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The Conversation Pit, from Fallingwater to the Present
I remember going to my friend Chad Nelson's boyhood home in Delaware a few years ago. It was a split level late 70's-early 80's suburban home. My favorite thing in the house was the WALL OF CHAD, which featured every school picture ever taken of Chad in 26 years, awkward middle school years included, but a close second went to the white, sunken conversation pit in the walk-out basement. You just don't see those anymore, and I think they were the coolest place to hang out with a group and drink or bury yourself under a quilt for a snooze.
I have a theory that the Arts and Crafts movement and Frank Lloyd Wright sowed the seeds of this idea by creating custom nooks and built-in furniture that eventually grew into the 60's conversation pit, but I haven't proven it. Check out the Fallingwater image below and let me know what you think.
Well, even on Houzz it's hard to find images of retro sunken conversation pits (PLEASE leave me some links in the comments section if you find any more, so that I can add them to this ideabook), but I'm finding that there are modernized versions of the idea everywhere I look.
P.S. Chad, if you are reading this, PLEASE upload a picture of your childhood basement! And the WALL OF CHAD!
I have a theory that the Arts and Crafts movement and Frank Lloyd Wright sowed the seeds of this idea by creating custom nooks and built-in furniture that eventually grew into the 60's conversation pit, but I haven't proven it. Check out the Fallingwater image below and let me know what you think.
Well, even on Houzz it's hard to find images of retro sunken conversation pits (PLEASE leave me some links in the comments section if you find any more, so that I can add them to this ideabook), but I'm finding that there are modernized versions of the idea everywhere I look.
P.S. Chad, if you are reading this, PLEASE upload a picture of your childhood basement! And the WALL OF CHAD!
This is the Frank Lloyd Wright designed conversation area at Fallingwater. I think it's an appropriate precedent to the sunken conversation pit.
This is a fabulous retro space that is true to the sunken conversation pits of the sixties. Often times, circular pits like this one would surround a funky fireplace.
A sunken outdoor conversation pit, complete with fireplace and lovely tall horsetail reeds ( think that's what those plants are called, but I always struggled in plants class).
This image reminds me a lot of the Fallingwater image and a sunken conversation pit, especially because the furniture is low and the ceilings are so nice and high.
The completely outdoor version of the conversation pit, complete with fire pit in the center!
I suppose one could consider this sublime hot tub an underwater conversation pit. Am I stretching it way too far here? Probably.
The modern day kitchen nook, which also has its roots in the Arts and Crafts movement, is another form of the conversation pit, in that it gathers people together on soft cushions and forces them to look at one another until they interact!
The sectional sofa, soared to its peak of popularity during my childhood, followed the whole sunken conversation pit era. It simply took that area and put it above ground level
This particular shot makes me smile, especially when compared to the Fallingwater conversation area. The placement echoes that of FLW's, and they recall the rock outcropping that juts through the floor.
Thanks so much to Silver69 for pointing out this beautiful, open-air, tropical conversation pit!