If the plan is to return this house to its groovy MCM roots, I would keep the conversation pit and level the rest of the floor around it. If instead you're planning on something more conventional/traditional (as the current homeowners (?) have done), I would nix the conversation pit. You need to lean into it or leave it behind.

While I like the idea of the pit, this one is too small to really enjoy it. This is what it should be like:

also the other level of flooring make the space a giant trip hazard. It looks like all of this is compromising what could be a wonderful great room area for entertaining.

too many levels! the conversation area around fireplace is too constrictive. not aesthetically pleasing to look at. if possible, make floor one level and open the space

This is a money pit ….will an authentic restoration be better than bringing it toward a more liveable space in your market?..

I’m not following.

Some people give great value to authentic MCM homes..changing the aesthetic will deter those buyers…if it is the odd house on the block it may be worth removing some of the inconvenient oddities to appeal to more buyers

Nice mock up, Paul!

It’s in an entire neighborhood of ‘70’s homes. I am the owner and planning to AirBnB it while we live in France during the summers. I think I’ll go with keeping the convo area and level the rest. If/when I do sell it I’ll reassess. Thanks for your input.

The sunken conversation pit below (Miller House, Indiana) is iconic and of course, worthy of all preservation. That pony wall looks odd in your space and Paul's mock up with level floor is an improvement and no doubt safer for a short term rental space.

Your plan sounds good …in view of your B&B plans..and how nice for you …to look forward to summers in France!..

It makes no sense to leave that poorly designed pit there.

Well, Paul, thanks but the plan is to remove everything you see and redesign the interior with modular furniture. There is already tons of square footage in the living room.

Modular furniture? The pit floor seems to be about 4 1/2 feet across as it is with those narrow benches in place. A sunken moroccan daybed situation maybe but it would be awfully close to the fire. I would much rather have a level floor there for two/four comfortable chairs and a game table for conversation in front of the fireplace personally.

Maybe budget isn't a concern but concrete is pricey. I see a lot of things needing funds to bring the place up to a standard for AirBnB. But you may be in a location where everything gets booked regardless of the interior look so who knows where the best investment is for your return.

It’s 8x8.

I was just counting the 12 inch floor tiles and also accounting for the room for the step. I would definitely get in there with two other people one night to try it out. If you’re anything like me, if you don’t fix it during this major remodel, then it will be there forever.

I am in camp “try to keep it!” Once you tear out the pony walls, you will have a much better idea of how the space could work. I would be ore inclined to go the custom cushion route on the benches with throw pillows in modern prints on the back. It this is an AirBnB, the conv pit will be a real attention getter! And…if you change your mind in the future, board the area over. I would, perhaps, hedge my bet by buying extra flooring for the area, whatever you decide to purchase for the rest of your floor. Just so that, in the future, you could fill it in or offer that option to future buyers. I really do think the pit is a fun feature!

I don't mind the small size. I'm thinking it's like an MCM inglenook. I totally agree to do custom built in upholstery vs conventional furniture.

Are you living in this home? If you have any possible reason you might move, you will have a difficult time selling the house. We baby boomers are a huge part of the population, and this would be a deal-breaker for us. We are cautious of every step, because we never know how long we will be able to stay in our homes. I don't understand why this has to be concrete. If you use a wood system to support a level room, the original design will still be there, so any pit lovers out there can take out the wood and there's the pit! You should get a bid on custom built furniture before you commit to going that way. I see that you have made a decision, and it's your house, but if it WAS mine, that pit would be gone before I move in. I looked at a newer home that had a sunken living room, and if I had bought it, I would have leveled the floors. The people I spoke to said it would be a wood support system. And yes, the floor registers, and possibly the outlets will need to be higher, but it will be worth it.

How do you see out the windows? I would get rid of this "pit" and use lumber to level the floors, rather than concrete. That way, if someone wants to bring it back, it will still be there, lurking under the spacious, safe, flowing area.

If you do keep the pit then do something re the pony walls. The walls look like a later addition with their traditional bulky trim as well as wide. The white paint just has no connection to rest of room. Not sure what was there but should try and find interior pics of similar homes. Then if want an “original pit” you would have it and perhaps more inches for comfort, those straight backs look so uncomfortable, and sight lines. I do caution the original design may have safety concerns and need to be adapted for todays requirements.

The pony walls would go. Perhaps you haven’t read the full thread.

Yes, it’s my home I live in. I haven’t made up my mind. The electricity would need to be relocated. Not the AC vents though. I flip homes in Austin for a living, have crews and am not at all adverse to spending 100k on this SLOW flip bc I know I’ll profit from it.

It’s a great market.

Here is one person's opinion. As a potential VRBO renter, I'd skip the house with the odd step-ups and step-downs in the living area. And the small off-center pit, even without pony walls, just looks odd to me. I like Paul's cleaned-up one-level version of your space.

Now that I know the entire situation, leveling out the entire floor is a must IMO if for no reason other than to reduce the liability. I'm sure you carry extensive liability insurance so the cost of a lawsuit might not hurt you but the bad press of an injured or worse reveler falling into the pit might. As a friend often says, "It's all good until it isn't."

Your house do what you want but Paul's pic is FABULOUS and is what would sell/rent a home. Individualization is yours to spend all the money you wnat on--just know the head ache of the fix for the next person will have you paying twice. Once for the work you are doing and again on resale.

