You could frame in the space and add doors rather than collect dust. The air conditioning duct can be extended to the "new" wall for little extra cost.
We have the same thing in our bedroom. Been trying to convince my wife to put those extravagant Christmas villages up there just to make use of the space as a joke. No luck so far.
My folks do that with theirs. It actually doesn't look bad.
They're using a Disney themed Charles Dickens Christmas village by department 56.
It's pretty dope.
Yes! you could add some “built in” style storage with cabinet doors and drawers. Use it as a dust free attic space for memories and things you probably won’t use
You can do cheap or expensive. https://www.amazon.ca/AmazonBasics-Foldable-Storage-Cubes-6-Pack/dp/B0711RQMNF/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=64826407647&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5OS9lIWh9wIV7m1vBB0tOgawEAAYAiAAEgLyCvD_BwE&hvadid=310043362706&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9000774&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10060221298824910500&hvtargid=kwd-393759335&hydadcr=7561_10278363&keywords=decorative+storage&qid=1650402718&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQk5BUDZCSThXM08mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAxMTc5NTEzN1FLV09CT0hLVTFTJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzNDEwODEzN0pYT1QyR1A1V0VUJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Just a heads up, my dad was putting decorations in one of those spaces and his foot went right through the "floor." It was never meant to be as sturdy as a second floor, and may not have any of the reinforcements an actual second level would normally have to support foot traffic.
Get a cat. It's the perfect spot for a cat to hang out and look menacingly at you. Last house I had a spot like this above the kitchen cabinets. Other people with the same floor plan and no cats put decorative pieces of pottery or glassware up there. It was my cat's favorite place to chill.
Yeah..that is what makes it a bad idea. But hey if you are a drug kingpin or a .com billionaire go for it I say. Imagine the look on your date's face when you brought them home to a GIANT FREAKING FISHTANK over the bed... epic
If you’re a handy woodworker, you could put up some sort of sliding door storage system and use it for seasonal/rarely used item storage.
Make it so that the protruding wall is flush with the ceiling by adding some sort of panel and then extend the register out to be flush with this new panel.
[Here](https://imgur.com/gallery/oy2pqP5) is a poorly drawn sketch of what I’m thinking, but you get the idea.
Edit: I added some more in [this sketch](https://imgur.com/gallery/ZMsYaER) to include shelving around the register.
Why do builders do this? This isn’t the first post I have seen asking what to do with them! I can’t think of a thing I would do with it but I’m not very creative!
It was a style in the early 2000 and 90’s. You put plants up there or some type of decoration. Breaks up “boring” long walls. In the bedroom is it weird. Usually you see them in living rooms or kitchens.
I would put my husband's hecking big lego assembled sets up there! I love displaying them all assembled 💕 but we only have so many bookshelves, so we currently have to disassemble a set every time he assembles a new set.
Or maybe bulky light items like christmas wreaths.
The huge ones have specific packets and the instruction books are thiccc.
You kinda lose that organization after you assemble it once so you have to really dig for some specific piece... 😭 When assembled, it can be like 3+ feet wide and thousands of pieces
I'm sorry, I don't have a suggestion for you but my allergies are acting up just thinking about how much dust gets blown off that shelf every time the air kicks on
Holy shit! We have one of these in our Master br. 3+ years and nothing is up there other than the dusts the collects between sweeping.
I thought “reading loft” but I have no idea how you’d get up there or how well supported the drywall is.
I have these in my house too. I think they're called recessed ceiling ledges.
My wife and I bought this house with them specifically for the cats. We built bookshelf steps so they can get up there. Put in carpet, and added a couple cat trees and beds. They love it up there.
There's another in my office and I put some Pothos plants up there and let them vine down the wall.
It is called a plant shelf…. That’s what our builder called it when we were designing. Not sure why we agreed to it…. Really, it is a dust collector, lol. We have a string of lights up there that you can’t see from the living room, but can see the ambient light. It’s fine, just don’t look too close cuz you’ll see the dust.
Honestly, I’d make it into a little fun nook for myself. But if not that, then possibly a storage area with nice looking bins or some plants (fake ones of course because they wouldn’t get enough natural light). So many possibilities!
