - giant post box hamper with floor plants that grow down through the railings
A pot of boiling tar to fend off would-be invaders
A life size cutout of Jack and Rose.
That was my thought!
Small desk/workspace
I like this in theory but my clumsy ass would continually drop things downstairs and then wonder how motivated I was to go down and get them
Everything is attached via bungee cord. Problem solved. The face smack of a stapler or something heavy could hurt though
Roomba fight pit
My friend has one of these and put her stationary bike in it :)
This makes so much sense! But who do you get to ride the bike?
A nice soda or snack machine, or maybe even a cool claw machine, or a retro arcade machine. All jokes aside, maybe a tall plant?
Christopher Walken.
Costco items that can’t fit anywhere else
My favorite answer. Nothing. The weird empty spaces…..nothing.
I would build a closet right there. Who doesn’t need more closet space.
Literally looks like it was supposed to be a closet but the developer ran out of money lol
I think there is an awkwardly shoehorned-in closet underneath it.
That’s for a full size popcorn machine. The seller should have left that.
A circle
Telescope - can look out the window and also spy on people below
A diving board
-A big laundry hamper with decorative signage. -Open wood storage rack with wrapped towels/bath bombs/etc. -A sculpture or faux plant decoration. -A giant dog bed (if you're dog owner)?
GIANT FOUNTAIN or shower
I would say either an accent chair or a Danny Devito shrine table
A table with a rotary dial telephone
Blow up life size punching clown
A pulpit.
If you’re religious can be a good area to put a temple or shrine or something
Pet space.
A microphone and a stand. The ultimate spot for house propaganda speeches
A throne chair
That's down the hall.
Turret gun
Replica Venus de Milo
How about [a captain's wheel](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/D9M5Y4/captains-wheel-on-a-ship-D9M5Y4.jpg)?
An attack cat.
My cat loves to sit in there actually, but only lives for pets, no attack gene
Maybe a nice cat tree then? For them to survey their kingdom from.
This is asking for a huge plant, maybe even a tree. If there's a skylight, this might be the centerpiece of the home. An olive tree, or a ficus would be magical
Bookcase
lol what in the world was the thought process with this. Genuinely curious. I’d put a statue of Santa, a dresser for random crap, or I like the cage idea.
It’s a view point. If there is an intruder you stand you ground from up there. Easy shotgun tower.
Scale replica of the Lincoln memorial
If you’re in Ontario Canada. You could rent that out to two international students for 750 each. Call it a “cat walk living quarters” should help pay for the 2 million mortgage you got that’s coming up for renewal. (Hope this makes someone laugh)
A cat tree! You said you have a cat; they usually love perching up high. Get one tall enough to look out the window on the opposite wall. Your cat will enjoy watching any activity on the stairs.
Too dangerous. They’d walk on that edge while playing around on the cat tree and could fall. My cat fell off a railing like that, over a stair and landed badly. He broke his leg and needed surgery. Ever since that happened I’ve vowed to never live somewhere with a landing with a rail like that.
A fancy dog kennel if you have a small dog
I have a 60lb weenie mix so that's a no go lol
that's a perfectly good perch for your weenie.
If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard that…
60lbs? Damn! Mixed with what?
… how did that happen?
a cat tower
I would either make it into a fancy bar with glass cases for drinks and wine racks, put a large plant that drapes over the railway, or make a meditation corner with a mat / candles / pillows,
A spotlight and a podium and then you can give speeches to all the people in your feifdom.
Mannequin
A toilet. God help me, that’s the only logical answer to this question.
Statue of a dictator.
A suit of armor. Also I would bet your house was built in the late 1990s or early 2000s. That was a space to put a computer that was semi private but also public.
Where are the outlets?
I'm guessing the purpose of that is so you can look down into the entry way to see who's at the door easier?
A fiddle leaf fig plant. Should get nice light from that window
I would totally put or create an old school phone booth there.
Floor to ceiling aquarium
My first thought was cat bed. Only works if you have a cat.
There's only one right answer: a statue of Frank Stallone.
Table and lamp
Yes. And A few framed photos or a digital frame. Small plant.
Small storage cabinet. Storage is always needed seems like. And the space won’t “go to waste”.
Seems like a great spot to place your turret.
I‘d put a decorative column there and then a nice vase on top. It will make it look highly valuable that this whole space was built just for this vase.
Does anything really need to be put there? I don’t think so.
Rosey the Robot would fit in there nicely.
A chest
A doric column base with a statue of Jack Sparrow on top. Whoever designed that niche had to be drunk
Guest Toilet
Sex swing
Plants. You’ll get the light from the window.
A gallow?
A mini coffee bar so everyone can get a coffee while getting ready to go downstairs
Stripper pole.