add some foam and fabric and make seating out of it? :)

Wow, to each their own but I actually would love that planter in my house! I think I would probably fill it with nice pebbles and do a little rock garden, with some votive candles nestled in.

get some of the non-venting fireplace fuel canisters, some rocks and DYI your own fireplace. Get a glass square dome to put overtop (with vent holes). Of course, only if you don't have children, pets or clumsy friends.

Nice plywood on top, paint it a different colour from the wall, use it as an end table with SEEKRIT storage. Ooh!

noooo, seating/storage

Iim with Colleen. Get rid of it. It makes the furniture arrangement difficult. It's ugly. Don't spend time, energy or money improving it.

If you want a bench with storage, get one that you can move around when you want to.

We had one of those when we bought our house. We took the sledgehammer to it, the bricks went down into the foundation, we stuck a time capsule down there and sealed it all in with plywood and carpeting.

I personally would keep it and fill it with mother in law tongue. Easy to care plant that will survive in any condition

Keep the planter. Lose that carpet.

What? No, I think the only thing that would improve it is a sledge hammer. Where does the water go in that thing? and with the rug right next to it, seems like it could quickly be a big moldy mess.

I think only keep it as a temporary solution, live with the space before getting the sledgehammer out.

I think ripping it out is more problematic than most people think. If you get rid of it you will have to deal with replacing the flooring underneath to match. Instead, I would build a shelf/room divider on top and use it as a landing space for your entryway.

Don't forget the safety glasses when you beat it down. I had one of those in "used brick" and it was always in the way literally and visually.

Oh no! Don't rip it out! That's mid-century in all its glory. I wish they still made planters indoors. I would fill it with rocks and add some votive candles and/or bamboo.

I don't know how feasible this would be, but I could see a double sided fireplace on top of the brick pedestal.

I agree with Comicgeek, you may be getting into more work removing it than you think.

I am assuming that this planter is between the front hall and the living room. I would build a bench on the corridor side with a tall back made of wood to give some separation between the living room and front hall. You could even put a couple of hooks on the back for coats and bags.

I'd have a woodworker fabricate a screen of the brise-sole style.....angled slats of a beautifully-grained wood that allows light yet also creates an elegant divider. Nice floor, BTW!

I second biggygreg. Spend your time and money on getting new carpet.

Here's another vote for filling it with mother-in-law tongue or making it into seating and spending time instead on getting rid of the green carpeting.

Only speaking for myself here...I'd cover it with plywood, as someone else suggested, painted white then stand a storage cabinet on it, using the backside as another wall to hang good art on. It might block out too much light, can't tell by the photo. Good luck!

I second the rock garden with some candles...though making it a seating bench (with a flip up lid so you can store stuff there) also sounds good.

Love pyrexmaniac's idea of a divider. That shape would also make a nice platform for an aquarium.

I'm with radioriot, don't rip it out that mid-century gem. We just bought a house with one and fortunately it came with a copper inset tray. I placed three potted plants in the tray and it makes a lovely living wall between the entry way and living room. Depending on the light, you could pick some interesting tropical plants that will give visual interest and texture to the space.

In that room... the planter is just about the least ugly ting.

It's hard to suggest what to do with it without a better idea of the space. Are we in the living room? What's the deal with the two types of flooring?

Between the planter, the green carpet (yikes) and the patio-type flooring, it looks like they were trying to bring the outdoors inside. If your friend isn't up to any major renovation, she could just run with the idea.

Heck, go full retro and get some inspiration from 50's backyards.

Personally I'd take a hammer to that thing, though. It looks like a hundred cracked shins just lying in wait for the unwary.

My parents had a similar one in their entryway. Eventually they cleaned it out and just built over it for some extra shelving.

I second those who say make seating out of it. You could even make the top hinged and use it for storage.

She needs to test her house for radon, those planters are known to allow high levels into homes

I like the pebble, Zen garden-esque ideas. For a party, while it's a little low, it could be lined with plastic sheeting, filled with ice and used as a chiller for canned and bottled drinks.

Yet another vote for keeping it as a planter for something minimal (like a snake plant) or using it as a bench with storage underneath (light colored wood would look great). It's going to look so different once that carpet and everything else is out of there!

We have one of these in our home. It separates the living area from the dining room. We actually have a large fish tank on top of it and just think wooden boards that we cut to place on either side which serve as a place to leave the keys/remotes or stack magazines. People always comment on how cool it is when they first come over.

Rip out the planter and all the flooring. Replace with wood flooring.

Seriously, do this and you'll be happy.

oooh, I just checked the picture again. It's a lot lower than ours, but the point is that you can definitely come up with something! I like the seating idea, too.

I'm with the group that says live with it for a while before doing anything drastic.

I like the idea of pebbles or sand with candles, or as a divider with some tall plant (live bamboo in pots that could be taken outdoors for watering), or dried bamboo set in pots with cement and filled in and covered with sand (as long as your friend doesn't have small children or a cat that would want to play in it). I think I'd paint it to blend more with the flooring.

If whatever treatment used is short, your friend could do something like this overhead:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/oceandreamer56/5424965611/.