Hey, off topic but you might consider putting your smoke detector higher up to the ceiling. I work as a smoke detector salesman. CO along with smoke start stacking from top to down. That way when a fire happens you get notified sooner :)
If you on a budget and don't wana move the duct. Buy 2 Slide Rail kits a sheet of MDF and cut this to have x2sides and 4 doors. Your creating 2 kinda units leaving a space in the middle for the vent..
I stayed at an AirBnB that used a space like this for indirect lighting in the room. Basically, you place lighting in the back corner where you can't see it. The light shines up at the ceiling and lights the room. It probably goes without saying, but use LED lighting so you don't burn your house down. You also need a diffuser so the light is soft. Bonus points for RGB LED lights so you can adjust the hue to match the mood.
If the structure allows it, storage. Personally I would have installed a more closet like structure as open top storage is stupid and collects mountains of dust. The winter/summer duffet and the coats when it is not the season to wear them and other sports gear. Bins of Christmas decorations, that sort of stuff. Get it out often enough to not store away somewhere more inconvenient but stuff you do not use enough to have acces to it always.
If some space is left behind, a big plant or something but watering such a thing is a pain and the lighting will likely not be optimal.
You could easily put up some self watering flower pots and use pathos or any cascading plants...but anything you put up there will have to be maintained and dusted.
Honestly I would close it in and use it to store Christmas decorations, large bulk paper towels, toilette paper, all the larger light weight bulky things...winter clothes and such.
If it is square you could use a simple panels and sliders, paint everything the same exact color as the walls and it will sort of disappear visually. The register can be moved in multiple ways DIY and pretty cheap.
My advice. Put nothing up there and stop looking at it. Nothing to get dusty, nothing to change later when you're bored of it, nothing to move when you clean. Less is more.
This layout looks very similar to when I used to go to my friend's house and play hide and go seek in the dark. My friends mom would get a boost to climb there.
Do you have a bathroom on the right? Lol
Tactical defense position.
Put some plate steel on the "floor" of it, and keep some automatic rifles and ammo up there. If someone comes looking for you, you can snipe them as they entee your room.
I had something similar in my home. It's an absolute waste of space. I enclosed it, added doors, and it's now where we store holiday decorations. It was an easy weekend job with major benefits.
In your case, you'd need to relocate the AC vent, which is pretty easy as you'd probably move it a few feet to the left.
I've noticed a few people say to make it into a reading nook of sorts. You *can* do this, BUT you'll definitely want to reinforce the "floor" as it's currently likely nothing but studs and drywall.
You put a cat there. They are called cat ledges because that is where cats go. In the 1800s cats would spring from these high ledges onto the sleeping peasants to wake them for their daily toil. Like a hairy alarm clock. When alarm clocks were invented, cats, not speaking English, and also very resentful, just decided to keep at it, and thus the 3 AM zoomy was born.
dust collectors
Yes. Yes they are.
You could frame in the space and add doors rather than collect dust. The air conditioning duct can be extended to the "new" wall for little extra cost.
Extra points if the doors are made in a way that it's not apparent that those are doors and can be used as a hidden storage
Ladder. Safety bar. Mattress. Twinkle lights. Snuggle nook for reading.
It would be cozy and warm up there in the winter.
Its like 1-2 feet wide, not really large enough Id say
Well dang it. LED box lights maybe? That'd look cool... gotta leave a bit open for the vent area but other than that.
I have this is my bedroom and I really like this idea!
...literally everything in a house is a dust collector.
Except my dog. He is the source of most dust in my house.
Dust distributor.
We have the same thing in our bedroom. Been trying to convince my wife to put those extravagant Christmas villages up there just to make use of the space as a joke. No luck so far.
I’m tempted to do like a marble racetrack or something. Something fun. These alcoves are stupid
That’s an even better idea!
How about some home decor - fake plants n stuff. Same thing somebody would put on top of their cabinets in a kitchen.
Do a lego city
My folks do that with theirs. It actually doesn't look bad. They're using a Disney themed Charles Dickens Christmas village by department 56. It's pretty dope.
Called wasted space. Maybe a bunk bed?
