Sunken Living Rooms: How to Create Your Own

You've probably seen it on Pinterest: a square of sofas sunk into the floor, everyone facing each other and not a TV in sight.

Then the sensible part of your brain asks the obvious question. Could I actually have one? Of course you can, also without digging a hole in your living room.

What Is a Sunken Living Room?

A sunken living room is a seating area set one or more steps below the rest of the floor. When the seating is built into the sides of that dip and everyone faces inwards, it's called a conversation pit.

The idea is older than shag carpet.

Architect Bruce Goff designed one for a house in Tulsa in 1927, Eero Saarinen made it famous in the late 1950s and The Dick Van Dyke Show put a sunken living room in front of millions of American viewers in the early 60s.

By the 70s it was where the party happened.

Sunken Living Room Ideas

Before you think about steps and permits, decide what kind of pit you actually want.

These are the looks we keep coming back to, from full retro to quietly modern.

Go Full Retro

Shag rug, warm wood and a palette of rust, mustard and brown.

Add a low brass lamp and a record player and you're in 1974.

Keep It Minimal

One colour for the seating, the rug and the walls.

Hide a strip of light under the step edge and let the shape do the talking.

Make It Round

A circular pit with curved seating feels like gathering around a campfire.

Everyone gets the same view: each other.

Build It Around a Fireplace

Swap the TV for a fire.

The flames become the focal point, and nobody fights over the remote.

Turn the Colour Up

A pit is the one place a loud colour never feels like too much, because you're sitting inside it.

Zebra Smoke and Hot pink TEDDY modules make the point quickly.

Pair Two Colours

Use one colour for the corners and another for the straight runs.

Lavender with Emerald looks planned, not accidental.

Ways to Create a Sunken Living Room

Not every sunken room needs a digger and a building permit.

Some of the best versions don't go down at all, they just build up around the seating or use a level change the house already has.

We've ordered the methods from the biggest project to the smallest, so you can stop reading at the point where your budget taps you on the shoulder.

This table gives you the overview first.

The Full 70s Conversation Pit

This is the one from the photos.

A square or round dip, two or three steps deep, with upholstered benches running all the way around and a low table in the middle. It turns the living room into one big sofa and makes every evening feel like a long dinner party.

It's also the hardest to undo.

Built-in seating fixes your layout for good, and filling a pit in later is a building job of its own. Go all in only if you're sure you'll love it in ten years.

The Modern One-Step Lounge

Today's version is calmer. One wide step down, a loose sofa you can swap, a big rug and plenty of floor around it. You keep the sense of a separate room inside an open plan without committing to built-ins.

Even one step needs planning.

A single step is the easiest one to miss, so it needs a clear edge, good light and enough room to walk around the seating.

The Raised Platform

Here's the clever trick.

Instead of digging the seating area down, you build the floor up around it with a low timber platform along one or two walls. The sofa stays on the original floor and suddenly feels sunken.

The catch is ceiling height.

Every centimetre the platform rises is a centimetre lost overhead, so it suits rooms with generous ceilings much better than a low flat.

Use the Level Change You Already Have

Plenty of homes already come with a step down, into an extension, a garden room or a split-level lounge. Put the main seating on the lower side, face it inwards and you have a sunken living room without touching a single joist.

It only works if the house hands you one.

If yours doesn't, the furniture-only method below gets you the same feeling.

The Above-Ground Pit

The magic of a conversation pit was never really the hole in the floor.

It was the shape: low, deep seating wrapped around a shared middle, so everyone ends up facing each other instead of a screen.

You can build that shape with furniture alone. It works in rented flats, it costs nothing in building work and you can undo it on a Sunday afternoon. Here's how.

