Hello. My wife and I recently bought a house in Massachusetts and I need to replace a small 4' x 6' landing at the base of the front stairs. The existing 'landing' is essentially 6 concrete rectangles, unmortared which are crumbling away as I type. Removal will take 5 minutes...and I wouldn't be surprised to find nothing but a layer of sand for leveling and a depth of about 2-4 inces dug TOPS. (I judge here by the unfinished nature of some of the previous owner's projects. So I'm looking for some advice on how to approach replacing this small area. (There is no connecting driveway, walkway or anything else to worry about.) I have to be pretty budget-conscious here...but would like the area to be stable and able to withstand our brutal winters. For that size area, would it still be recommended to dig to 8", fill with a compacting stone (also keeping in mind that this will probably be the one time I would need to use a tamping tool....so I'm kinda loathe to buy one.) Then fill with sand....set....say cobblestone and then fill with stone dust? I'm trying to find out what materials and methods I should use to approach this project so that this teeny landing doesn't becoma a major headache. Any suggestions or ideas would be welcome.

I see that hallway and think of all the great car races! (Matchbox cars- get a bunch at yard sales. They are FUN!) If it were my hallway I’d put in bookcases in the Hall area and then a couple of comfy chairs with a table by the windows. Not need for fancy built ins. You can get gorgeous solid wood bookcases at a consignment or resale shop for reasonable prices. Take excellent measurements with you- you never know when you’ll happen upon something perfect.

Wearing polarized sunglasses would probably help but as a practical solution this is not a good one. I would prefer to light the walls with recessed lights. That should be easy if there's an attic above. I'm curious why its off-center. Does the lower part of the stair need more light than the upper part.?

I helps to layout the hanging clothes in clothes closets and items to be stored in linen closets. I plan hanging clothes to be at least 24" wide from shoulder to shoulder. In the illustration below the green shirt will be difficult to find and difficult to retrieve. Do not turn corners with hanging clothes. The closet door will hit the hanging clothes when fully open. In the linen closet the green box will be hard to find and difficult to remove without disturbing the other items on that shelf. Reach-in linen closets should have a door or doors almost as wide as the width of the closet.See if the range vent can be exhausted out the wall so it doesn't have to take up space. In some lake houses I have designed, I provided a 24" wide shelf and rod on the wall. Guests can hang their clothes on the rod (if they brought any that needs hanging), folded clothes on the shelf, and their luggage sets on a chair below. Barn doors do not provide an adequate visual or sound barrier to be used for a bedroom door, and they take up wall space where art can hang.