This cozy retro carpeted conversation pit with comfortable built-in sofas drew party guests irresistibly toward the hearth of this dramatic living room in Livingston, New Jersey, back in the 60s.
The simple couches were nestled into the sunken space in front of the wood-burning fireplace, and had been arranged with a dozen comfortable and colorful pillows on top. The soft and velvety green carpet covered the floor as well as the sofas, giving it a unique degree of connecteness.
The square glass-topped table with a black wooden spindle frame rose no higher than the hearth, offering plenty of space for drinks and dishes and decorative items, without impeding the view.
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But when the owners were entertaining only one or two close friends, they were just as likely to lounge in the mod black leather and chrome chairs, positioned around a white marble-topped table on the upper level.
“Where we sit depends on the number of guests we happen to be entertaining at the moment,” they said of their party-friendly contemporary metro living room.
In that space on the upper level, where the floor was even with that of the rest of the house, the artistic paint splatter-effect jewel-tone rug almost seemed to create a separate room.
The rest of the main floor was made up of aged old brick that had been burnished by time — and by decorators — taking on a style almost like that of hardwood parquet.
The fireplace wall was also made from brick, but here it had been laid in a traditional horizontal pattern, and had been given a rustic whitewash. The hearth opening was wide, and included space for log storage.
On the far side of the room, a blue suede folding screen divider added some optical distance from the space beyond, helping the living room maintain its intimate feel.
By using color, variations of levels, and contrasting floor coverings, the interior designers countered the vastness of the big room, yet took advantage of its spaciousness.
