What to do with this area?

I recently moved into a house with an almost garden/pond like feature in the centre between the kitchen/dining/living areas. The previous owners just installed some wood planks and covered with pebbles and a somewhat underwhelming water feature from bunnings but i feel there is more potential here.

Does anyone know what it would have been designed for? I would think garden but being in the centre of the house means very little natural light from windows.

What would you do with it?

I’d cover it over in a fabric sofa surface with some scatter cushions to make it a cozy sitting/reading type nook.

I'd put a dim light to make it shine during night-time. (colorful LED based on your favorite color may also do the trick).