We’re adding a new room in our basement which involved the addition of a doorway in a retaining wall. The way the retaining wall was done in the 60’s, there’s a 5-6” concrete base to the wall, which is now running right through the doorway.

At this point in the project, it’s not in the Reno budget to have it cut, and we can’t elevate the flooring in the new room, as there’s a ventilation duct passing through that would make the ceiling height less than 6’.

The step is up about 5” in the new room, and about 1” from the floor in the existing room. What would be some decent ways to finish this and have it look nice?