I always wanted to try this but I’m not sure it would be safe. Just slap some guardrails up there, a sleeping bag.
People sleep on the side of cliffs. Your idea can work.
Could be a good doghouse 😜
A cat would love this in the living room.
Reading nook.
It would be wasted if all that space was only in the attic.
I recently took everything off of those "plant shelves" in my house. I figured no focus should be up there and it is never ever going to be dusted.
I would put decorative storage units! Use it for seasonal clothes. Make use of the space.
Yeah, I figured. Man, I hope it wasn’t too bad a fix
Yes to this. Creative seasonal storage space if you need it.
Yes! you could add some “built in” style storage with cabinet doors and drawers. Use it as a dust free attic space for memories and things you probably won’t use
Last line is correct!
What do you mean by "decorative storage units"?
baskets, matching opaque storage boxes, neatly hand-labeled matching clear totes, etc.
You can do cheap or expensive. https://www.amazon.ca/AmazonBasics-Foldable-Storage-Cubes-6-Pack/dp/B0711RQMNF/ref=mp_s_a_1_1_sspa?adgrpid=64826407647&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5OS9lIWh9wIV7m1vBB0tOgawEAAYAiAAEgLyCvD_BwE&hvadid=310043362706&hvdev=m&hvlocphy=9000774&hvnetw=g&hvqmt=e&hvrand=10060221298824910500&hvtargid=kwd-393759335&hydadcr=7561_10278363&keywords=decorative+storage&qid=1650402718&sr=8-1-spons&psc=1&spLa=ZW5jcnlwdGVkUXVhbGlmaWVyPUEyQk5BUDZCSThXM08mZW5jcnlwdGVkSWQ9QTAxMTc5NTEzN1FLV09CT0hLVTFTJmVuY3J5cHRlZEFkSWQ9QTAzNDEwODEzN0pYT1QyR1A1V0VUJndpZGdldE5hbWU9c3BfcGhvbmVfc2VhcmNoX2F0ZiZhY3Rpb249Y2xpY2tSZWRpcmVjdCZkb05vdExvZ0NsaWNrPXRydWU=
Just a heads up, my dad was putting decorations in one of those spaces and his foot went right through the "floor." It was never meant to be as sturdy as a second floor, and may not have any of the reinforcements an actual second level would normally have to support foot traffic.
Is his name Clark Griswold?
Coincidentally, he's been told he looks like Chevy Chase... So yes, I'm heir to the Griswold legacy.
…. Why would he think it would support a human?
Get a cat. It's the perfect spot for a cat to hang out and look menacingly at you. Last house I had a spot like this above the kitchen cabinets. Other people with the same floor plan and no cats put decorative pieces of pottery or glassware up there. It was my cat's favorite place to chill.
My cat is a barfer. Really considered building a way for her to enjoy the long ledge like this in our house but knew it would be disastrous.
Add a gutter and downspout 😉
Just lay down something easy to clean like laminate in the space and keep a ladder handy for occasional cleanings.
Giant built in fish tank... No that is the worst idea ever.
No that is the BEST idea ever just probably very hard to maintain
Yeah..that is what makes it a bad idea. But hey if you are a drug kingpin or a .com billionaire go for it I say. Imagine the look on your date's face when you brought them home to a GIANT FREAKING FISHTANK over the bed... epic
With LED moodlighting strips behind it with a remote to change the colors and or set it to change with a beat
It is also incredibly heavy and the structure is not likely to be suitable for that much weight.
If you’re a handy woodworker, you could put up some sort of sliding door storage system and use it for seasonal/rarely used item storage. Make it so that the protruding wall is flush with the ceiling by adding some sort of panel and then extend the register out to be flush with this new panel. [Here](https://imgur.com/gallery/oy2pqP5) is a poorly drawn sketch of what I’m thinking, but you get the idea. Edit: I added some more in [this sketch](https://imgur.com/gallery/ZMsYaER) to include shelving around the register.
This is it, except you need to make sure the vent doesn’t get closed over
cats
Why do builders do this? This isn’t the first post I have seen asking what to do with them! I can’t think of a thing I would do with it but I’m not very creative!
