The Advantages and Disadvantages of Sunken Living Rooms

Much like fashion, sometimes there are trends in architecture that, for better or worse, resurface. Lately, nosotros've been seeing more and more discussions of sunken living rooms.

They are showing up everywhere from period appropriate TV shows, like the very popular Mad Men, to more surprising places, such as contemporary design magazines like Dwell.

How Deep Is a Sunken Living Room?

Define the living room'southward boundary. In virtually cases, a sunken living room encompasses not only the "pit" section, but as well the surrounding, elevated area that is at standard flooring height.

Determine the corporeality of space that will be sunken in the living room by determining the width and length of the space. At the very least, you'll crave space for your tabular array and couch. Additional chairs and end tables may be placed in the sunken space if you lot desire.

Sunken areas tin can be nearly any course or size, and their depths often range from a few inches to several feet or more (with many levels), depending on the client's preferences.

Pros and Cons to Sunken Living Rooms

Sunken living rooms definitely accept their advantages.

They denote the boundaries of the infinite.

Sunken rooms are ideal for homes with a large open layout. When there are few walls, creating rooms on a lower level clearly defines the area without obstructing sight lines. The sense of openness is maintained without obliterating the distinction between, example, the living room and kitchen.

They tin impart a sense of spaciousness to a room.

Sunken rooms create more than space betwixt the ceiling and the flooring, which can create the illusion of an enormous amount of infinite. The additional space between the flooring and ceiling creates the illusion of a larger room. Additionally, installing a skylight or other eye-catching lighting fixture higher up the sunken area tin drive the eye upwards.

They plant personality.

When compared to a box-similar layout, sunken rooms add grapheme to homes. Certain homes even include round recessed chambers and unique woodwork to draw the heart to the details.

They foster closeness.

Cozy sunken rooms furnished with plush sofas and pillows are an excellent way to create a more than intimate atmosphere in your house. Whether you desire this infinite for a gettogether to play lath games, spotter a motion-picture show, or have a conversation, information technology forces your family unit members into a smaller space, creating a cozier atmosphere.

Like everything else on the planet, at that place are also a few drawbacks to sunken living rooms, such as the ones listed below.

They accept the potential to create mishaps.

If you asked the majority of individuals what they're not particularly addicted of when it comes to sunken living rooms, the most common response would be that they're inconvenient.

There is a chance of tripping and falling if you lot are not anticipating a couple of stairs heading into a room. While this may seem insignificant, if y'all alive with someone who has accessibility concerns, sunken rooms might be harmful.

They are not very adaptable.

Let'south face information technology: there isn't much you can do with a sunken space. While you can reuse a room for relaxing or convert it to a playroom, you are express in terms of layout options due to the sometimes strange space.

Fifty-fifty if y'all use the space creatively, it will always remain in the same location and y'all will always be constrained by its size and shape.

Gorgeous Sunken Living Room Ideas

Gorgeous Open Infinite Living Room

KohlMark Architects and Builders swept us off our anxiety with this big rustic living room which is covered in gorgeous pieces that show you how luxurious the rustic style can be. The stone fireplace is definitely one of the all-time things in the room and the sunken area only looks and feels extremely cozy.

Mid-Century Modern Sunken Living Room

AA Real Estate Photography is hither to show us how you can pull off the perfect setup for a mid-century modern sunken living room. The elements are ideal for this blazon of room decor, with the shapes, lines, and colors being perfectly on-point.

Open-Concept Sunken Living Room

Michael Fitzhugh Architect is here with nevertheless another very cool sunken living room idea, offer us the perfect setup for a cozy ambiance right in front of a glass patio wall. Nosotros beloved the fuzzy carpeting idea and the no-leg sofas that manage to create a very intimate atmosphere that'southward perfect for friendly conversations.

Embankment House Sunken Living Room

If you accept a beach-themed home and desire to make a sunken living room happen, Bromley Caldari Architects PC has this detail suggestion for you lot. The coastal decor has perfectly chosen colors, offer a great entertainment area with a media wall and a fireplace.

Transitional Sunken Living Room

Unproblematic, yet very elegant; that'southward how we would depict this transitional open-concept sunken living room by Wander Designs. It's definitely the type of setup that you'd feel comfy in during a family become-together, or even when looking to spend some quality time alone.

Mad Men Sunken Living Room.

It has become apparent that this idea is no longer stuck in the past. In that location are several keen, contemporary spaces that implement this 1960's thought, such as this habitation in Los Angeles.

Lahontan Homes.

The space of the living room, while on a lower level than the kitchen and dining area, feels open and inviting, fifty-fifty with the hardness of exposed construction and physical flooring. The open, sunken living surface area balances the coziness of the kitchen and dining rooms beautifully.

Perchance that is one of the greatest advantages of this design concept – the feeling of openness.

Eero Saarinen'due south Miller Firm.

