Interior Design Problem - Hole of Death (or at least injury) » Curbly | DIY Design Community

Interior Design Problem - Hole of Death (or at least injury)

By Talia

I need some advice (please)! The house I bought had a cut-out between the office and the family room, with home-made stairs connecting the two spaces (there's a height difference of about 3'). To make best use of both rooms we've removed the stairs and want to close off this gaping hole (1 1/2' deep, 6 1/2' high, 3 1/2' wide). Currently the hole is a bit of a hazard, but luckily we don't have any toddlers running around to plummet off the edge. My dog likes to jump through it onto the couch below, so I think she’ll miss the easy access, but it’s got to go. I definitely want to enclose the office so we can have a room that offers a quiet place to work (sound is an issue). I'm looking for an affordable but creative design solution. Cheapest/easiest option is to drywall the whole thing, but this seems like a wasted opportunity. The office has hardwood flooring, dark wood desk and bookcase, and will soon be repainted (colour yet to be decided). The family room furniture is an ultra-suede tan and all the casegoods are a dark espresso colour. The flooring in the family room is going to be redone with large 24” tile in a neutral gray/brown colour, will be repainted in cream, and the wood stove (in the corner) to be surrounded by natural stone (that’s our biggest splurge so we really don’t have much money left in the budget). The hole when filled will be a wall that will likely have a desk against it in the office, and will be above the sofa in the family room (this is a large wall though as it’s a vaulted ceiling on the family room side). I am not a fan of glass block (too 80s for my liking), but am open to other suggestions. Help please!

View from Family Room into Office View from the family room into the office.

View from Office into Family Room View from the office into the family room.

I was thinking that maybe a long and thin frosted window at the top might be nice, or maybe putting a niche from the office side. Any other suggestions? Thank you!

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interior design advice room problem creative

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May 16, 2008

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ModHomeEcTeacher

May 17, 2008

The book shelf sounds like a great idea. What about a cabinet on the bottom with doors opening on both sides and then the top half could be floating shelves with art pieces, blown glass, pottery, small bronze sculptures, or organic looking wooden art pieces if that's your style.

thebarold

May 16, 2008

I'm seeing double sided shelving... you can put a window in the if you still want the light. Also the books will help with sound absorption.