Interior design: Sunken treasures – Yahoo News Canada

Think of a sunken living room and it likely conjures a retro interior; these low-slung, stepped-down spaces were at their peak of popularity between the 1950s and ’70s. But a recent resurgence in conversation pits, as they’re also called, is reimagining them in a modern way. 

One striking iteration appeared in last year’s film Fantastic Four: First Steps. Featuring clean lines and a playful Alexander Calder-like mobile suspended above it, the sunken blue-carpeted space inspired by the iconic living room in Eero Saarinen’s Miller House works as a backdrop for much of the film, emphasizing the superhero family’s close connection.  

Perhaps inspired by the film, the clients of several Toronto architects have requested the throwback feature in their own homes in recent months, offering an opportunity to make the stepped-down living room new again.  

“Most Toronto homes have this long pancake of space,” says Andrew Hill, co-founder and principal at StudioAC. “But the sunken living room adds nuance by changing the vertical plane.” The lower level, he says, creates a cozy effect that elicits conversation and communing.  

StudioAC recently designed one for a family relocating to Toronto from New York. Hill envisioned the space as a family destination, a gathering place for after-supper conversations or movie-watching. “While the living room is visually connected to the dining room, it also fosters intimacy.” The sunken space is further enhanced by floor-to-ceiling windows that allow natural light to flood the room.  

“A sunken living room can also provide a gateway to exterior spaces,” says Hill. “So many Toronto houses have a porch that then has steps to bring you down a level. But with a sunken living room, that space can just transition seamlessly” to grade level.  

Kelly Buffey, partner and creative director at Akb Architects, is currently retrofitting a sunken living room in a heritage home. “A change in elevation can be a nice way to break or mark a transition between the older part of the house and the new addition,” says Buffey.  

Accessibility is an important consideration, she notes; her own partner lives with Parkinson’s disease, so she’s aware that sunken living rooms aren’t for everyone: “We do caution it for those who might be wanting to age in place for a significant amount of time.” And for those who do choose a pit, she adds, “the stairs should be broad and well lit, with hand rails.” 

Buffey usually suggests that an area rug be used to define the space, or broadloom. “These can add a nice texture but we often recommend using natural materials, especially a carpet that is flat weave,” she says. Hill, on the other hand, prefers a concrete tile “or concrete floor with radiant heat beneath.”  

Betsy Williamson, principal and founder of Williamson Williamson, believes the return of conversation pits is a backlash against the trend of open-space planning. “There’s definitely a shift (away) from planning homes as one [flat] open space,” says Williamson.  

Where to situate a sunken living room largely depends on the floor plate of the home itself, she says. “You can place it in the middle of a home, but the house must be large enough for people to walk around it. In the case of Toronto homes, a sunken living room most likely would work on the house’s edges or sides,” she says, cautioning that lowering a main floor will greatly impact ceiling height in the basement.  

“If you’re going three steps down, that’s around 18 inches total, approximately the height of a chair,” Williamson says. “Many homeowners don’t fully understand the impact of that kind of reduction until an architect draws it out for you.”  

Williamson is no stranger to sunken living rooms, and she isn’t riding the trend; it’s a feature she’s kept in play in her work over many years. In her firm’s Bala Line House, featured on the cover of Canadian Architect more than a decade ago, a sunken living room was placed at the rear of the house. “It kind of descended in the space and then ascended back up to the window, bringing up an amazing view of the ravine behind the house,” she says.  

“It had this effect of feeling like you were immersed in nature while sitting on the couch,” says Williamson. “It also created “a sort of stage for the children to perform on. That was something we didn’t expect.”