I saved that pic from the Desire to Inspire blog.

Personally, I like the color of the carpet - if it's the same as it shows in the pic - but then, I like green. Not wild about the rest of the flooring that shows in the pic - I'd probably replace that when I could.

I think it depends how much money she wants to spend. I agree with people who said you don't know what you're getting into with the decision to take it out. Also, what else is going on with the space? If she's ripping out flooring anyway to put down hardwood or something, then I would probably just rip it out at the same time.

If there are no plans to do other renovations in those rooms, I would personally at least have someone come look at it to judge 1) what it would cost to remove it, and 2) make sure that it hasn't caused any issues below like mold, etc.

On the creative ideas angle, I like the concept of either turning into seating or shelving if she doesn't end up ripping it out.

My friend has these same planters in her house. When she got new kitchen counters she just had them cut some pieces to install on top and now she sets little decorative items on it, but it can also be a little bench. It really looks awesome and adds character.

Personally, If tare down wasn't an option. I would at the very least put plaster over the bricks to make it a smooth box and paint it. If a planter was not desired, then the next thing I would do would be to empty it, line the inside to be use as storage, put an upholstered seat on top, and using as seating. Lastly, I would consider putting an open room divider on top instead of seating.

I agree with Anna Europe that the planter is the least ugly thing in the room. Personally I would a) rip out all the flooring and replace it with ANYTHING else (although wood would be best) and b) make a sturdy top to turn the potter into a bench and add some throw pillows.

I have no problem with the white brick, and if someone later on wants to showcase this "retro feature" then there's no damage done. But the flooring must go.

oops. I mean planter, not potter.

3 options:

Bench with cushion on top
Rip it out
Ugly brick planter box

i like the idea of growing grass, or some tall ornamental grasses in there....could look really chic

You chose a place with green carpet and what looks like faux patio flooring and you think the problem is a brick planter?

The flagstone flooring and planter are classic mid century foyer attributes.

Before you rush to rip it all out (or damage it with some crappy DIY design), I suggest that your friend identify what she wants in the long term.

I say this because the planter is not an isolated element. Nor is it necessarily the worst thing in the space (green carpet... yikes). Removing the planter would impact all the adjacent flooring decisions, and would also alter the view and flow of those. So... if your friend doesn't have a "bigger" plan in place, then it is a good idea to just live in the house for a bit before you get all demo' crazy. Find out the house actually "lives," put together a plan for the whole space, and prioritize.

Plant horsetail grass in it. It will vertically grow and create chic greenery, subtle screening, as well as cool. Since it's a foyer, this could be a very sophisticated look.

Look at hotel sites in Palm Springs to see what I mean.

Blast from the past!

In the 1950's, my folks' house had one of these separating the entry from the garage (which opened to the dining room) and the living room. It was very fashioable then. I seem to recall various potted plants in there like ferns or snake plants. (You didn't plant directly, there was usually a tub liner made from sheet metal, and you placed pots in there, surrounded by dried moss or pebbles)

Unless major renovations are planned, I'd just cap this one with plywood and trim molding, and maybe build a room divider up from that base. If new flooring is planned, then it might make sense to demolish it. A lot depends on the flow of the space.

I saw one of these used as an awesome divider wall once. The couple bought chain-link fence and hung from ceiling down into planter and then trained a flowering ivy up the planter.

I'm with beebob and radioriot -- river rock pebbles, votive candles., Also might want to get some glass tile sheets and cover it -- shimmery and pretty. My local HD has desert & ocean tile sheets on sale.

agree with above - keep it for now and tear it out if it turns out you just can't live with it.

kind of like npedroza's idea, or you could plant tall bamboo for a natural screen. definitely go for open bookshelves if you decide on that route, so the room doesn't get completely closed off. also, with all this talk of zen gardens - you could even seal the bottom with black plastic & make a little indoor pond with lily pads.

Rip it up, redo the flooring. Anything you can do with it is negated by how it just sucks up space!

My parents ripped out their planter, and replaced the foyer flooring with real tile (all DIY) and it's 8000% better!

It's a shame the bricks are painted, but even so I'd leave it in IF it's an original feature. The same goes for that flagged floor.

Colleen might like to try aspidistras (also known as Cast Iron plants), which tolerate very low light conditions and have a lovely vertical form.

If indoor plants aren't Colleen's thing, it'd look awesome with some tall sculptures (think African or New Guinean totems).

minimalist1 nailed it before I could suggest horsetail plants. They will be awesome.

I would totally frame it in a make a clost or bookshelf out of it. That way it is still there if you want it, but you don't have to look at it.

The planter has to go. Then you have the option of replacing both the rooms with the same continuous floring eithout an obstruction.

Buy a good quality, fire resistant safe. Lay it face up in the planter and then fill the area around it with concrete. Once it's set build a bench seat, room divider or something on top of it.

Housewarming gift = sledgehammer

mother in-law's tongue, definitely. it looks great and cleans the air. see the cafe in this post by sandra juto http://sandrajuto.blogspot.com/2011/01/long-lists.html

oh and flooring covering both spaces in one material/colour/without a mad pattern would help too