Well, here we are at the end of a month's attempt to resuscitate Fun Monday. Not sure that we were successful, but here's my take on the last topic from Mariposa , our host for this month. She asks for a show and tell of the favorite part of our home. I've written about this several times. It's the den "hidey hole" where I work at my computer, watch movies and read. So, I'll range a bit further and tell you about my favorite style of architecture. If I could have a dream home it would be designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and look like this:
This is the Rev. Jesse R. Zeigler House, a private residence in Frankfort, Kentucky. This house is the only Frank Lloyd Wright design in Kentucky. Wright designed the home for Rev. Ziegler, a Presbyterian minister whom he met on board a ship bound for Europe in the early 1900s. The house sits in a neighborhood just down the street from the Kentucky state capitol buildings.
A couple of weeks ago a few friends met at the Ziegler house for a private tour by someone who house sits for the current 
owners quite regularly. L is also a student of the architect Wright so she was able to give us the inside scoop on this house as well as Wright's rather flamboyant lifestyle and eccentricities. For example, he only earned $500 for this house design. It was known as a prairie style for its open floor plan. On the first floor the living room flowed into the dining room and then on into the kitchen. Above the fireplace there was a lighted stained glass case at ceiling level, visible in both the living and dining rooms. In the "public" rooms the windows were uncovered and almost floor to ceiling leaded glass with decorative designs. Wright called these windows "light screens".
Since the Zeigler house is a private residence I can't show you any of insides. Too bad because the house is a wonderful example of simplicity, craftsmanship, and functionality of a Frank Lloyd Wright plan. It looked very much like this interior, which is also a Wright house:
I would want a house filled with Wright's Arts and Crafts furniture like this writing desk and table:
Many years ago I was on a roadtrip between Boston, MA and Buffalo, NY and, by accident, discovered the area of the Adirondack Mountains where Gustav Stickley, a German immigrant, started the Arts and Crafts movement, including homes and furniture. I fell in love with this simple well-made furniture, touring the Stickley furniture company and sales area. I even remember staying in the Craftsman's Inn where the rooms were furnished with Arts and Crafts furniture .
It's a bit late in my homeowning ventures to have this kind of house, but if it were 30 years earlier, I'd be living in such a place.
I night know what your reading chair would look like in this dream home. SInce most of FLW's furniture is uncomfortably straight, I think you would need a Stickley recliner. I know that sounds awful but it isn't. It has the typical wooden verticle pieces on the sides, and then a sort of primitive mechanism to let you recline the back to a number of different angles. Plus there's a leg rest that pops out, too. The chair I knew was upholstered in red leather but a brown leather or a WIlliam Morris patterned upholstery material in 'subdued" shades would be nice, too.
ReplyDeleteI think Sayre is hosting next month? Maybe that will be better. my blog is acting like garbage, not sure what the issue is. WE never had those sorts of problems even on our old dell that overheated. may just have my husband host it back here and be damned if it fails. hope you have a good week. see you next monday.
ReplyDeleteI love that house!!! It's the kind of thing I'd love to live in in my later years - the ones without children in attendance. For now, I have to make do with my rather cluttered regular house.
ReplyDeleteI'm a big fan of simple furniture.
P.S. I hope to get my post up later on tonight. My computer is still buried!
ReplyDeleteI toured one of FLW homes way back in the 70's "Falling Waters" such a neat place, it was built over a stream and water fall. He really was a great Architect. I love that Stickley furniture also.
ReplyDeleteMy post is finally up. By the way, we have a FLW home here in Tallahassee too. It looks like a boat, with porthole windows. My uncle used to live in the same neighborhood. It was apparently designed for very short people as I've heard that most men tend to bang their heads on things in there. I've never toured it, but I'd love to see inside sometime. People actually live there though, so that probably won't happen.
ReplyDeleteI've not heard of FLW but I love that house. It looks so modern for its year. And the furniture reminds me of the Mackintosh style, but much simpler, which I prefer. Lovely indeed.
ReplyDeletekittyhawk--would love a Stickley recliner. Those vertical pieces would be so much cooler than my puffy brown leather recliner. But it was the Stickley desk that I really wanted.
ReplyDeletejill--I too worry about my computer crashing. It's five years old and a new one is not in the budget. . .
Maybe our "learn something new" for next week's Fun Monday should be fixing computer problems? :-)
sayre--you're right. A FLW design doesn't fit with a bunch of "stuff keepers". When I lived in FL I used to visit a college campus for its FLW building--Lakeland perhaps?
Janis--how fortunate you were to tour "Falling Waters". That would be tops of my list as well.
lane--Wright was quite a character and ladies man. I'm reading "Loving Frank" and "The Women" in the near future to understand him better. His designs were so clean, beautiful and functional for the time.
Interesting. Son 3 studied FLW's work in Scotland and opened my eyes to his style which I began to appreciate.
ReplyDeleteI love Frank Lloyd Wright's architecture and design, it's to simple yet, well, perfect. I love the Arts & Crafts style. I especially love Falling Water in Pennysylvania.
ReplyDelete