Is the shelf the dark area to the very far left? Is it possible to post a pic showing more of it?

I think this is the area the OP is referring to . . .

Thanks...my bad. My eye was going more to the left of the photo vs toward the center. My first thought is a plant...or trio of plants. Nothing faux...real plants.

Ha! I looked at that photo 3 times and STILL didn't see that spot! Even with missengma's arrow pointing right at it.

What an odd spot. Following . . . to see what others come up with. (The idea of a desk/trunk/furniture seems really incongruous to me.)

Edited to add: how about that vase on the floor just below the spot? And maybe a couple of its friends?

I actually had planned to put those vases up there (there are two of them, you just can't tell from this angle), but they look miniature up there. The space is almost 5 feet wide and 4 feet deep....

What you are describing in both ideas could not be seen from the ground floor--the public space in the house. People would have to go upstairs to see everything. You don't need a diorama, you need something large and sculptural that can be appreciated from below. Not necessarily a sculpture, but something with its own unique form--a cluster of bamboo, an antique weathervane on a wooden base, pyracantha branches, etc. Go big and interesting, with some color.

nothing. leave it. I didn't even notice a shelf until the arrow pointed to it.

Or, I like the idea of a large vase. My cats would love that spot

Ooooh, pretty. From Touch of Class. Don't set it in the center of the space - set it towards the front so it can be seen well from below.

I'm not sure if you need the storage space or would even consider it, but what about boxing it in and making it an additional closet?

We actually don't need the space and that would be a lot more money than I want to send because then we'd have to address the top of the stairs banister and the drywall.

I would leave it empty.

Nada

Melissa - I would love to see the vignette you described with the desk and typewriter - it sounds lovely. However, it would only look good from the top third of the staircase as you walk down the stairs. What you would see from the room is what a crawling child or a pet sees every day which is the underside of tables and chairs.

If the empty space truly bothers you, perhaps you will find something large that looks good from all angles such as a spinning wheel or a vintage piece of farm equipment, if you like those kinds of things. Another thought would be a good stack of vintage suitcases and/or a couple of large baskets or old hampers with wool blankets artfully arranged.

Maybe putting nothing there is the best suggestion since, as noted in my first post, I didn't even notice the shelf. Beth's right...cats would love it!

I would enclose it, and make the new space either a closet or open shelving accessible through the upper room.

Another vote for leaving it empty.

Definitely leave it empty!

The sweet dog looks like he/she is pondering it over, too. :-)

I commented earlier that I vote to leave it empty ... BUT ... The one thing that would actually look really stunning there (and not cluttered/ draw attention to the slightly awkward architecture), would be a sculpture/mobile hung from the ceiling, centered over the drywalled area, and right in front of that drywall "window" on the second floor.

Is the drywalled area on the first floor a pantry/closet? If so, it would be easy to access the "floor" of the shelf, to install uplighting for a sculptural element hanging over it.

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Some of these are obviously on a much grander scale, but I think you get the idea.

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@gm_tx - Brilliant suggestion!

This particular piece might be too contemporary or ornate, but just wanted to mock up something quickly, to get the idea across. You could easily do this with something else that's more your style:

That is a frustrating opening. If you didn't have to dust it, I would want to put something on the spot next to the stair case, that's tall, that would fill the opening, instead of hanging down (less expensive)

Thank you for the suggestions, all. I would never have thought about a mobile...I have some things to ponder....

My first thought was similar to the concept shown by gm_tx: a stained glass art piece. It could be installed in the opening or suspended from the ceiling. That will block the view of the attic access and add colour. You could install a light that shines on it from behind or string twinkle lights around the back of it to illuminate it!

It wouldn't have to be fusty or old fashioned or formal. This monochrome green one adds interest in a very modern way!

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My vote is to leave it empty. I have lots of 'plant shelf' areas in my home and they have previously had stuff on them, but about a year ago I removed everything and I have to admit it feels so very liberating. I came to the thought that just because it's there doesn't mean it has to be used, so to speak.