The fireplace pit area seems very small to consider keeping it and furnishing with modular furniture that will fit the space. But I guess you know since you can see in person the size of that space. I must way that Paul's visual with the wood floor looks quite nice!

I wouldn't even think twice about this--needs to be all one level. Accidents waiting to happen. More so because of plans to make it a short term rental where drunks & family reunions are guaranteed & grandmas breaking hips because of that Tetris like floor more likely than not. More complicated to clean. New flooring gets more complicated and more labor cost to install.

When the pony walls come down, they have to be replaced with something...railing? More expense, more cleaning. And the noise factor. The pony walls help insulate the sunken area from noise generated elsewhere in the house (Back to a couple/ three families piling into a short term rental). Railing won't.

IMO, this isn't even a stellar example of MCM cool, more like MCM mediocre. I wouldn't have any regrets about making this a safer and more livable space. As a landlord, I would be doing all that I could to eliminate landmines like this in my rental properties.

Ok, that was my initial inclination. The designer just got so excited about all the architectural details that I started to wonder.

Taking out the pit means taking out the fireplace, right? I think you could make it work with plenty of upholstery. I agree that the cool factor is a + for Airbnb, as long as you have some disclaimers in your contract. ;)

No, Emily fireplace would be closer to the floor on the pit side. It would be same distance from floor as the dining side. Maybe a few photos would help.

It’s not letting me add new pics.

It's really interesting...what were they thinking with the multi levels in this era?? LOL! I hope you'll post pics of the "after" when you are finished!

Love the hardwood flooring. With four dogs is there a decent alternative? Designer says LVP / but that can look cheap to me… is “wood” tile going to date too quickly?

Hallucinogens?

I hope you're going to remove it because unless you want to hot tub there LOL it'd be easy to climb into I would definitely remove it it looks nicer without it and if you this your forever home you're going to wish you removed it when you're older

Ok, I missed that the pony walls were going. Now, when people come to the pit from the main room they are not going walk around to the step they are going just step down onto the furniture. If they've been drinking, some may lose balance with nothing to hold on to. Not a good idea.

I used to do vacation rentals, very successfully. I had one young woman and her brother that stayed with me for a month. All the rent checks were coming from Audi for her stay. When I asked her about it I found out she was training for the olympics and Audi was her sponsor. Early every morning she raced down the alley (silently, thank god) while her brother timed her. I realized right then that I did not have enough insurance to withstand any type of serious accident lawsuit (backed by Audi) with her staying with me. I waited it out and then I upped my business insurance and bought a 4M umbrella policy to enhance my coverage.

Please no pits without railings in a rental! You're asking to lose it all if someone with a huge lifetime income potential is permanently disabled on your property. Especially if old Zillow pics show that you removed the pony walls.

Love this answer. Yes, umbrella is in the plan. Nevertheless.

I had Judd Hirsch and his wife stay in my VRBO for a few weeks while he was in a play nearby. This was back when I wasn't thinking much about liability... I asked him if he'd like to borrow a couple bikes and he said "What, are you trying to kill me?!". Haha.

LVP can look okay if you can find long, wide boards that don't have a lot of shading (stripes). I don't love how it feels underfoot but we have it for several reasons that beat out hardwood. Hardwood look tile often looks commercial to me which is why I didn't consider it.

These pics are in response to the person who asked about the height of the firebox. It’s a double sided fireplace. The level on the dining side would be the same as the pit when filled in.

I swear @Paul F. is the most fascinating person on Houzz!

@Great Austin Real Estate, how large are the dogs? My 32 pounder doesn't impact my hardwood floors at all. I have LVP on the lowest level of my house (split level) and it's nice but it's not hardwood. It wasn't my first choice but I was going over tile which was over concrete so it was sort of my only affordable option without tearing out the tile. If you are pouring all new concrete you could consider concrete floors and stain them. It's a nice look when done well.

lol! The dogs are between 70-110#. I assumed I would have to remove all the tile. I love real hardwoods - old ballerina here, but are you saying I could overlay the tile with LVP? Thanks.

Yes, you can go over tile. Get a good quality LVP and a very good team to install it. They may set off the smoke alarm when they're leveling some high spots and the equipment they're using starts overheating but it turned out great. It's a floating floor, almost 1000 sq ft total, so places that don't get a lot of foot traffic still sound kind of hollow after 18 months but it is LVP so you can't expect hardwood quality like the other floors of my house.

You mention this being a slow flip which might change the approach. Have you been in any of the homes for sale with a similar lay-out? Have to talked to a few realtors? They could offer cost benefit. Truthfully if you are going to use as a ABnB the location of the property is key and that pit most likely would not have an effect. I agree that leveling the other area, is needed, especially where the entry comes into living area. I would work with a good designer in having a custom searting area made and with new flooring and fireplace surround it could work and be a nice quirky room. I was in RE many years ago and own investment properties, Staging has changed the game. People walk in and fall in love with the look and often overlook the elephants. That said, if I were living in that home 24/7 I would level it all.

Stained concrete is beautiful in the rarely used green color..

I like it. I’ve heard it’s hard to sell when the time comes around, though.

This feature was always the first wow we got from visitors…we used lots of pretty wool tufted rugs where needed…in our hugely open floorplan…however.. most people go for the more predictable stains in brown and terracotta..not my fave colors…