Last week I went to an realtor's Open House nearby, hoping to see how a beautiful home (at least on the outside) was staged. The sunken family room made no sense to me at all. It was off the kitchen, but you had to step (fall?) down. For "flow" I think all one level is best.

I have one and I hate it. So dangerous! I can not tell you how many people have fallen including me. There's no way to make sure people notice that step. I have put orange tape at the edge and put a contrasting rug there to draw the eye down. It makes me feel terrible when someone falls, the risk of personal injury is a real worry. I am in a wheelchair much of the time and that step prevents me from getting around in the house. I don't think I would ever buy another house with any step down.

Whenever I think of sunken livingrooms I think of Dick Van Dyke drunk-falling into his. lol I'm too klutzy for a change of planes from one room to the next, it would be a no-go for me.

One step is dangerous. Two to three steps are pickup up subconsciously.

In the first and only house I had built, there was a sunken family room. My children were all younger at the time. In the ten years that we owned the home no one ever fell. Not us, the children, or guests. I'm not sure how we got so lucky because I am sure it was an accident waiting to happen. I loved our home and miss it so much.

We have a 2-step down great room addition, and it's stunning. However, my in-laws need assistance.

If you plan on being in that home as you age (gracefully, of course!), it's not a good idea.

Oh, I love my parents' living room, two steps down. My favorite part is the stone fireplace wall and raised hearth; to one side, the heart becomes two steps up, through the stone wall, into the library. Mind you, my dad hasn't been into the LR in about 8 years, mom in 5, because they can't take the step. They get to the library through the hall entrance and have always used the family room for tv and everyday life. But they enjoyed the sunken LR for 45 years. I love them, done right.

edited to add, mom and dad are 90+ now.

They always remind me of sit-coms.

I lived in a rental with one, with orange shag carpet on both levels. It was ugly and dangerous.

We have one, not by choice. It is original to the house. The upper level is stone and the sunken part is currently tan frieze carpet, so there is enough contrast that no one has ever fallen in the 6 months we've lived here. We have an amazing view out the back patio doors, though, so I don't see us ever raising the floor.

Our first home had a step down family room. In the 20 years that we lived there children or adults ever fell. My current home has a step down living room/great room. We have lived in this home for 13 years and no one has fallen here either. In this home as well as my other one it was very easy to see the step down. Here's a picture of my current step down room

Maybe we are just very lucky that no one has ever fallen. And if that's the case maybe I should start buying lottery tickets.

I had a step down in my last house. Never again. I never fell nor did hubby, but, a couple of grandkids did, and one of our dogs did. Another dog, had to be lifted down so he could go outside because he was elderly and couldnt do the step anymore. Mine had one step, which was made out of brick, and that step was more dangerous than the step down itself. The bottom edges of jeans used to catch on the corners all the time. Since our living ran the entire width of the side of the house, and went front to back, and our den was behind that, with the entrance to the back yard, and decks, it was used all the time. When hubbys health began to fail and he got unsteady on his feet, we decided it was time to sell.

I honestly don't see the point of a step down room.

My great room is probably step down because of the grade of the property.

I can't remember the last time I was in a home that had one. I live in New England where colonials, Capes and single story ranch styles are most common.

Are sunken LR's more common in other regions? Or were they just more prevalent in '60's split-level era homes?

We have two! The one step one into the LR is a trip hazard. You will get used to it, but your guests will have issues (my mother has tripped). The two step with a wide landing is no problem at all. They are somewhat understandable in some areas due to geography. But as a design feature they aren't worth it. Yes, it feels a bit more grand and the ceiling expands to give a sense of arrival, but that's about it.

1980's home here with one. Been here 2+ years and haven't fallen yet (knock on wood).

Has anyone ever leveled one out, to bring it up to the same height as surrounding floors?