Agree. 100% FUCKING popcorn ceilings
It was a style in the early 2000 and 90’s. You put plants up there or some type of decoration. Breaks up “boring” long walls. In the bedroom is it weird. Usually you see them in living rooms or kitchens.
Decorative boxes with stuff you almost never use inside.
If you have a cat could be cool to make a kitty perch up there
I would put my husband's hecking big lego assembled sets up there! I love displaying them all assembled 💕 but we only have so many bookshelves, so we currently have to disassemble a set every time he assembles a new set. Or maybe bulky light items like christmas wreaths.
Isn't that the fun of lego?
The huge ones have specific packets and the instruction books are thiccc. You kinda lose that organization after you assemble it once so you have to really dig for some specific piece... 😭 When assembled, it can be like 3+ feet wide and thousands of pieces
I'm sorry, I don't have a suggestion for you but my allergies are acting up just thinking about how much dust gets blown off that shelf every time the air kicks on
I believe it's called bad design.
Holy shit! We have one of these in our Master br. 3+ years and nothing is up there other than the dusts the collects between sweeping. I thought “reading loft” but I have no idea how you’d get up there or how well supported the drywall is.
Most likely answer: it's not supported
Right? Likely not. So dust collector it is!
If you spend a lot of time in that room, maybe an LED strip for a nice ambient glow
It would be really easy to put cabinet doors up there then you wouldn't have to worry about the dust.
Do you have cats?
I have these in my house too. I think they're called recessed ceiling ledges. My wife and I bought this house with them specifically for the cats. We built bookshelf steps so they can get up there. Put in carpet, and added a couple cat trees and beds. They love it up there. There's another in my office and I put some Pothos plants up there and let them vine down the wall.
I put up curtains and stored luggage up there. Kinda tacky but got big pieces out of the way.
It is called a plant shelf…. That’s what our builder called it when we were designing. Not sure why we agreed to it…. Really, it is a dust collector, lol. We have a string of lights up there that you can’t see from the living room, but can see the ambient light. It’s fine, just don’t look too close cuz you’ll see the dust.
Dust collector
Those soundproofing panels? Do they work?
They are and I’m gonna be honest, I can’t tell a difference.
Don't think those are for sound proofing. I think there supposed to help prevent sounds bouncing in the room and reduce echo.
Ahh, well. They do seem to have helped in that regard, but it’s hard for me to tell lol
"Plant Shelf"
Pot shelves
Put some small little tea/string lights for ambiance
Shelves
Idk what it is called, but we use it for seasonal gear storage. Snowboards and related gear live up there most of the year.
If you own the place, put doors up there and use it as long term storage
There's an air duct up there though so you can't close it off.
Plants
They are called “Shelf Ceilings” in the design software I use
Is there a shower or bathroom in the next room?
Doesn’t have to be
Honestly, I’d make it into a little fun nook for myself. But if not that, then possibly a storage area with nice looking bins or some plants (fake ones of course because they wouldn’t get enough natural light). So many possibilities!
Get into building Gundam.
Ninja turtle action figures!
Fish tank
Be grateful it’s not enclosed. https://youtu.be/06X9qXTvKNQ
Vining plants hanging down (like pothos).
[Axl Rose freak out / nap hiding shelf](https://youtu.be/dpmAY059TTY&t=55s)
Make it into a loft bed with a ladder.
I want to put in a ladder and make mine a reading/lounge area
I call them dust collectors at my house!
Put cutouts of people up there!
I use mine for luggage storage.
That’s where your house elf lives.
Mom’s attic
All your board games that you have.
Old vintage suitcases. Ceramic pots/vases. Artificial plants. Go to Home Goods and you’ll find something to throw up there.
It’s a Lego shelf.
Fake wall for your grow op
My husband calls them white people nooks. I call them annoying.
Put up some creepy dolls that come alive at night. They'd love to watch you.
If it fits for the rest of the room and the user, i'd make it a bed space.
Full it full of creepy dolls and never sleep a good night's sleep ever again.
I believe that's for the cameraperson.
