I think you should use concrete to seal the ground, and from there put a lounge chair or planters. Another alternative is to just make a small garden out of it! Use regularly a weed killer to prevent them from growing as much. You could also get a fountain and put a water feature out there. Endless possibilities. Whats your budget?

A little more background information would be helpful, at the outset.

a. Looking down from above, is the red shovel resting on a paved area shaped like the letter K, with the top chopped off just before the heartshaped plant?

b. Is there a drain, and where is it located? Does it have a flat cover or is it like an inverted basket?

c. Do your guests see this space only as they arrive and depart, or is it viewed from a sitting room?

d. Is the second floor window in a bedroom or bath? Is the window kept open to receive future fragrances from below?

e. Is their a roof or skylight over the space? Does the rain enter the space. Did.t you say there are leaves covering the floor - is there an overhanging tree?

f. Where in the World are you, now that Houzz has such a far reach, and what is your climate?

g. Do the walls need treatment, as well as the floor

h. You say you want an enjoyable OUTDOOR space. Do you wish to sit in this space with your morning coffee and iPhone, when it is bright and beautiful?

i. Would the space benefit with windows or doors in any of the three remaining walls?

I'm sure you will be showered with halpful ideas, once the problem is fully disclosed.

An inexpensive update would be to remove all the stones and then lay a thick sheet of plastic down to help prevent the weeds from coming up and add the pebbles back. I would definitely add a water feature and some really nice lighting. You could add bamboo on a wall, a plant in a large pot and a comfortable chair or chaise for reading and relaxing. For more money, you could add a cement floor and add a lovely rug or interlocking wood tiles and stone on the wall as well.

Cole · More Info

Long Beach Modern · More Info

11 x 11 is the size of a small room. It looks like you have a couple of drains in the floor so the top of your atrium must be completely open and lets in the rain, leaves and etc. I am thinking you should put a concrete floor in and maybe..depending on what you do, a small outdoor rug. I am wondering if you could put a cute small (2 person size) little outdoor table and two chairs, a water feature, some pots with flowers/greenery on the floor and some hooks on the wall for hanging baskets of flowers. I see you already have a bush...could you concrete around it and leave it in the dirt...pruning it of course....or just put it in your yard. A little watering of your flowers, vacuuming or sweeping the cement floor should be all the maintenance you need. Washing the glass also....lol

Thank you for the thoughtful questions and suggestions from all of you.

To answer the questions:

a. Looking down from above, is the red shovel resting on a paved area shaped like the letter K, with the top chopped off just before the heartshaped plant?

It is a rectangular space — almost square, actually. So it is just the giant weed.

b. Is there a drain, and where is it located? Does it have a flat cover or is it like an inverted basket?

Yes. It is next to the right wall if you look down from the second floor.

c. Do your guests see this space only as they arrive and depart, or is it viewed from a sitting room?

Unfortunately, it is the first thing guests see when they walk into the door. No view from the living room.

d. Is the second floor window in a bedroom or bath? Is the window kept open to receive future fragrances from below?

The window in the photo is sealed and located in the hallway. But I do have one opens to it in my bedroom and another one opens to it from the breakfast area (see photo attached below).

e. Is their a roof or skylight over the space? Does the rain enter the space. Did.t you say there are leaves covering the floor - is there an overhanging tree?

The atrium is open. No roof. No skylight. It gets rain and snow on. My house is backed into a wooded area. So the leaves fall into the atrium a lot.

f. Where in the World are you, now that Houzz has such a far reach, and what is your climate?

I am in New Jersey, USA. The weather is mild, sunny but humid.

g. Do the walls need treatment, as well as the floor

I am not sure what I can do with the walls. One of them is a party wall I share with my neighbor.

h. You say you want an enjoyable OUTDOOR space. Do you wish to sit in this space with your morning coffee and iPhone, when it is bright and beautiful?

Yes. If possible. It is my hope also that my cats can use the space napping and sun bathing...

i. Would the space benefit with windows or doors in any of the three remaining walls?

The walls offer structural support. So they cannot be altered that way.

What climate range are you in? My first thought is to put down some weed screen and put in one single focal plant along with a small statue of some type. I would use mulch vs stones for the cover.

The temperature ranged from 90s F in the summer and single digits in the winter. Always humid. I have pets. So I am rather hesitant about using weedkillers.

Ms. Choo:

Thanks for giving us a clearer picture of the environment and of your use.

From your description, I am picturing a door from the street which opens facing this nice space, with the stairway at the side, which leads up to your unit, passing the sealed window as you enter the hallway above. The opposite wall is the neighbor's unit, and the other two walls have windows, one to the bedroom and one to the breakfast room.

I offer suggestions in two categories, which you may wish to combine, or not.

First, for your use, for your pleasure, and as an attractive greeting for your guests.

a. remove all of the gravel and weeds.

b. buy a drain cover that looks like a little inverted basket, that is used on flat roofs to prevent clogging, and replace the flat one in the corner.

c. take a soil sample for testing to your county agricultural extension agent, or to your garden center to prepare a compatible pH and soil texture for a ground cover of liriope or border grass, that will never need mowing and will provide seasonal flowering and won't be disturbed by the cats reclining on it. Leave the azalea or whatever that seems to be doing fairly well in there.

d. place some flagstones to form a small terrace where you want to sit in the sun with the morning paper, with the cats, away from the phone and TV.

e. the ground is covered with flagstones and liriope type grass. Now lets make this more like a room. Place a chair railing around the three sides, perhaps with decorative lath or paneling beneath. Place crown mounding at ceiling height around all four walls. These materials may be available in a vinyl material that you wouldn't have to waterproof every year or so. Perhaps you could use an outdoor glue to attach them in place, rather than screws.

f. up on the roof, place a wood member, anchored in place, across the center of the opening and suspend a mirrored globe into the center of the space, just below ceiling height to make constant reflections around the space, as the sun peaks through the surrounding woods, enlivening the small room with activity.

Secondly, some thoughts for the cats benefit.

a. at your upstairs windows, place window cat shelves or whatever.

b. if the cats would like to enter the "silo room" from your bedroom, you can run a series of shelves down and around the walls like broad steps that they can recline on or saunter down to the garden below, without you having to open the door below and join them on the terrace. You can't leave the door open below, without your presence, as someone might enter from outside, offering an escape route.

c. from some of the lower shelves, you can suspend wind chimes or dangling bells for the cats to be interested in.

d. A small log or stump in the grasses would provide a scratching post for their daily exercise.

I love it, you will too.