Hey, remember that time I went to Pittsburgh to see some Frank Lloyd Wright houses, and then proceeded to post almost every picture I took except the FLW pics? Yeah.. Me too!
I took the photos on my husbands camera because I read something that said only small cameras were allowed and I was worried they wouldn’t let me use mine. However, the cord to transfer the photos from the camera got lost for months. But now here we are!
Frank Lloyd Wright was an amazing architect in the early 1900s, designing over 1000 buildings with a modern style, and approximately 500 of those designs were built. He always tried to bring nature into his designs, with warm earthy colors and large windows. One of his most famous designs is the falling water house which is located just outside of Pittsburgh Pennsylvania and was the reason for our trip.
My favorite part was that there was a glass trap door in the living room that opened up to these stairs that led down to the river. I want that in my house! I imagine my cats would have a good time with that.
They don’t allow photos to be taken inside, because of art collections.. But plenty can be found online!
Frank Lloyd Wright built this house for the Kauffman family who lived here for the rest of their life and then their son let it be turned into a museum. They originally wanted a house near the river, but Frank, being he wild guy he was, thought why not build it right on the river!
The next house we visited was just a few minutes down the road and it was called Kentuck Knob.
Kentuck Knob was the name of the small mountain the house was built on; it was named by an explorer who was on his way to Kentucky but decided to stop here because it was just as pretty as the Kentucky mountains were in his opinion. At least that’s the story the tour guide told us!
The house is actually built right into the side of the mountain and curves around into a hexagonal shape
The original owners of Kentuck Knob were friends with the family who owned the Falling Water house. They liked Falling Water so much that after it was built, they decided to hire Frank Lloyd Wright to design a house for them as well.
Here are a few interior shots I found online.
The hexagon shaped kitchen was my favorite. It was at the very center of the house, with no windows, but there was a skylight at the top!
The view was beautiful! It would be nice to go back when the trees have leaves on them.
The house is currently owned by a Lord who lives in England and occasionally he and his family will come and stay for a while. It was interesting to see his stuff set out on the desk and family pictures on the wall. He also has an interesting collection of statues which he has scattered about the grounds..
Including a piece of the Berlin wall!!
I did not expect to see the Berlin wall on my trip to Pennsylvania.
It was a pretty fun trip and I loved seeing the houses. It’s hard to decide which one I would rather live in if I could choose. I almost would prefer Kentuck Knob because it’s set up to be more practical, But you just can beat leaving right on top of a waterfall!
Falling Water has been on my must visit list for the last four years, it's so beautiful. What sucks is that it's only an hours drive from the husbands home town just outside of the 'burgh but we've never had the time (or it's the holiday season) to get there. I will, eventually, I will get there!! And I totally didn't know there was a part of the Berlin war in PA, now that is interesting!
I visited Falling Water a few years ago, it was amazing! What stuck out to me most was the fact that he built the windows with cross-ventilation in mind, so that no a/c unit was ever needed… I especially liked the windows in the office that opened up to make a corner disappear! I also remember the tour guide saying something about how there were no closets or storage spaces, because FLW believed that if you didn't want it to be seen, it wasn't worth keeping around.
Wow, the places look absolutely marvelous, and such innovative design! It must have been lovely been able to explore inside both places.
oh this is so awesome.
i'm pretty sure that Kansas has a FLW house (which i'd totally love to see, um, hello why have i not done that before?) but i'm also pretty sure that it's not built on a river, into a mountain, with a view like that OR the Berlin wall. totally awesome. i just love the interior, too. all that midcentury stuff just rocks.
beautiful, wonderful, inspiring photos. this just made my day.
thanks for sharing.
-Abigail
What a fantastic building, and so ground-breaking!
Have a great day,
-Kati
Absolutely gorgeous! The design and the layout of the building is just stunning.
This house is perfection! You are so lucky that you can visit it, and admire it's special and original design :*
So worth the wait, such an amazing place & so many terrific photos !!! That looks like a wonderful trip and if you go back again you must take me with you, please.
Glad you finally found that camera cord!
XO ♥ mum
It's definitely worth a visit! Hope you get to see it soon!
Yes I loved that part too in the office! Actually we learned that the owners of kentuck knob had an attic built later for storage, after FLW told them he would be too busy to visit them. Haha!
It was a lot of fun!
A FLW house in Kansas sounds familiar, you should definitely try and check it out sometime! I'd definitely like to visit more
Thank you!
Thanks! It would be fun to go back!
My comments never stay! Testing!!