American homes: architectural classics – Frank Lloyd Wright’s house-museum

This house was designed and built by Wright in 1889 for himself and his bride, Catherine Tobin. The first floor is traditionally the living room, dining room and kitchen. A novelty for that time were built-in sofas, which Wright himself had invented.

Huge windows in the foyer let in sunlight and widen the first floor even more. The granite molding connecting the walls and ceiling was not ordered until the early 20th century.

Katherine always looked for fresh, natural decorations. The couple put their Christmas presents for the children on a bench beside the fireplace.

That same year, a recreation room was opened on the second floor, where kids made music and even put on their own shows.

The family traditionally decorated their tall Christmas tree with lit candles. Children weren’t allowed into the room with the Christmas tree while Wright was decorating it. Just in case there was a fire, a bucket of water was always placed next to the tree.

Guests often gathered around the tree to celebrate, sing and dance. Garlands, by the way, were made of popcorn and cranberries.

Here you can see how Wright got rid of the attic and increased the height of the rooms. The wall that divides the rooms does not reach all the way to the ceiling.

The two-story study was unique. It was here that many ingenious projects were born, as well as a new architectural “Prairie Style”. Even Wright decorated his study without forgetting the architecture: horizontal lines of garland connected the walls and vertical lines visually raised the ceiling.

The architect purposely set up his office in the house to be close to his family.

In the museum, you can see the toys and things that were given to children for Christmas.

All because Wright wanted clients to walk into his workspace, not his house. He worked from home, but he didn’t mix the two.