When Georgina Wilson watched Marvel’s new Fantastic Four film last month, the standout feature wasn’t Pedro Pascal’s deadpan humour or Vanessa Kirby’s platinum waves, but the giant round conversation pit in the middle of the protagonists’ living room. The sunken, carpeted seating area takes centre stage in the Baxter family’s New York penthouse. The huge blue relaxation area, reminiscent of Don Draper’s loft in Mad Men, sets the film firmly in the space age.
To Wilson, an award-winning architect based in Sydney, the pit felt like a nod to homes she grew up visiting in the 1970s. Recessed living rooms or “sofa pits” were a popular interior feature in mid-century homes. Striking step-down dens with built-in seating not only encouraged deeper conversation through a feeling of separation from the rest of the house, they often became a topic in their own right. Even if half the chatter was quips about guests accidentally falling in.
The trend fizzled out, in part thanks to the pits’ trip hazards. But half a century on, design professionals suggest Marvel aren’t the only ones tapping into a sunken room revival. The Alien franchise just featured a conversation pit in its TV series Alien: Earth, and searches for mid-century furniture are up 319%, according to Yelp’s 2025 home, beauty and wellness report, with curved features like conversation pits up 124%.
Wilson and her colleagues say they’ve been noticing a rise in requests for chic, maximalist pits. A client in northern Sydney recently requested a circular lounge arrangement to create more intimacy when entertaining. Another in the city’s inner east asked for a banquette-style dining area that wraps around a table to encourage conversation. At this year’s Houses awards, which celebrate Australian residential architecture, two shortlisted properties featured sunken lounge areas.
“It creates this sense of being enveloped by something; this cocoon-type environment you feel nestled in,” says Rob Kennon, the architect behind one of the properties on the shortlist, Terrace House Project in Melbourne’s Fitzroy. Clients say the space is conducive to playing games like Uno or Lego because “you’re more connected to the floor”.
Luke Fryer, whose company Longhorn is in the middle of bringing American ranch-style residences to Australia, says conversation pits – along with podcast studios and whisky rooms – are the most popular special features requested by his clients. “It’s incredible how many people have fond memories of sunken lounge rooms growing up,” he says, crediting shows like Yellowstone for the popularity of large barn-style homes, where pits fit easily.
Andrew Leach, a professor of architectural history at the University of Sydney, suggests the resurgence goes beyond pop culture and the general design trend cycle. He thinks a decline in traditional TV-watching plays a role. “Having traded familial viewing on a big screen for … dispersed attention across the family, the conversation pit makes more sense again as a domestic device,” he says.
Jo Hayes, a lifestyle consultant, agrees that technology has played a part in this modern desire to go deep. In her view, it’s about making space to come together in an otherwise atomised time. “We’re swamped with a tidal wave of tech, screens and artificial-everything on a daily basis – it’s no wonder we’re craving authenticity,” she says. “Having a space specifically designated for this purpose of connecting is supremely powerful.”
Kasra Farahani, the production designer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, had a similar goal for the pit in the movie, saying he wanted it to be “nest-like … soft and warm and separated from everything outside of its perimeter”.
Anton Trees and his wife, Annie Gifford, can speak to this power first-hand. One of the key features that attracted them to the 1965 home they bought in Albury, New South Wales several years ago was the stylish sunken living room. The pit has become so central to their living experience, they’d consider installing one in a future home.
“It has a notably different energy,” Trees says of the cushioned seating area, which is knee-height and accessed via a set of steps. “The conversation naturally becomes deeper and more immersive as you move into the pit. There has to be some sort of metaphorical resonance about the act of walking down steps into a partitioned zone specifically designed for talking.”
The couple welcomed a daughter four years ago, and were naturally concerned about her falling in. Did they need to child-proof the pit? Were friends correct in claiming children quickly learn to adapt? The latter was true, reassuringly. Their daughter has an unbroken record of not falling in – unlike some of their adult guests. Trees still regularly recounts the time his friend Gary preempted his own plight by asking whether anyone had fallen into the pit, then tumbling in on his way to the bathroom at 2am (he escaped uninjured). Wilson laughs, remembering her friends’ frequent falls in the 1970s. “It was deadly, but unforgettable,” she says.
Trees and his wife were lucky that their home already came with a pit. But how practical is installing one? “It’s a nightmare for builders because you have to do a lot with the floor levels,” says Andy Nicholson, Alien: Earth’s production designer. Hayes warns that, budget aside, the renovation could quickly date your home when pits inevitably fall out of fashion again.
Filling the pit with cushions, throws and soft furnishings is Trees’ suggestion if you do take the plunge – for both safety and cosiness. Hayes recommends making it a shoe-free, tech-free space to encourage relaxation and play. “The human soul needs unplugged, unstimulated-by-screens ‘downtime’,” she says. “Having a pit as a space for that downtime is perfect for facilitating games, quiet reading and rest.”
Wilson recommends deciding on the centrepiece of your pit before anything else. TVs and coffee tables work as effective focal points – and fires are popular, particularly in cold environments. The pit at the Thredbo Alpine hotel, with an open fire in the middle, is among her favourites. “I’ve had so many lovely conversations there,” she says.
She and Fryer say pits tend to work best in open-plan homes in colder climates, “where socialising moves inside through the winter”, Fryer says. Those in warmer areas could consider an outdoor pit instead – the bonus being that it will offer protection from the wind. “They pair particularly well with poolside zones, outdoor kitchens or garden lounges,” says John Kirton, a home builder for properties in Newcastle, Sydney and Lake Macquarie.
Not that you have to win the lottery or own a barn in the mountains to create a conversation pit feeling in your home. Kennon believes pits actually work well in compact inner-city homes, because they define zones in a three-dimensional way. “Instead of having walls between rooms, you have different levels,” he says.
There are also pit-like couches, if you don’t fancy getting the builders in, or you rent. Justin Bieber racked up nearly 2m likes for an Instagram post of his conversation pit-style Pierre Paulin sofa, although it comes with a renovation-level budget.
More modestly, Wilson recommends starting by creating an inclusive, cosy seating circle using furniture you already own. “If you look at it more broadly as a set of design principles, you can adapt the idea to almost any home,” she says. The upside? It’s a fraction of the cost, you won’t date your home, and your mate Gary can stay over without risking a trip to the ED.
This article was amended on 4 October 2025. A previous version incorrectly identified Kasra Farahani as female.
