Did you know there's a Frank Lloyd Wright house in West Lafayette? (I know, right?! What's it doing
here?) I've been wanting to tour this house for years, but the tour hours are random and I could never figure out a good time or reason to go.
Until today.
I finally went!
And I took all of my kiddos.
And they BEHAVED.
Miracles still happen, people.
It was a great tour. Our guide was friendly and very knowledgeable. And she kept praising my kids and happily exclaiming how well-behaved they were. Woo-hoo!
The house was very interesting. I didn't care for the colors, but the layout and design were fantastic. The living room was amazing.
Whenever I visit homes or buildings that were purposely designed by talented architects I always start to dream of having someone design a new home for me. Because as much as I love our house - and I do - there's something wonderful about really, really good architecture.
So poor Cole was not exactly happy about having to go on this tour. (I wouldn't have taken him, but Spencer, Josh, and Tess all wanted to go.) And I was a bit nervous about how he would act, but he held it together and did really great! I think it helped that I let him take as many pictures as he wanted, hence the plethora on this post. (The majority of these pictures are from Cole. Good job, buddy!)
I loved the lamps like this that they had throughout the house.
Tess did great, too. I think she got pretty bored, but she didn't act out or anything - probably because Grandma was there to rub her back!
It was neat to learn about the common themes that run through the house, and the history behind it's design.
Wright designed it for a Purdue professor back in the 1950s, although it took several more decades to really complete the house. (The owners would add more of Wright's design elements as they saved the money to do so.) It's still not even completely done, which is why we didn't see the master bedroom or bathroom and the nursery.)
Cole looking at the seeds that helped inspire the design of the house. A samara is a winged seed, and Wright used the shape they take as they float around in the sky as the house's main design element. The kids had a great time looking for this motif throughout the rooms.
The grounds were especially beautiful.
The table was my favorite piece in the house - Philippine mahogany that glowed like gold. Just so pretty! Not really a fan of the chairs, but I'd take that table any day.
The old stove was really neat looking, and even still worked.
As did the dishwasher!
The old freezer didn't work, but it looked so cool and retro.
We got to tour the guest room, where we learned that this lamp was worth upwards of $20,000!!! Ack! Susie and I quickly tried to usher the children away from that!
The hallways are very narrow, but purposely so.
I LOVED this tub/shower combo. It was the size of a standing shower, but with a tub about 18" deep. Oh my gosh, this would have been perfect for when I had little kids! Why don't they design things like this anymore?
The big fireplace was pretty impressive as well.
The kids got a kick out of this hidden TV - it was raised and lowered into the cabinets. Wright realized that TVs would be a fact of life, but didn't want them out in the open when not in use. Pretty visionary.
Lots of statues outside that the kids liked.
All in all, a pretty great way to end our fall break. The kids let loose once we got outside - they apparently had used up all their goodness! But that was fine by me. I think they may have even enjoyed it a little, although I don't know that they'd admit to it. Also fine by me!