This feeling of openness can be achieved without raising the ceiling plane. Take, for case, Eero Sarrinen's Miller Firm, congenital in 1957. The living area is truly sunken, surrounded by the college flooring of the main living level on all sides. The flat plane of the ceiling appears at a modest top, yet the unabridged spaces feels more open than if the living area were not lowered. While there are few walls, which also add to the spacious feel, this openness is in large part due to the fact that the furniture does not chop up the space.

Curved Sunken Living Room.

Some other advantage of the "conversation pit" is that information technology is a style to define a split up space without using walls. Consider another open space with an inviting recessed circular seating area. The sunken spaces seems very intimate, though it is part of a very big space overall. The space is divers not only by the recessed floor, just also by the curved seating and the repetition of the circular forms on the ceiling with the vault and lighting fixture. A cylindrical space is formed within the larger rectangular room, giving an intimate place of repose.

Outdoor sunken patio area.

Sunken seating areas are non only for the interior of the home, simply can be peachy outdoors. This recessed patio area reinforces the geometry of the compages while providing a functional area to sit and relax outside.

Recessed Seating in Pool.

Blue White Black Cozy Outdoor Pool Conversation Area

One last advantage to sunken seating is the added drama that it creates. This recessed seating peninsula serves equally a prime number example. The sitting area would however be lovely if it were at the height of the pool, but lowering it below the h2o line gives this space dramatic flare without interrupting the cute view.

Scale: Too large for the room.

With the many advantages to sunken living rooms, one has to wonder why they went out of manner at all. In truth, in that location are several disadvantages. For instance, scale must be noted. If only a minor space is recessed, information technology would accept a claustrophobic affect, much like sitting in a bathtub. Another disadvantage is the lack of flexibility of the infinite; furniture cannot be rearranged and the floor will always have a "hole" in it, making information technology useless for whatever other part. And i final, however important, disadvantage: information technology is more costly to build.

How Exercise Y'all Make full a Sunken Living Room with Concrete?

While physical filling a sunken living room is hardly rocket science, there are a few critical things to consider.

Finishing method

When operating beneath a roof where there is no ground to blot moisture, information technology is critical to enable moisture to escape through the height. Premature troweling will cause the slab'southward corners to lift.

This is referred to as curling. If this occurs, hollows will form below the new slab in the corners. Physical removal may be necessary to complete the repair effectively.

Edge doweling

Proper technique cannot be substituted. However, you can reinforce information technology by doweling rebar into the existing foundation's sidewalls where practicable. Drilling rebar 6 inches deep in increments of 20 to 24 inches provides wonderful peace of listen.

Appropriate Product

The well-nigh critical matter you can do is reinforce the concrete with microfibers. This wicks the h2o to the surface, where it can safely leave. The micron-sized particles ensure a squeaky-make clean end. If your contractor is unaware of this fact, information technology is something you should definitely mention this.

Perimeter expansion

Expansion joint technology has advanced significantly. With an evolving production like this, it's simple to identify the dinosaurs among your pool of prospective contractors. Fiberboard is non a suitable substitute for polyethylene seals or rubber expansion joints. If there is a leak of water, the cobweb will act every bit a mold trap.

FAQ

What Is the Point of a Sunken Living Room?

Sunken living rooms exude grandeur, equally anyone who has e'er visited one would attest. The most significant places are typically up, not downwards, as indicated past level adjustments used by architects for thousands of years. In fact, sinking a department of a infinite can requite it a more than intimate sense while simultaneously calculation elevation.

Living rooms with sinking floors were extremely popular in the 1960s and 1970s. Sunken rooms were popular during a time when many social gatherings were held in people's homes.

Is a Sunken Living Room Expensive?

For the almost part, furniture pieces in sunken living rooms are built-in. The seats could be constructed from oak, rock, concrete, or any other durable material that is bachelor. Equally is customary, built-in seating is always tailored to your area and needs. That is why sunken rooms can be quite expensive.

The cost of raising a sunken living room to flooring level varies between $5,000 and $25,000 or more, depending on a variety of dissimilar factors.

Are Sunken Living Rooms Dated?

Sunken rooms – living areas that are a few steps below the rest of the house – date all the way back to the 1920s. Still, the style did not truly proceeds popularity until the swinging '60s.

Sunken rooms, or "discussion pits," were the envy of the neighborhood at the time. Created to infuse homes with a sense of intimacy, these areas crammed guests and families into a small-scale, cozy space.

While sunken rooms are less common today, the form has experienced a renaissance. When you purchased your dwelling, you may take inherited a sunken room.

Or possibly you're looking for a one-of-a-kind blueprint element for your new home. In either case, it may be time to reconsider how we view sunken rooms. With the correct decor and design, your sunken room may easily go your favorite space in the house.

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Source: https://www.homedit.com/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-sunken-living-rooms/