Also known as a lounge or conversation pit, people love the uniqueness of a sunken seating area in open floor plan designs. As an architectural feature often focusing on dedicated space seats, the lounge pit cleverly uses a large space wisely. Its dedicated seating concept also simplifies creating a cozy space with little effort.
However, whether these living room areas are sunken or at ground level, they still need to be furnished. Join us as we explore the global value of the furniture market, the history of conversation pits and their revival. After that, we provide a brief guideline on the types of furniture that work well in modern sunken living rooms.
Table of Contents
The global market value of furniture sales
The history of conversation pits
Selecting conversation pit furniture
Conversation pits in summary
The global market value of furniture sales
Interior designers, homeowners, and businesses drive innovations for furniture in living room areas and other spaces. As a result, the purchasing capacity of these sectors pushed the value of furniture sales up to USD 709,46 billion in 2023. Market research further projects that this value will reach USD 1,070.87 billion by 2030 at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.9%.
Keyword data
As a keyword term, ‘conversation pits’ has attracted positive attention, leading to searches for specific types of low-slung sofas. According to Google Ads, this keyword averaged 90,500 searches from September to August 2024.
During this period, lower levels of 49,500 monthly searches were recorded from September to November 2023. In contrast, these figures rose to 165,000 in February and March, declining to 135,000 in April.
Between global furniture sales values and keyword data for conversation pits, it is clear that interest in these aspects is high. Because of this data and renewed interest in sunken lounges, as detailed in the next section, sellers should consider stocking furniture suitable for these paces.
The history of conversation pits
Architect Bruce Goff was the first to experiment with conversation pits in the 1920s. But it wasn’t until the 1950s and 60s when architect Eero Saarinen and interior designer Alexander Girard made the Miller House famous for its sunken living room.
Belonging to famous American industrialist J. Irwin Miller and his wife Xenia Simons Miller, this house sparked a mid-century interior design trend. Soon, other modern homes and public spaces were creating sunken lounges.
The sleek lines of these sunken living rooms, which focused on natural light around the seating area, were aesthetically magnetic. Their originality was also perfect for entertaining guests.
This style remained popular into the 1970s but faded away, only to resurface almost four decades later after appearing in the 2007 TV show Mad Men. Similarly, articles discussing conversation pits in the New York Times in 2022 and Financial Times in 2024 again highlighted this design for social gatherings. Since then, interior designers have continued to play with the possibilities of modern designs for these iconic living spaces.
Selecting conversation pit furniture
Although conversation pits typically feature dedicated seats, modern adaptations may mimic this style at floor level. Instead of a pit below floor level, people are now building walls at floor level to surround loose furniture indoors and outdoors.
This modification is partly due to the risk of lower-level sitting rooms for small children and the cost of a renovation below floor level. As a result, homeowners have the leeway to create the ambience they want without a significant financial outlay.
Round sunken sitting areas
Sellers may need to customize soft indoor furnishings for round sunken sitting areas because sizes and shapes differ drastically. However, manufacturers make round sofas that can be used for floor-level or below-ground-level conversation pits, with or without dedicated seats. Then, sellers can match these pieces with coffee tables, side tables, fireplaces, and sofa cushions to furnish round lounge pits to exacting standards.
Square conversation pits
Square conversation pits
Some conversation pits are designed with ready-made seating in small spaces that require comfortable flat cushions. Others have large areas that need modular furniture that fits in angular spaces. Sellers can explore both options for their customers, adding accessories like those mentioned above to beautify these lounge pits even more.
Floor-level lounge pits
Although usually sunken area pits, this style can be at ground level, with several other possible variations. Consequently, low-slung or floor sofas are ideal when your customers want a large floor-level conversation pit. If this is the case, purchase a selection of these sofa styles to prop against a living room wall or a floor level lounge pit. Otherwise, customize sofa cushions if the feature has dedicated seats. Remember to stock matching rugs, side tables, and coffee tables to bring this ensemble together in an attractive, cohesive finish.
Conversation pits in small spaces
Some of your customers may have a small area in their homes in a corner, with a step-down, or in the basement. Spaces like this are perfect for recreating a dedicated mini conversation pit. We recommend small sofa sets or designer chairs that can seat three to five people or customizations to fully utilize these areas. Similarly, order accessories like small tables, side lamps, and candles to help customers create a welcoming atmosphere for these small spaces.
Outdoor conversation pits
Today, if a house doesn’t have an indoor lounge pit, people solve this issue by building decks with below-floor-level outdoor conversation pits. Alternatively, an outdoor area with steps down to an even surface qualifies as an outdoor conversation pit.
Manufacturers produce round outdoor furniture that works beautifully in these spaces. Otherwise, wood or rattan garden furniture sets, or soft sofas work just as well if the area is covered. BBQs, outdoor tables, and firepits complement these spaces beautifully, especially for customers who want to use this place all year round.
Conversation pits in summary
The beauty of lounge pit furniture is that it can be used with or without recessed areas. This gives sellers a lot of room to cater to a broad market that particularly wants a conversation pit indoors, outdoors, or standalone suites.
Whatever the case, Alibaba.com stocks a superb range of indoor and outdoor furniture. This platform is also well known for its selection of home décor accessories, which are necessary to round off interior styles.
Accordingly, we recommend you speak with verified manufacturers to order existing stock or for bespoke customizations for specific customers. Either way, exploring your options is certain to encourage widespread procurement to fill seller inventories worldwide.
