Usually a nice hand rail on one side of the step down and some funiture along the rest will keep peolpe from falling and honestly i think that would be the best answer if you want to keep the door.

Are you sure it's worth the bother eliminating the step-down? The pony wall likely provides some warning about the step. Show us pics of the area.

Hi all. Excuse the all kids toys. Here’s a pic of other side of room @beverlyfladeziner

The open doorway with the pot will end up being closed when we renovate. Originally we were considering keeping the pony wall and adding storage for all her toys and supplies,But we are unsure how long she will need to have her own area in the living room full of toys and supplies. We are hoping she will move into her bedroom more as she grows older.

I love the idea of same level flooring but if it is too challenging if there isn’t a way to keep the door, perhaps we will keep step down.

What about color of floor versus color of ceiling beams? Thank you all again!!!

Regarding your questionabout light floors and dark beams/trim: We redid our 1976 contemporary and put in a light eucalyptus floor that has some dark graining to it. We kept our dark beams and sliders, made all the trim white, and added other dark wood accents (railings, hearth, stairs). The contrast of the light floors and dark accents works really well and isn’t too matchy-matchy or trendy.

Hannah, would you be able to share some pictures? I’d love to see how you did this! :)

Not the greatest photos but this will give you a sense of the wood tones. The house was heavy on red cedar plus several other kinds of wood when we bought it so we figured paring it down to two or three was an improvement. (The railings look black but the wood parts are the same stain as the beams/stairs/hearth.)

IDK, now that I see your other photo I would be tempted to keep the pony wall and build shelving along it. Seems like it would be a nice accent even after you can move your daughter’s toys out Either way, I wouldnt eant to lose your slider — it’s such an inviting view! Neat house!

Hannah, your home is gorgeous and that stairway is what dreams are made of! I worried that I was disrespecting the wood if I painted the gorgeous solid wood molding and/or doors. It took those trees quite a while to grow…but your white molding inspires me. The doors still look great!

I considered creating open shelving in the place of the pony wall—like display shelf with actual breakables once the baby hits kindergarten, so perhaps that’s a happy medium? It allows for visual lightness while still signifying there is a step down? She can’t ride her tricycle around the kitchen to living area but that’s all right. Thoughts? Or is that just a dust catcher?

Thank you! I don‘t want to make it harder for you, but your walnut trim is wayyy prettier than our janky rough-sawn cedar was—in fact, we ripped a lot of it down and replaced it. I think lighter floors (just not gray) would look good either way. I like your big rustic support post by the steps.

You can see the accent shelf we built—it hides two support beams that were previously part of a pony wall. I think a straight up bookshelf would be really pretty in your room; I can see you have some lovely ceramics to display. However, if I had toddlers I’d worry about climbing. My youngest is 7 and the knicknacks are now safe (although I did yell at my teen for tossing a football there just today).

What a lovely home and project. I think you should keep the step-down and think about how your furnishings will layout. If that doesn’t create a natural barrier to the step, you can keep the pony wall as is or do something to complement the decor — a glass wall, a decorative wood “screen” wall, or many other things. If you don’t feel strongly about having the floors at a single level (for example for wheelchair accessibility or something like that), I think you will be much happier making the adjustment to the pony wall style than trying to raise the floor and lose the slider or switch it to a short door.

@elisejames thank you for this. After some thought, I might add slats that would mark where there is a step down coming off the stairs. Then take down the pony wall, and hopefully with that, it’ll be enough of a marker. I thought if I could make it all one level, my daughter could ride her tricycle inside around our island and into the living room. But I truly would regret losing that slider. Sigh….but I do like the idea of a decorative built in see through shelf or slats. Even if it is only 3 feet wide, that should be enough to make one take note that one is transitioning to another room and hence, another elevation, right?