In the late 60's my best friend moved to a very modern house. When you walked in the front door the LR was to your left a few steps down. Beyond that another 5 or 6 steps down was a lounge area...built in seating all around with one of those metal cone fireplaces in a corner. Sliders led to the pool in the backyard. From the foyer, you went up a regular length staircase (13 or 14 steps?) to the kitchen, DR and bedrooms.

I was in high school and thought the house was so chic! Looking at it now....how impractical! Can you imagine carrying food and drinks down all those steps to the LR, lounge and pool area when entertaining...not to mention hauling it all back upstairs. Yikes!

We have a two step that is fine, no one has ever fallen. Probably wouldn't design one into a new house, but I like them if safe.

One of the "coolest" houses I remember growing up was my friend's home that was an A-frame with a sunken living room. There were many other elements about it that were cool but I specifically recall the step down to the living room.

As an adult I find it sad that a single step can prevent some people from accessing areas of their homes. In this way a single step for the sake of design doesn't make sense.

My mom's house...the house I grew up in.... has a sunken living room. It is a single step. It was carpeted in my youth, now has hardwood over the top part. Nobody ever fell, although that sunken living room is an issue now that Mom has Parkinson's and uses a walker. She has two walkers....one above and one below the living room.

I am not sure why they ever were a thing, but I am not sure it would sway me away from a house I loved. My mom's living room, with the one step, isn't that big of a deal. It may depend on the layout of the house.

We have a one step sunken living room, circa 1982 as do many of the other homes in my neighborhood. We have had guests trip on the step and it usually happens when they first arrive and are looking up (vaulted ceiling). Our step is along the entire length of the room. I think one problem is also that the flooring in the hall is the same shade as the living area and those wearing glasses do not have good peripheral vision. I put in rope lighting under the lip of the step and that helped my mil on her last visit.

In the reception area of the office building I used to work in, they had a 2 step sunken seating area. The steps encircled the area. We ended up having to have custom made planters placed around the first step leaving openings just near the hand rails as it was a fall hazard, esp as people came in from the bright outside into the darkened interior...they literally could not see the steps.

A child hood friend though had a sunken living room in a 50s ranch that I loved...you came in at the foyer level and as you stepped down the two steps, the ceiling stayed at the same height so the LR had a higher ceiling as a result. The room had a corner straight ahead rather than a wall, and the corner was all windows that looked out directly into the woods. It made a dramatic view and welcomed you into the space.

Like I say, love the look, but not the impracticality. Do they make them with ramps instead?

When I was a kid in the late 70s, my dad had our house built with a sunken "pit" in a corner of the master bedroom. It was three steps down, and had a fireplace ... decorated with a sofa, chair, etc ... we kids loved it.

I recently saw the house listed for sale -- no more sunken pit. It was all level.

Meanwhile, at my mother's house, there was a huge sunken tub in the master bath (also built in the 70s). I remember those tubs being very popular back then.

Anyway, I like sunken areas in some contexts. Or, maybe they just make me feel nostalgic.

ETA: Just remembered the house we lived in when I was very young .... it had a sunken living room with white metal railing around it. Not a good look! I'm surprised I never got my big head stuck in it.

My last home had sunken living room, & I hated it. It was a single step down from our foyer on one side and the dining room on another side. Like this house, it was an adobe home, but with Mexican paver flooring. I think the same flooring throughout all those rooms made it especially difficult for many people to notice that step down. In my opinion, it was dangerous and unnecessary. When our son was in his baby walker, he actually went off the step twice with the walker falling over on him.

Seems like everything was sunken in the 70s! My parents designed and built a home with a sunken living room, cathedral ceilings with beams, huge wall covered in mirror tiles, and green shag carpeting that we raked before guests came over. I think those of us who lived through the sunken craze will always harken back to those days whenever the term is mentioned. My elementary school also had a big sunken "pit" - it was actually sort of a mini-amphitheater with steps going down that we all sat on. It was used for story time and even as a kid, I remember it being gosh-darn uncomfortable to sit there, when it practically begged you to sprawl instead.