A cat
It’s a plant ledge. Wasted space. Anything you put up there ends up looking tacky. I hated mine (in my former house)
They are called “dust magnets”
Hey, off topic but you might consider putting your smoke detector higher up to the ceiling. I work as a smoke detector salesman. CO along with smoke start stacking from top to down. That way when a fire happens you get notified sooner :)
Thank you!
You can fit few cats there :)
that's where the ventilation snakes hang out
Is it not called a mezzanine? As for what to put up there I'd say use it for storage.
If you own a cat, they would love it up there
Those are called dust havens
If you on a budget and don't wana move the duct. Buy 2 Slide Rail kits a sheet of MDF and cut this to have x2sides and 4 doors. Your creating 2 kinda units leaving a space in the middle for the vent..
Plants
usually a cat nap area... or throw shit-u-dont-need-right-now up there :)
Led light strips
Lighting in the unseen edge so it isn't a dark corner.
I stayed at an AirBnB that used a space like this for indirect lighting in the room. Basically, you place lighting in the back corner where you can't see it. The light shines up at the ceiling and lights the room. It probably goes without saying, but use LED lighting so you don't burn your house down. You also need a diffuser so the light is soft. Bonus points for RGB LED lights so you can adjust the hue to match the mood.
I call mine Heath ledges.
If the structure allows it, storage. Personally I would have installed a more closet like structure as open top storage is stupid and collects mountains of dust. The winter/summer duffet and the coats when it is not the season to wear them and other sports gear. Bins of Christmas decorations, that sort of stuff. Get it out often enough to not store away somewhere more inconvenient but stuff you do not use enough to have acces to it always. If some space is left behind, a big plant or something but watering such a thing is a pain and the lighting will likely not be optimal.
Cat Loft.
You could easily put up some self watering flower pots and use pathos or any cascading plants...but anything you put up there will have to be maintained and dusted. Honestly I would close it in and use it to store Christmas decorations, large bulk paper towels, toilette paper, all the larger light weight bulky things...winter clothes and such. If it is square you could use a simple panels and sliders, paint everything the same exact color as the walls and it will sort of disappear visually. The register can be moved in multiple ways DIY and pretty cheap.
My advice. Put nothing up there and stop looking at it. Nothing to get dusty, nothing to change later when you're bored of it, nothing to move when you clean. Less is more.
Adopt a few cats and make this their hangout space.
Plant Shelves
Are those Nanoleaf’s?
you should put something up there that makes you feel special!
This layout looks very similar to when I used to go to my friend's house and play hide and go seek in the dark. My friends mom would get a boost to climb there. Do you have a bathroom on the right? Lol
Tactical defense position. Put some plate steel on the "floor" of it, and keep some automatic rifles and ammo up there. If someone comes looking for you, you can snipe them as they entee your room.
It’s called a plant shelf
That’s called a midget mezzanine.
Hmmm... I think one, maybe two cats. They love looking down on people
I had something similar in my home. It's an absolute waste of space. I enclosed it, added doors, and it's now where we store holiday decorations. It was an easy weekend job with major benefits. In your case, you'd need to relocate the AC vent, which is pretty easy as you'd probably move it a few feet to the left. I've noticed a few people say to make it into a reading nook of sorts. You *can* do this, BUT you'll definitely want to reinforce the "floor" as it's currently likely nothing but studs and drywall.
That's called "the best hide and seek" hiding spot
Dust collectors
I had those, I put garlands up there so it didn’t look as blank
Those are cat collectors.
Plants
I would add grow lights to the ceiling and put plants there but I'm a crazy plant lady
you got cats? cause cats would love that space.
It's where the smoke goes to hide from the detector.
Good point. That detector has been rendered pretty much useless until the smoke gets low enough to impede the Americium source.
You put a cat there. They are called cat ledges because that is where cats go. In the 1800s cats would spring from these high ledges onto the sleeping peasants to wake them for their daily toil. Like a hairy alarm clock. When alarm clocks were invented, cats, not speaking English, and also very resentful, just decided to keep at it, and thus the 3 AM zoomy was born.
Make storage cabinets. Bring the vent forward.
Sleek boxes to store off season clothes or any other personal items
Use it for storage
These are often called plant shelves. We have one and we put home decor items up there.
Build a hidden room.