nb the Solar Skylight i'm suggesting is a simple DIY (or easy handyman) installation that looks just like a flat ceiling light and has no hole in the roof to create a potential leak..check out Illume and Arcol Brands both available from the major hardware stores and they have been excellent additions to our own homes...Of course, proper ventilating skylights and/or roof windows are also excellent but are a major decision and need to be professionally installed at much greater cost

What about shelves and put plants and other bits and pieces on it - should keep the light and air, but allow some privacy.

Not sure about how you get into this room but what about cutting the opening all the way to the floor and then adding sliding doors on the outside. The ones on a track, I'm not sure what they're called? Then add a skylight as oklouise suggested or maybe some lighting low near the floor along the hallway.

A couple of other ideas --

-- glass bricks are out of style , and your house looks to have fairly neutral colours , but if the furniture etc was bright , maybe put in the glass bricks , but with a brightly coloured surround 50-80mm wide ? These days , maybe add colour changing LEDS ?

-- a fish tank would look stunning , allow light , but they are relatively expensive , especially that size , and do need a reasonable amount of care . I love them , and thats what I'd do , but they aren't everyones choice .

While the laser cut screens look amazing they are not particularly good for sound proofing, I like the idea of ether a sliding or pocket door if you can cut the area open to the floor otherwise plantation shutters would be easy simple and able to open or shut depending on use of the room, someone else suggested a solar skylight or even a real skylight if you can afford it as the light is then all natural, to me a curtain looks like a cheap solution and I don't like that idea at all, you need a high end look not a short cut look as I think the curtains would give. Hopefully all the ideas here will help you decide what is right for you.

I agree that the screens look nice but won't add sound proofing.

Closing the hole would be the best solution for that and then adding a skylight in the hall. Alternatively if the office is on the opposite side and doesn't need to be private put a hole in that wall when you close up the one to the media room and you'll keep the same effect just from the opposite wall.

Glass bricks! They give privacy and provide light at the same time. Someone here suggested that glass bricks are out of style - yes, perhaps externally, but they still work internally.

I agree that if you want the room to be soundproof, then the only thing to do is plaster over the hole and add a skylight to bring light in to the hallway.

You could install a double glazed window with a slim venetian blind for when privacy matters....... light would still enhance the hall but the desired sound-proofing would be brilliant!

I'm for the shutters. We have skylights in 4 rooms in our house. We live in Brisbane and they let heat in as well, but if you live further south it would be a great idea as they do let in a lot of light.

Silly thought - what first came to mind for me with that photo was a one-way mirror, like in the police interrogation rooms! Not very helpful... but could be useful???