1. Close the square. Put seating on three or four sides, facing inwards, and use corner pieces to make the turns.
2. Go low and deep. A low seat and a deep cushion are what make it feel like sitting in a pit rather than on a sofa.
3. Anchor it with a big rug, large enough that every piece of seating stands on it.
4. Keep the table low and in the middle, so it's within reach from every seat.
5. Light it low and warm. Floor lamps outside the square, nothing glaring overhead.
6. Leave a way in, or make one module easy to slide out of the way.

That's exactly how TEDDY was meant to be used.

Corner modules turn a straight sofa into a U, a few more close the square and every piece folds out flat when the evening turns into a sleepover.

Browse the conversation pit setups, or read our guide on how to arrange living room furniture with modular pieces. Want the full 1974 effect? Rust, mustard, brown and olive will get you there fast.

Pros and Cons of a Sunken Living Room

The reasons people fall for sunken living rooms are the same reasons some people fall out of them. Here's both sides at a glance.

Safety is the big one. If you build or own a sunken room, mark the step edge with a contrasting material, light it at floor level and think about a handrail where people walk past the drop.

Adding a Sunken Living Room to an Existing Home

It can be done, but it's a building project, not a weekend job.

Work through it in this order and you'll find the deal-breakers before you've spent anything.

1. Find out what's under your floor. A ground floor on a concrete slab can be cut and lowered. An upper floor on joists usually can't, without major structural work.
2. Get a structural engineer in first. They'll tell you whether you can go down, how far and what it takes to keep the walls and foundations happy.
3. Check the rules. Lowering a floor can need building regulations approval or a permit, depending on where you live.
4. Decide how deep. One step defines the space. Two or three give you the full pit feeling, with more cost and more steps to trip on.
5. Plan what's hidden under the floor. Damp-proofing, drainage, underfloor heating and insulation all have to be rebuilt at the new level.
6. Design the edges. Steps, lighting and any railing are far easier to get right on paper than after the concrete has set.

That's why most real sunken living rooms are planned into new builds and extensions.

If digging turns out to be off the table, there are still good routes. This table compares the realistic options for an existing home.

Already Have a Sunken Living Room?

Lucky you! And yes, we know the questions you might have.

Most owners either want to furnish it properly, make it safer or level it out completely. Here's what to think about before you decide.

• Furnish it to the pit, not the room. Measure the floor of the dip itself, then choose seating that fills it edge to edge. Low backs keep the view across the room open, and modular pieces fit awkward sizes far better than one fixed sofa. Our guide to couch dimensions helps with the maths.
• Make the step impossible to miss. A contrasting edge, a strip of low lighting or a slim railing along the open side does more for safety than any warning to guests.
• Think twice before raising it. A contractor can build a timber subfloor to level the room, but once it's gone it's very hard to get back. Try furnishing it properly for a season first.

FAQ

What's the difference between a sunken living room and a conversation pit?

A sunken living room is any seating area set below the surrounding floor. A conversation pit is a specific kind of sunken living room where the seating is built into the sides and faces inwards. Every conversation pit is sunken, but not every sunken living room is a pit.

Are sunken living rooms coming back?

Yes. Designers and interiors magazines have been calling the return of the conversation pit for a few years now, driven by 70s nostalgia and a wish for rooms that bring people together. Most new versions are shallower and simpler than the originals.

Are sunken living rooms safe?

They can be, with planning. The main risk is tripping on the step, so clear edges, good lighting and a handrail where people pass the drop make a big difference. They're less suitable for homes with toddlers or anyone with limited mobility.

How deep is a sunken living room?

Usually one to three steps down. One step is enough to define the space, while two or three give you the enclosed feeling of a classic 70s conversation pit.

Can you have a conversation pit in a small living room?

Yes, with furniture rather than digging. A tight U of low, deep modules around a small rug gives you the same closeness. Our ideas for L-shaped sofa layouts are a good starting point for smaller rooms.

Does a sunken living room add value to a house?

It depends on the buyer. To some it's the room that sells the house, to others it's a renovation job waiting to happen. A well-built, safe one in a home that suits it is more likely to be a plus than a dated or awkward one.