A resort-modern great room where a cream boucle conversation pit glows with concealed light, a travertine fireplace floats above a ribbon of flame, and sliding glass hands the room to an infinity pool and the sunset beyond.
The idea behind it
The pit organises everything: one continuous sofa on four sides means no furniture arranging, no backs to the view, and a social geometry where every seat faces every other seat.
The floating travertine mass is the theatre. By running the fire in the shadow gap beneath the stone, the design turns the heaviest material in the room into its lightest-looking gesture.
Light is treated as a material — LED reveals under seats and steps, the fire ribbon, and the low sun across polished stone — so the room transitions from bright resort by day to glowing ember by night.
What you will need
Sunken seating pit, A square recess lined with a continuous built-in sofa, or a platform-ringed lounge as a no-dig alternative.
Cream boucle upholstery, Performance boucle seat and back cushions with taupe and sand accents.
Floating travertine fireplace, A steel-supported stone volume over a linear gas burner.
Marble slab coffee table, A low grey-veined stone top on a bronze base at the pit's centre.
Concealed LED reveals, Warm strips under seat edges and stair treads for glow and safety.
Sliding glass wall, Full-height panels opening the lounge to the pool terrace.
Polished stone flooring, A continuous pale stone floor running inside to out.
Sculptural stair or feature tree, One architectural flourish at the room's edge — here, both.
Steal the look
Step 1
Excavate or platform-build the pit, allowing seat height of about 40 cm and generous depth.
Step 2
Line all four sides with built-in seating and have cushions made in performance boucle.
Step 3
Engineer the floating stone fireplace with a concealed steel frame and linear burner.
Step 4
Run warm LED strips under every seat edge and step nosing, on one dimmer.
Step 5
Centre a low marble table in the pit — nothing taller than seat height.
Step 6
Fit sliding or pocketing glass so the wall to the terrace disappears.
Step 7
Keep the floor material continuous from lounge to pool deck.
Step 8
Style with almost nothing: one bowl, one book, one small tree.
Perfect for
- Homes with a view worth surrendering a wall to
- People who host long evenings of conversation, not screen time
- Fans of 1970s pit lounges reborn in modern materials
- Warm-climate and indoor-outdoor living plans
Avoid if
- Toddlers or mobility concerns make a step-down zone risky
- You rent or cannot commit to structural work
- Your climate keeps the glass shut most of the year
- You need flexible furniture layouts that can change
Estimated budget
Budget
A platform-ringed lounge with modular cream sofas, an electric linear fireplace under a travertine-look surround and stick-on LED reveals.
$2,000-$6,000
Mid-range
A carpenter-built sunken platform with custom cushions, a gas ribbon fireplace with genuine travertine cladding and integrated lighting.
$6,000-$25,000
Luxury
True excavated pit, engineered floating stone volume, bespoke boucle upholstery, book-matched marble table and disappearing glass walls.
$25,000+
Colour palette5 tones
Cream Boucle
pit sofa
#EADFC8
Travertine Strata
fireplace volume
#C6B394
Sunset Amber
fire and evening light
#E89A55
Stone Grey
marble table and floor
#9E9484
Bronze Shadow
table base and reveals
#7D6547
Frequently AskedQuestions
They are superb for gathering — everyone faces inward and the room stays visually open — but the step down is a real hazard for toddlers and less-mobile guests. Edge lighting, as used here, is as much safety as style. If excavation is impossible, a raised platform around a standard-height lounge fakes the effect.
The stone volume is carried by a concealed steel frame anchored to the structure, with the linear burner set in the shadow gap below. It is engineering-heavy work — always designed by a structural engineer — but the visual payoff is stone that appears weightless.
Choose solution-dyed or performance boucle and chenille in pale tones; light colours hide sun-fade far better than saturated ones. Keep loose cushions rotatable, and specify UV-stable fabric on any seating this close to floor-to-ceiling glass.
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