How They Pulled It Off: A Custom Conversation Pit in a Lakefront A-Frame

Welcome to How They Pulled It Off, where we take a close look at one particularly challenging aspect of a home design and get the nitty-gritty details about how it became a reality.

Conversations are critical to how we use space, and also how we create it. That’s why Studio B Interior Design’s Adam Maloney and Rachael Buffa made the main feature of their A-frame in Lake Hartwell, Georgia, a 12-by-15-foot conversation pit, inspired by Buffa’s love for the 1970s, Maloney says. Given all the setbacks the couple would encounter along the way, the pit was the easiest (and most rewarding) part of the build, especially since the journey involved last-minute changes and broken bones.

On the day of framing, the architectural plans changed, when the couple realized that instead of bringing the 36-foot-tall A-frame down to the slab, adding four-foot knee walls would help to maximize the space. And when Maloney went walking atop the foundation’s temporary roof, cleaning up after a day of work, the roof started to tip and Maloney jumped 10 feet to the ground, breaking his foot.

The injuries associated with construction aren’t often something Maloney and Buffa revisit often, but if they want to, they can rehash those stories from the house’s conversation pit—a key feature of the renovation.

How they pulled it off: A massive conversation pit

• Because of the pit’s considerable size and depth, Studio B assumed they would need a custom solution to stretch across the pit.

• "We wanted a comfortable seating area, but fitted, so it had a clean appearance," says Maloney, with "a tight back—not loose cushions—so it doesn’t look like a kid’s playroom."

• The solution? Eternity Modern had a stock size that would fit the space and one of their designers was willing to go back and forth with them on plans.

• Studio B selected their fabric and worked with Eternity Modern to create a cloud-like sofa bed from the Tufted Time series that looks like a comforting fog that had drifted off the lake and transformed into a sofa. 

Contrasted by the black walls and the heavenly run to the roof, the pit’s white pillows make up "the most amazing thing in the house," says Maloney. With five kids between them, Buffa and Maloney have packed the pit with up to 14 family members and guests for movie nights. Maloney’s boys, 14 and 18, are at the age when most teens want independence from their parents. But with the conversation pit, Maloney sometimes finds himself sprawled out beside his wife and his two older sons.

Now that Studio B is designing a loft in Atlanta, a conversation pit has been made a mandatory feature of the build. "We’re bringing them back," says Maloney.

Project Credits:

Designer/Builder: Studio B Designs and Mike Merritt

Photography: Lauren Chambers

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