I LOVE the glass mobiles. However, I would likely leave that shelf bare. In my younger years I enjoyed "stuff". Everywhere lol. In my later years, not so much. I still have "stuff" but not near as much and way more curated. Maybe you should wait until your library is finished then make a decision. The typewriter would go well in your library, just not on that shelf.

Although I love the mobile idea, I agree with missenigma, SammyJ and Jpp221. I would inclose it. All it does is collect dust and highlight the attic hatch. (I think your sweet pup thinks your taking their picture)

I have a hard time believing that would even be a good place for plants. You would have to risk your life to water. Anything you put there is going to need to be dusted just as often as your plants. Put nothing there, especially no furniture.

“No one ever used a typewriter on a cabinet, after all.” —Melissa Berry (the OP)

I beg to differ. http://www.openculture.com/2013/10/ernest-hemingway-standing-desk.html

“Ernest Hemingway writes in the bedroom of his house in the Havana suburb of San Francisco de Paula. He has a special workroom prepared for him in a square tower at the southwest corner of the house, but prefers to work in his bedroom, climbing to the tower room only when “characters” drive him up there...

The room is divided into two alcoves by a pair of chest-high bookcases that stand out into the room at right angles from opposite walls....

It is on the top of one of these cluttered bookcases—the one against the wall by the east window and three feet or so from his bed—that Hemingway has his “work desk”—a square foot of cramped area hemmed in by books on one side and on the other by a newspaper-covered heap of papers, manuscripts, and pamphlets. There is just enough space left on top of the bookcase for a typewriter, surmounted by a wooden reading board, five or six pencils, and a chunk of copper ore to weight down papers when the wind blows in from the east window.

A working habit he has had from the beginning, Hemingway stands when he writes. He stands in a pair of his oversized loafers on the worn skin of a lesser kudu—the typewriter and the reading board chest-high opposite him.”

Hi Melissa, I think your ideas sound lovely.

Your “plant shelf” can be the perfect “tower room’ of wanderlust! But you would not likely want it as plain and messy as the above picture! Here is my idea, put a curtain up over the wall window cutout... swag it to the left or just have it hanging straight (like your lower level) on the left...a swag might be too much. Coordinate the color with your teal geometric drapes in the lower level except do a slightly antique floral softly tropical pattern. Use a fairly narrow dark wood colored tallish stand, “right sized“ under the wall window cutout. Small in length and width dimension but tall enough to come up to the bottom of the wall cutout height. This should be pushed against the wall, be simple, maybe a single drawer, not extend out from the wall very much and not be much wider than the cutout if at all, but big enough for the typewriter, obviously. More of a stand than a desk. Or a cabinet or bookshelf as Hemingway used. Put your typewriter on top of this. Put a tall vase against the open space between the wall cutouts to the right of typwriter stand. Make it large enough to fill that space and balance the curtain on the left. In the vase put some tall dried reeds or bamboo. If you do a tropical Hemingway style up there, the old typewriter combined with bamboo could work. (I know, you don’t want plants, maybe a vertical piece of wall art between the cutouts.) or you can do a floor lamp but have a the stand be substantial enough make a statement. if you make the typewriter stand extend further to the right, you could use your desk lamp idea to fill that space.

This vignette, if right sized, will look interesting from ground level but will look too simple as you’re walking up the stairs. You will feel like something is missing and want to try to add more...first simply try adding an area rug to tie things together, it could be a small thin almost threadbare antique rug up there on the “plant shelf“ floor.

I think visually you can have the setting you dream of and it will look intentional and right sized from below. It will give a hint of wanderlust and imagination instead of museum.

(The OP has a dog, no mention of a cat, but if she wanted to get a polydactyl cat, it would fit right into the scene and I venture to guess this is where said cat would want to hang out. In that case, get a cushioned ottoman to complete the scene and perch the cat.)

Also you would do well to frame the cutout like a window.

A bamboo shade (above) would be an option vs a curtain. Or both. You could have the shade partially down to cover the attic access most people didn’t like and still have an opening. Or a variation of the burlap shade below: