I love this. For the past few years I've fully embraced the whole "our house is for us, not the next buyer" mentality and not making good choices for the next owners is great.
I don't give a shit if other people don't like my paint colors, it isn't their wall!
If they don't like the paint, they can repaint. If they don't like the conversation pit, they can remodel... which is gonna be more expensive but I have to imagine if you're buying a house with a conversation pit you're probably pretty well off already.
Could you not just preemptively have a plan in place to cover it up? Like “okay if we are going to sell we just drop in a floor on top and pretend it wasn’t there”?
Most placed with conversation pits that I've seen in person did have a false floor panel to cover it when there was no company over. Turned it back into regular floor space.
I feel like I remember somebody saying they tend to cause flooding or water damage? Like I guess the foundation can separate and water seeps in? I could be completely misremembering that though.
If true, that definitely assumes it’s built on a slab foundation or into a basement.
Where I’m from, where full basements are the norm and slab foundations are mostly for commercial properties, it would be entirely above the foundation (first floor is at least 5 foot above the basement floor) and have no impact whatever on sealing.
Good point, i'm pretty sure it was assuming slab foundation. I kinda remember it being specific to ranch style homes in a part of the country where the land was completely flat
Might have actually been this specific Reddit post I'm remembering
Like DS9 where everyone is all over place and shouting to be heard?
Like NX01 and TOS where everyone is facing away from each other and have to spin around to make eye contact because the cap likes to look at the backs of people's heads?
Like DISC where everyone is spread so far apart (like they have cooties) and away from the captain that she can't even remember who's on duty and everyone but the helms women and the cap have to stand the whole time?
Like VOY and TNG where everyone has assigned seats and can actually see the TV (view screen)?
I had a house with something like the first one, although it had a railing installed.
At first I hated the railing and considered removing it. Then I slipped on the hardwood steps on my way down into the pit. A whole 20 inches doesn't seem like a lot, but let me tell you that hitting my ass halfway down was enough to make me re-think all of it.
Aesthetically, conversation pits are amazing. That said, they are absolutely built to fuck up someone's day the very moment they're not being careful.
Yeah, that's my first thought. Kinda cool, but I could see stepping off an edge and going down hard on a table or something. I wouldn't even care if it was me, I fall down all the time, but I'd be concerned about others, like my wife, or my mom, or my son.
I kid you not, when the realtor showed the house they brought their rambunctious 7-year-old with them. Kiddo wasted zero time and did a running full-gainer into the conversation pit, tucked into a roll on landing, and sprawled out flat to stop in the middle of the room. Realtor/mom was NOT amused. Frankly, I was impressed but also relieved that there was no staged furniture in that particular room.
I hosted a few house-parties over the years and always had to keep a watchful eye on guest's alcohol intake and all the steps and railings. It was kind of exhausting.
The concept behind this design is really fascinating and actually harkens back to very very old house design, like 1500s, where people would have a little cubby with benches next to a fire.
Read about Frank Lloyd Wright and his first few house designs (i think the Fallingwater house is a key one) to get the bigger picture on this. He (in ~1910 i think) literally brought back an element of domestic architecture we'd left behind. Comfort pits from the 70s are downstream of this, in my opinion.
Fallingwater is very interesting, visited as a teenager, with no concept of anything, especially fluid dynamics, but I had seen how heavy snowfall led to heavy river rise that flooded my home and fucked up my life. And i had a vague idea that we all understand, which is that water always wins. So when I saw the interior of Fallingwater, I was like, this shit is not a place humans could live.
This is why all the materials should be waterproof and a drain should be placed in the center of the pit. Then you can just pressure wash the whole thing
I can definitely see why people dislike the colors but there's something about the 70s (I prefer to think of it as avocado) green paired with wooden mid century mod decor. It just gives me cozy vibes for some reason
Honestly, the Lotion Pit is better interior decorating than modern "is it a home or the surface of the sun oh my god everything is so bland and white" interior design.
I'm old enough to remember 70s design still being normal and life just felt way cooler.
Yeah, I can't stand modern shades of gray. Everyone decorates their house like they're about to list it for sale. Give me colors! Give me silly pictures, and plants, and nonsense. It's your home, it doesn't need to be sterile.
A friend of mine did every weird thing he could think of when decorating his apartment. Imitation brick wall, colorful shelves, decorative ceiling, built-in plant pots and so on. Now he says he regrets it because it's hard to maintain (led lights brake, fixing even small damage is really difficult, repainting is impossible) and when you get bored of it and want to change something it's a huge effort. With cleaner, simpler esthetics you can easily move things around, repaint, add/remove decorations and so on. You can constantly change decorations without things clashing with you colorful walls.
Most people couldn't afford that. But everyone had a living room and people would come over. Everyone had a grill and people would come over. Most people had kids and kids would come over.
When I was living in apartments, the nicer spots would have big community fire pits in between blocks. They were great for mixing and mingling with other apartment residents, especially during the holidays or weekends with good weather.
One of the more annoying parts of being a home owner right now is getting people over to your place and finding places for all their cars. So much easier when everyone just kinda lives in the same two or three blocks and can walk over to catch a show or BBQ or play board games.
"It put's the lotion on its skin" pit aside, a fair bit of that stepped layout has some correlation with the higher rate of swinger or "key parties" that took place from the late 50's into the 70's. A fuck pit, if you will. Bring 2 buckets.
Really helps both the person talking and the person listening stay engaged. You're encouraging the speaker to focus on the parts of the conversation you find interesting. They're receiving feedback, so they know what they're saying is being valued and encouraged.
70 Comments
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 80 pts · 181d
Against the advice of literally every person we talked to (with the main argument being 'resellability') our new home is being built with one!
SmokedBillionaire@sh.itjust.works · 64 pts · 181d
I love this. For the past few years I've fully embraced the whole "our house is for us, not the next buyer" mentality and not making good choices for the next owners is great.
I don't give a shit if other people don't like my paint colors, it isn't their wall!
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 17 pts · 181d
FishFace@piefed.social · 9 pts · 180d
If they don't like the paint, they can repaint. If they don't like the conversation pit, they can remodel... which is gonna be more expensive but I have to imagine if you're buying a house with a conversation pit you're probably pretty well off already.
criss_cross@lemmy.world · 18 pts · 180d
Fuck it man if you’re staying there for 30+ years who gives a shit about resale value. Do what you want.
garbagebagel@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 181d
I hope you don't plan on living there when you're older and need mobility aids!
But genuinely, I'm sure it's gonna look cool AF.
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 21 pts · 181d
The plan is def a forever home! If I can't make a step or two the whole house will be a wash, lmao
arrow74@lemmy.zip · 6 pts · 181d
Usually a conversation pit is avoidable, as seen in the pictures. Shouldn't be enough to render the whole house unusable
Lucelu2@lemmy.zip · 3 pts · 180d
couldn't a ramp be installed?
anomnom@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 179d
That would make it a conversation halfpipe.
I’m in.
KairuByte@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 8 pts · 181d
Could you not just preemptively have a plan in place to cover it up? Like “okay if we are going to sell we just drop in a floor on top and pretend it wasn’t there”?
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 15 pts · 181d
If I get old and have to move out, it's their problem - I think by then it will have come full circle and be in vogue again.
Furbag@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 179d
Most placed with conversation pits that I've seen in person did have a false floor panel to cover it when there was no company over. Turned it back into regular floor space.
dream_weasel@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 179d
Just fill it with water. People love indoor pools.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 4 pts · 181d
I feel like I remember somebody saying they tend to cause flooding or water damage? Like I guess the foundation can separate and water seeps in? I could be completely misremembering that though.
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 10 pts · 181d
Wer'e on the top of the hill and the foundation is pier and beam, off the ground - we're gucci!
CentipedeFarrier@piefed.social · 3 pts · 179d
If true, that definitely assumes it’s built on a slab foundation or into a basement.
Where I’m from, where full basements are the norm and slab foundations are mostly for commercial properties, it would be entirely above the foundation (first floor is at least 5 foot above the basement floor) and have no impact whatever on sealing.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 179d
Good point, i'm pretty sure it was assuming slab foundation. I kinda remember it being specific to ranch style homes in a part of the country where the land was completely flat
Might have actually been this specific Reddit post I'm remembering
How to waterproof sunken conversation pit
rumba@lemmy.zip · 1 pts · 180d
We used to put indoor koi ponds in houses too.
From the pit standpoint, you could excavate the whole thing, put a sump in then build it two-level.
There's always a way, it's just not usually cheap.
janus2@lemmy.zip · 61 pts · 181d
it puts the wood paneling on its walls or else it gets the economic recession again
SanctimoniousApe@piefed.social · 31 pts · 181d
Mine would look like the bridge from Star Trek.
kboos1@lemmy.world · 15 pts · 181d
I love this idea, but wait which bridge?
Like DS9 where everyone is all over place and shouting to be heard?
Like NX01 and TOS where everyone is facing away from each other and have to spin around to make eye contact because the cap likes to look at the backs of people's heads?
Like DISC where everyone is spread so far apart (like they have cooties) and away from the captain that she can't even remember who's on duty and everyone but the helms women and the cap have to stand the whole time?
Like VOY and TNG where everyone has assigned seats and can actually see the TV (view screen)?
dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world · 25 pts · 181d
I had a house with something like the first one, although it had a railing installed.
At first I hated the railing and considered removing it. Then I slipped on the hardwood steps on my way down into the pit. A whole 20 inches doesn't seem like a lot, but let me tell you that hitting my ass halfway down was enough to make me re-think all of it.
Aesthetically, conversation pits are amazing. That said, they are absolutely built to fuck up someone's day the very moment they're not being careful.
HeyThisIsntTheYMCA@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 180d
yeah i'm in the stage of life we gotta think about hoyer lifts and i am not getting one of those down and then up outta a conversation pit
BarneyPiccolo@lemmy.today · 2 pts · 180d
Yeah, that's my first thought. Kinda cool, but I could see stepping off an edge and going down hard on a table or something. I wouldn't even care if it was me, I fall down all the time, but I'd be concerned about others, like my wife, or my mom, or my son.
dejected_warp_core@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 180d
I kid you not, when the realtor showed the house they brought their rambunctious 7-year-old with them. Kiddo wasted zero time and did a running full-gainer into the conversation pit, tucked into a roll on landing, and sprawled out flat to stop in the middle of the room. Realtor/mom was NOT amused. Frankly, I was impressed but also relieved that there was no staged furniture in that particular room.
I hosted a few house-parties over the years and always had to keep a watchful eye on guest's alcohol intake and all the steps and railings. It was kind of exhausting.
FinjaminPoach@lemmy.world · 22 pts · 181d
The concept behind this design is really fascinating and actually harkens back to very very old house design, like 1500s, where people would have a little cubby with benches next to a fire.
Read about Frank Lloyd Wright and his first few house designs (i think the Fallingwater house is a key one) to get the bigger picture on this. He (in ~1910 i think) literally brought back an element of domestic architecture we'd left behind. Comfort pits from the 70s are downstream of this, in my opinion.
unemployedclaquer@sopuli.xyz · 13 pts · 181d
Fallingwater is very interesting, visited as a teenager, with no concept of anything, especially fluid dynamics, but I had seen how heavy snowfall led to heavy river rise that flooded my home and fucked up my life. And i had a vague idea that we all understand, which is that water always wins. So when I saw the interior of Fallingwater, I was like, this shit is not a place humans could live.
Tl:dr fallingwater is leaky and damp
ChickenLadyLovesLife@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 180d
I also saw Falling Water as a teen. I was in awe ... of the fact that an artist could actually have the name "Lipchitz".
xkbx@startrek.website · 22 pts · 181d
A place to moisturize
dylanmorgan@slrpnk.net · 21 pts · 181d
I know it’s a shitpost, but…
As cool as they might look, imagine trying to keep those things clean. Just constant vacuuming.
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 23 pts · 181d
This is why all the materials should be waterproof and a drain should be placed in the center of the pit. Then you can just pressure wash the whole thing
lowspeedchase@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 28 pts · 181d
I, too, have tried to convince my partner to make it an orgy pit.
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 180d
I like to think of more as a containment zone.
MintyFresh@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 181d
Sooooo, you're saying shag carpeting all over?
DrSteveBrule@mander.xyz · 3 pts · 180d
Then you get conversation drain flies
sem@piefed.blahaj.zone · 2 pts · 180d
Not if you don't have dirty stagnant water.
D_C@sh.itjust.works · 2 pts · 180d
Even copious amounts of (definitely not human) blood?
Kolanaki@pawb.social · 18 pts · 181d
I fucking love late 60s to mid 70s architecture. Not so much the colors, tho. Rust orange, brown, and vomit green aren't very cool.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 16 pts · 181d
I can definitely see why people dislike the colors but there's something about the 70s (I prefer to think of it as avocado) green paired with wooden mid century mod decor. It just gives me cozy vibes for some reason
ummthatguy@lemmy.world · 12 pts · 181d
Totally agree that there are combinations that jive within that framework.
aeiou@piefed.social · 13 pts · 181d
all of them look like a great way to break your ankle in the dark
standarduser@lemmy.dbzer0.com · 11 pts · 181d
Dawg I don’t think any of us could figure out how to drop a floor on a slab for cheap so we could manage it. Would be hella lit tho
sketchyenchantment@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 181d
Raise the floor around where you want the pit
crazycraw@crazypeople.online · 5 pts · 181d
that's some move the mountain to us top drawer shit right there
DarkFuture@lemmy.world · 10 pts · 180d
Honestly, the Lotion Pit is better interior decorating than modern "is it a home or the surface of the sun oh my god everything is so bland and white" interior design.
I'm old enough to remember 70s design still being normal and life just felt way cooler.
Dozzi92@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 179d
Yeah, I can't stand modern shades of gray. Everyone decorates their house like they're about to list it for sale. Give me colors! Give me silly pictures, and plants, and nonsense. It's your home, it doesn't need to be sterile.
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net · 3 pts · 179d
A friend of mine did every weird thing he could think of when decorating his apartment. Imitation brick wall, colorful shelves, decorative ceiling, built-in plant pots and so on. Now he says he regrets it because it's hard to maintain (led lights brake, fixing even small damage is really difficult, repainting is impossible) and when you get bored of it and want to change something it's a huge effort. With cleaner, simpler esthetics you can easily move things around, repaint, add/remove decorations and so on. You can constantly change decorations without things clashing with you colorful walls.
AcidiclyBasicGlitch@sh.itjust.works · 9 pts · 181d
YiddishMcSquidish@lemmy.today · 4 pts · 181d
BeardededSquidward@lemmy.blahaj.zone · 8 pts · 179d
Wait a fucking moment here...
Fedizen@lemmy.world · 8 pts · 181d
"It puts the lotion on its skin"
Paranoidfactoid@lemmy.world · 7 pts · 179d
Most people couldn't afford that. But everyone had a living room and people would come over. Everyone had a grill and people would come over. Most people had kids and kids would come over.
Life was much more real life social.
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 179d
When I was living in apartments, the nicer spots would have big community fire pits in between blocks. They were great for mixing and mingling with other apartment residents, especially during the holidays or weekends with good weather.
One of the more annoying parts of being a home owner right now is getting people over to your place and finding places for all their cars. So much easier when everyone just kinda lives in the same two or three blocks and can walk over to catch a show or BBQ or play board games.
anomnom@sh.itjust.works · 7 pts · 179d
And the ability for average incomes to buy, build, and furnish a home, sure.
ummthatguy@lemmy.world · 6 pts · 181d
"It put's the lotion on its skin" pit aside, a fair bit of that stepped layout has some correlation with the higher rate of swinger or "key parties" that took place from the late 50's into the 70's. A fuck pit, if you will. Bring 2 buckets.
CircaV@lemmy.ca · 4 pts · 179d
Love sunken living rooms!!! Why is this even a shitpost ??
ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net · 7 pts · 179d
Because of the second image?
ickplant@lemmy.world · 4 pts · 179d
It puts the lotion on the skin or it gets the hose.
RizzRustbolt@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 179d
Again?
sem@piefed.blahaj.zone · 4 pts · 180d
OK, Biff Tanner
tigeruppercut@lemmy.zip · 4 pts · 179d
Top left has a pretty big gap between those couches. What does your social night look like, the batman table?
udon@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 181d
The oval table looks like a gamepad
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 179d
They look like a good idea until you have to vacuum.
Why do you think Bill was always sending down all that lotion?
ameancow@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 179d
UnderpantsWeevil@lemmy.world · 3 pts · 179d
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Active_listening
Really helps both the person talking and the person listening stay engaged. You're encouraging the speaker to focus on the parts of the conversation you find interesting. They're receiving feedback, so they know what they're saying is being valued and encouraged.
marcos@lemmy.world · 2 pts · 181d
You can make the niche without the pit. Unless you have some reason at all to use the different level, it's completely unnecessary.
probablymissing@lemmy.world · 0 pts · 181d
that top right one genuinely just looks like a pit to hell i don't think anyone's gonna have a casual conversation in there
unless you're potatos and chell, of courseickplant@lemmy.world · 11 pts · 181d
::: spoiler Tap for explanation It’s the pit from Silence of the Lambs…
:::
Jumbie@lemmy.zip · 7 pts · 181d
You should not have had to explain this, old timer. Life ain’t fair.
probablymissing@lemmy.world · 5 pts · 181d
sorry, personally i take residence under a monolithic chunk of stone so i was unable to get this reference
i was also only born within the last two decades
missed it by one (and a half, give or take)
¯\_(ツ)_/¯