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Originally Posted by Porsche-O-Phile
Beautiful and I’d personally love it but those sorts of houses are not without their problems. I had a good friend of mine in graduate school who lived in FLW’s Tomek House in Riverside Illinois (considered to be a “testing ground” for the Robbie House; so it experiments with a lot of the same design approaches). It was beautiful but the insulation was terrible by today’s standards, the scale was “FLW-characteristically” small (low headroom, very small entries and passages, etc.) For those that aren’t aware, Wright was known to design using HIMSELF as the standard for how much space was needed for things, not “average” human dimensions or his clients - and he was on the short / thin side. It was NOT low-maintenance by any means and required a dedicated owner that had the time (and money) to keep up with it. Also consider that many are on the National Register of Historic Places which SERIOUSLY limits what can be done in / to it and makes ANY upkeep or change a huge PITA (and expensive) to deal with.
I would LOVE to own a Wright home myself but they’re definitely not for the casual or uncommitted. The details are amazing in every one I’ve ever been in (you find something new every time you’re in one) and the level of thoughtfulness / craftsmanship is always very high. I hope it goes to a worthy owner that can appreciate it for what it is rather than someone with a fat wallet looking for a trophy. The latter type is setting themselves up for disappointment and headaches - the former for endless pleasure.
I can’t see myself ever being able to live in Indiana though - nothing against people there. I’m spoiled on warmth and perfect weather now, not to mention the ocean. No plans to ever leave.  |
I can't agree with you more. All of them including the Greene and Greene I had the pleasure of tearing my hair out while working on it (not because of the work, but dealing with the historical jobless nut cases and the owner who's unwilling to pay based on the demands of the historical people). I also did all of the interior of Chemosphere. Again the architect and the owners were not too fun. I like Lauter's design.
Forgot to add, let someone else deal with the head aches, so we can walk by and enjoy it, just like many of the Victorians we have here in LA. I grew up about about a mile near Carrol Ave where all the Victorian are. I hone my finish carpentry skill working for a guy who restored them when I was in college. He would sit on one for a couple years going through it. I get called in to fab up what he can't buy and install it. I had a shaper so I had access to custom knifes to create matching molding when needed. I was a slave to that guy but working on just one house would put me through more then a couple years of college with plenty of play money up in Mammoth and a new sports car.