Hello to everyone here - many thanks for your interest, we have approx 45 photos of various stage of working on this Marble styaircases ( it was antique reproduction from Catalog) and will try to show you some best pictures, meanwhile please go thru following links some photos already uploaded at Houzz at http://www.houzz.com/projects/103334/White-Marble-Staircases

I had storage under my stairs in our previous home and am having it done again. I loved it. I put seasonal things such as candles, wreaths etc., that I could not put in the attic in there. I had considered making shelves/built-ins in the hallway under the stairs but I decided I would rather just have storage. It is also a great place to store the vacuum cleaner. Mine is open all the way under the stairs, the framer was going to wall it off and make it like a coat closet but I felt like that was wasting space. IMO it's great.

Need more information...........what is the height variation or fall from the elevation at the top of the stair and where the run would end at the lower landing? What is the length of the run in a horizontal measurement? These are all factors in the code compliant design of the stairs.......not just the width.

Thanks! I was also leaning to leaving the short wall alone but wanted some outside advice :) appreciate the opinions!