6 lounge-ready homes with conversation pits

Los Angeles, California

Modernist architect Harry Gesner designed this 1960 Hollywood Hills five-bedroom with a terrazzo-flanked pit facing a steel-clad fireplace. Once the home of Liza Minnelli and Christina Aguilera, it also features glass walls and skylights, and the lower level has a theater, fitness room, and wine cellar.

The property has a pool, a lagoon-style spa with fireplace, and panoramic views of the ocean and skyline. $7,495,000. Daniel Milstein, AKG | Christie's International Real Estate, (424) 285-3580.

Lakewood, California

Available for the first time since being built in 1967, this mansard-style seven-bedroom has a retro, shag-carpeted pit with a curving wall of windows. A two-sided brick fireplace anchors a living room with beamed ceilings and wood floors.

The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

The 0.72-acre lot in Lakewood Country Club Estates has golf-course views as well as a pool, spa, patio, and firepit. $2,995,000. Kym Elder, Coldwell Banker Realty Long Beach, (562) 254-1489.

Madison, Wisconsin

Designed by architect John Bruni, this 1974 mid-century-modern-style home features a tiled pit facing a stone fireplace in the double-height living room. The four-bedroom includes an updated kitchen with an eat-in island, plus a sunroom, sauna, and second sunken den on a lower level.

Outside are decks, paths, yards, and a hot tub, and the University of Wisconsin is about 20 minutes away. $1,395,000. Trey Sprinkman, Sprinkman Real Estate, (608) 354-4000.

Hartwell, Georgia

This 2022 organic modern A-frame four-bedroom on Lake Hartwell has a large, cushioned conversation pit. The vaulted main space also includes a suspended fireplace and a chef's kitchen, with spiral stairs connecting to a bunk room and primary suite with an in-room copper tub.

The property, which is about two hours from Atlanta, also comes with a new dock and slip. $1,725,000. Jen Vasquez, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties, (404) 668-7735.

New Rochelle, New York

On Long Island Sound, this 1982 modernist mansion designed by Myron Goldfinger includes a half-circle pit facing a fireplace with views of the indoor pool. The five-bedroom has a wall of glass sliders, rounded stairways, emerald pearl granite flooring, and a sleek kitchen with skylights.

Slightly more than a half-acre, the property has an expansive stone patio overlooking the water. $4,195,000. Mimi Magarelli, Julia B. Fee | Sotheby's International Realty, (914) 715-3511.

Las Vegas, Nevada

This 1973 stucco-clad four-bedroom in Encore Paradise Valley has a fire-side conversation pit with tan carpeting and built-in benches. Beside it are a bar area, an all-white U-shaped kitchen, and glass doors to the enclosed backyard, where a covered patio overlooks a pool, palm trees, and a shed.

The Las Vegas Strip is about 15 minutes away, and the airport is even closer. $489,900. Heide Hanley, Realty ONE Group, (702) 561-4879.