This is wonderful how you opened the stairs - you get a real sense of the architecture and it brings in more light. I applaud what you have accomplished. I'm going to assume that the wall above is patched with quickcrete and the whole thing is painted (try to get the wall beyond under the stair too). If you have / want a flat screen, you might mount a swing arm wall mount for a flat panel television on the vertical wall element remaining on the right - just about 3' - 3 1/2' (around 1 meter) above the floor so that it is eye level when you are sitting. The swing arm support will allow you to tilt the television away from the wall ever so slightly across the nearby corner. This can help to eliminate glare from the nearby window and make it possible for more people in the room to view it / expand your seating possibilities. I reference something like http://www.cdw.com/shop/products/Chief-Thinstall-TS318SU-Medium-Dual-Swing-Arm-Wall-Mount-18in-Extension/2555661.aspx?cm_mmc=ShoppingFeeds-_-GoogleBase-_-Video/Monitors/Cards/Projector-_-2555661_Chief%20Thinstall%20TS318SU%20Medium%20Dual%20Swing%20Arm%20Wall%20Mount%20-%2018%22%22%20Extension%20-%20_CIF-TS318SU You can even mount a television tlhat is wider than the wall behind as it can sit flat on the wall and extend beyond the wall to the left when at rest like another plane in your architectural composition. Since the upper stair is just behind, this should be fairly safe for the electronic. Determine precisely where the television will be at rest before you hang the mount itself. Then, look for a low height chest to sit below the television. Ideally a chest with one open shelf near the top to hold your component receivers. You may want to try to run electrical to the remaining vertical wall on the right (the support for the stair landing) to get power into the wall itself, while everything is open. Depending upon where the nearest source is, with concrete walls, you could mount the power junction box low on the wall under the stair and drill out small diameter cord passages through the wall after placement of your components. Or use the baseboard area to run needed cables and power to the area behind the chest, then conceal it with baseboard trim. The more you can hide the power and connection cords, the sleeker the look, to match your gorgeous architectural stair element. If you have a larger deeper television, put it on a sideboard chest under the upper stair where you have the depth. In the rear area, take care with putting cables together in a cord cover - ikea has a good one that is inexpensive. http://www.ikea.com/us/en/catalog/products/20097954/ so it looks "neat" from behind when you come down the stair.

I am so happy to see you here! I will have to go back and see if i can retrieve my posts... thought I would make them into a little book for my daughter, with photos. Quick run-down on the bathroom (not travels, no time) - The kitchen has a rather elegant sliding door with beveled glass panels. Painted white, since this was the original colour. GD's new bathroom has the doors I had picked earlier; i thought of polishing them but decided sprayed automobile paint (on a resin primer) would wear better. Especially since it is such a small bathroom, and she is so splashy. I have this finish in my kitchen and it has lasted 15 years now. A tad chipped here and there, but only needs a wipe down once a week. Same finish for the balcony doors, also split like the bathroom. We have a new wardrobe, a study table with built-in shelves, and a small chest of drawers for her odds and ends. I want to re-tile the tiny balcony, more as a little statement. Currently we are looking at Portuguese tiles, though I did think a mosaic with a funky cat might be nice. Let me see the costing. The room will be painted a neutral adobe, with bright white woodwork and an off-white ceiling. This means she can go wild with cushions and covers. Other changes in the flat; We have changed the glass in the master bedroom and living room from small cramped panes to a single pane for each section with a 1" bevel all round. Doubles the cost of the glass, but looks so elegant! The air-conditioning is being re-located. The compressors were all mounted in the bedroom and living room balconies, which looked terrible and meant the balconies (very narrow, only 30" deep) couldn't be used for anything. Not even plants. So they are being moved so that the compressors can be mounted at the rear of the building. two down, one to go. Now we can put in some nice plants, fishtail palms etc. The kitchen counter on one side came out intact and will be reused elsewhere. I am planning overhead storage, cupboards, and a draining cupboard for plates and glasses. Right now there is no dish washer, though a place is earmarked, but for now I will put in a cupboard with steel racks for cups, glasses and plates, all hidden behind pressed glass doors. This is all in the planning stage.... Pictures in a little while, they are mostly on my ipad and don't transfer well to the mac. They come without numbers... so I have to rename the or something. Somebody tell me how to do this!

Tsilanko, I would always recommend professional installation where needed. But what I am doing here is suggesting that WHEN you are planning to build or renovate, to consider how your plans will affect you in 20 or 30 years time. Split levels are very hep when you are young. A kitchen 3 steps down at 30 is rarely a problem, but might be a hazard at 60, or, as Marjie1059 suggested, if you break a leg. ... All my parents' homes were terrible for old people. They were forced to move to a bungalow in extreme old sge because the location and design of their home was more suitable for an active young couple with a large family than for an elderly couple with stroke disabilities. I would not want to move again, so my present home has features built in that make ageing in place simpler. Mostly small changes, like grab rails, and lever handles on doors and faucets. A major disability suddenly suffered requires major changes if permanent. I did look at this because it came up in the discussion, but if you look at the heading, Planning for Disability, it means just that. Plan ahead so you don't have to make expensive changes later on. But thank you for your advice, yes, major changes are not in the DIY domain.

I have returned to your website and my original message is no longer here. Sorry, I guess I failed to press "Submit"- the green means go, I guess. My response does not relate to your request, alas, as I am a site planner and see your problem in the visual and environmental context. It is not obvious in the photos how far down the balcony floor is. Does the opening shown begin at typical height of a balcony, say 3-4 feet, or 1 meter? My initial response was to suggest repeating the strong modern architectural lines with a planter or, better yet, a series of planters of the same size and shape across the entire opening, filled with plants of your liking to bring color and fragrance into your space, in place of the great colors of your neighbor's laundry. If you just want to maintain the simplicity, bamboo all across will give you a light evergreen screen that will accept your rainfall, bring rustling music in the wind, and grow perhaps a foot a day (up to its normal height) soon after planting. Decorative glazed pots arranged in rows or clusters down on the terrace floor will bring delight when viewed from within your home, but will occupy your limited space. Natasha Korn at www.triqita,com is the designer and manufacturer of wonderful fabric designs in silk - many bold patterns with bright colors, in sizes from neck scarves to large wall hangings. A thought would be to frame them on glass so the light comes through from behind and hang them on the wireworks outside. Or perhaps a large wall hanging mounted on a large footed frame or a folding 5-6' (2 meter) tall screen that could be placed inside as a room divider, but then when you need to better control your view, place it on your prison wall outside to bring some warmth and glamour to your view. You can reach her directly, I believe, at natasha@triqita.com, her email site. I hope this has offered further food for thought to help resolve your need. cascio.offsite@gmail.com