I'm one who can manage to trip over my own feet on flat flooring, so sunken ANYTHING is probably not something I'd want to live with. The 18 stairs in our new home are currently making me wonder how I'll cope when I'm old (as we plan to be there for many, many years). Surely we'll have flying chairs by then, no? ;-)

Our late 1970s home has a small sunken living room off the kitchen/dining area. We barely even noticed the step when we we toured the house before buying and never even considered that a single step could pose any danger. Since then we've had a few close calls with guests, including one elderly relative who just barely managed to grab on to a chair and catch himself before falling face first after not seeing the step. That was scary.

No one who has ever lived in our house (we've taken in extended guests for a few weeks, months or even a year) has ever tripped or fallen. We do have a couple leather recliners right along the step on either side of the walkway that should make it obvious that they're lower so I wonder if maybe it's an issue for older people with poor eyesight?

If we had a small child here, we'd have to run connecting gates all the way across from one wall to the other.

For older folks with low vision and impaired mobility, the problem is a lot of them are shuffling along, looking at their feet/cane/walker and don't see those sunk-in rooms coming.

Our living room is two steps down and no one has fallen. The steps are obvious, and no more difficult to manage than any other steps in the house. I can't imagine a sunken living room being a deterrent if you otherwise love the house.

I have enjoyed reading all the comments. We are in our 40's, with older children, so falling never entered my mind. It is good to know for resale though that the sunken living room is considered by many to be a negative. I never liked them but then things come back again. Apparently not the sunken living room.

Hate them! Dangerous and serve no purpose.

Any change of level should be there for a real reason, not to make a design statement.

We have a step-down living room in the house that we just moved into a month ago. We were not wanting a step-down but we liked the rest of the house enough that we were willing to deal with it. Most of our main floor is wood, the living room is currently carpeted. We are trying to decide if we want to replace the carpet with wood or just replace with newer carpet, so that the step-down continues to be noticeable. Another possibility is wood with a border that is different, but I am not sure that is really what I want to do either. It does definitely add another level of complexity to decorating

My daughter's mid century house has a step down into the living room that has a vaulted ceiling. The front door opens into the very wide and long foyer which then steps down about 6 inches into the living room which has large windows across the room from the front door. She has tile in the foyer and wood in the living room and we have never had any problems with the step down. It fits her house well.

My house is even more complicated: a long Cape Cod that had two additions. One is a step-down from a former kitchen to my current kitchen and is on a slab. Raising the level would make the ceiling about 7 feet high. On the other side is a large room currently used as a music studio. It has a little step up and I'm unclear why that addition wasn't at the same level as the kitchen. Then, there was a great big screened porch that I turned into a large family room. We had to do a step-down or the ceiling would be too low on the far side. So, sunken rooms can be just the best possible solution to problems inherent in remodeling and not primarily design features. At best, they add a lot of character and interest, but; although we haven't had any falls in 40 years, I am vigilant with guests when they first encounter these rooms. In my case, the levels add some charm to the house, I think. Kind of, "the house that Jack built."

Hello All. We bought a home in Ca. built in the mid 70's that has a sunken living room. We did not really think too much about it when we bought it. Yes, I think it is a 70's dated look but the views, school district and location were the selling points. I LOVE my house. It has been 12 years since we bought it and I have entertained a lot! No one has ever fallen. My Mom and Dad moved in with me in their 90's and can navigate the step down. That said my foyer is sautillo tile in a reddish brown color and there are 3 steps down to the cream carpeted living room directly opposite the large foyer. I too have large floor to ceiling windows opposite the entrance probably for dramatic effect, a huge floor to vaulted ceiling fireplace with large hearth on the left and a wrought iron railing to the right dividing the foyer level dining room from the living room. Rather odd in today's design world. The wrought iron railing extends down the stairs on the dinning room side. So with the railing, several steps and a cream carpet in the living room there may be enough visual cues for the transition. This room did have a sunken bar within it when we bought it. That was very odd as the bartender/bar was at waist height when standing in the room. LOL we floored it over to make the room all one level!