frank lloyd wright

The Best of Architecture Meets Interior Design in 'America's Finest Rooms'

Filed under: Decor, Books, Architecture & Design

Refinement is not about expense, notes Thomas Jayne in his new book "The Finest Rooms in America," a definitive, luxuriously illustrated record of the country's best interior design from the 18th century to the present day. Jayne, a top-drawer interior designer and scholar of American decor, includes a complete cross section of rooms covering a broad range of American periods and styles, beginning with the Tea Room at Thomas Jefferson's Monticello.

Tags: American design, American interiors, architecture, best design books, best interior design, best+interior+design+books, bestinteriordesignbooks, books, coffee table books, decor, deign books, Frank Lloyd Wright, George Washington, interior designer, Los Angeles, Monticello, Mount Vernon, Oscar de la Renta, The Finest Rooms in America, Thomas Jayne, Thomas Jefferson, Vizcaya

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The Classicist: Los Angeles' Finest Classic Estates

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Books, The Classicist, Architecture & Design

With asking prices running to the tens of millions on the rare occasions when such treasures hit the market, owning one of the classic estates of Los Angeles remains but a dream for many. Meanwhile Douglas Woods offers the next best thing in his new stunning new book Classic Homes of Los Angeles from Rizzoli, an exclusive look into some of the finest period revival residences and gardens to be found in and around the area's legendary neighborhoods. The volume's 240 full-color photographs by Melba Levick depict a panorama of richly detailed architectural styles popular in Southern California during its "Golden Age of Expansion" from 1899 to 1938, from Craftsman, Tudor, Georgian and Victorian to Spanish Colonial and Tuscan Revival. Famous landmarks are included as well as many never-before-seen gems.

The cover of the book (above) shows the Prindle House in Pasadena built by architect George Washington Smith in 1926, a pristine example of Spanish Colonial Revival style. Also included are the 1899 Doheny Mansion with its incredible glass-domed Pompeian Room, now part of Mount Saint Mary's College; the stately Huntington Mansion with its palatial great hall, now the Huntington Library museum; the estate of the great Hollywood producer and director Cecil B. DeMille which was recently listed for sale at $18 million; the elegant 1932 Fudger House in Beverly Hills where Danny Kaye lived and entertained for many years; and Frank Lloyd Wright's famed Millard House, aka La Miniatura, from 1923 in Pasadena which was our Estate of the Day in February 2009.

In his introduction to the book, author and architecture expert D.J. Waldie poses the question, "What makes a classic home of Los Angeles?" The answer, he writes, is one that "sympathetically embraces the fundamentals of life here: light, air, landscape and romance." To achieve these qualities, "architects and their clients in the first half of the twentieth century turned to various pasts that were not their own," he notes, "but without turning away from the future they thought Los Angeles represented." For the most part, Waldie writes, "they declined to engage in the culture wars of Modernism (although many great Modernist homes are part of the city's architectural heritage). Some Angeleños thought houses had other, more consoling work to do. A house that can dream for and with its owners, that can dream of both escape and shelter, makes it a classic of Los Angeles." Check out the gallery for a preview.

Gallery: Classic Homes of Los Angeles

Petitfils-Boos House, Hancock Park, 1921

Tags: architecture, Beverly Hills, books, California, Cecil B. DeMille, celebrity real estate, coffee table books, Doheny Mansion, estates, Frank Lloyd Wright, gardens, historic houses, Huntington Library, Los Angeles, movies, Pasadena, real estate, Rizzoli, Southern California, The Classicist

W.E. Martin House, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

A prized Frank Lloyd Wright home is on the market in Oak Park, Illinois. The W.E. Martin house is deemed in the listing as one of Wright's most livable homes. The W. E. Martin House was designed in 1903 and completed in 1904. The home has been preserved and resorted to its original layout and has three stories of Prairie-Style details. The home features original woodwork, art glass windows and built-ins. The home has had some updates including a kitchen renovation but the spirit of FLW remains. The home has a prow-shaped porch that looks out over a koi pond and a perennial garden. It is listed at $1.429 million.

Gallery: W. E. Martin House

Tags: estate of the day, frank lloyd wright, frank lloyd wright homes, frank lloyd wright real estate, illinois real estate, oak park

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Modernist Masterworks of Los Angeles, 1900 - 1970

by Jared Paul Stern (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Books

If you coveted the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis House in Los Angeles we wrote about last year, but didn't quite have the $15 million asking price, you should pick up a copy of Architecture of the Sun. The weighty tome, being published later this month by Rizzoli for $95, focuses on Los Angeles' many fine modernist masterworks built from 1900–1970. A modern city shaped by the complexities of its geography – ocean, desert, and mountains – "as connected with the industries which formed its cultural references and livelihood", Los Angeles has produced some of the greatest architectural accomplishments of the twentieth century. In addition to Lloyd Wright the architects featured include Richard Neutra, John Lautner and Rudolph Schindler, whose brilliant designs came to define an era. The eminent author, Thomas S. Hines, is Professor Emeritus of History and Architecture at UCLA, where he teaches cultural, urban, and architectural history.

Tags: architecture, books, California, coffee table books, design, Ennis House, Frank Lloyd Wright, John Lautner, Los Angeles, modernism, modernist, modernist architecture, photography, Richard Neutra, Rizzoli, UCLA

The Battle To Save A Frank Lloyd Wright Classic

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

The B. Harley Bradley House in Kankakee, Illinois may not look like much to the uninitiated but preservationists interested in preserving the legacy of architect Frank Lloyd Wright want to make sure it has a new life as a house museum and arts education center. Some say that the home marks the beginning of the architect's Prairie Style.

Pieces of the home have already been removed and auctioned off. Years ago Barbra Streisand paid $176,000 for its Frank Lloyd Wright-designed desk. This week a pair of leaded-glass windows, removed from the dining room sideboard years ago, sold for $15,000 at Christie's New York. Blair Kamin, who writes the Chicago Tribune's Cityscapes blog reports that a University of Illinois architecture professor and his wife hope to turn the house over to activists to create a Frank Lloyd Wright center. They want $1.9 million, a price which would make this one of the town's top properties.

The nonprofit Wright in Kankakee foundation hopes to raise $170,000 by June for a down payment. So far they've got around $70,000. While the exterior of the seven-bedroom structure may seem a bit humble (it's no Fallingwater), the interior is another matter. The home features many of Wright's beautiful art glass windows and the elegantly-proportioned rooms are full of Wright's carefully crafted wood built-in pieces.

Tags: architecture preservation, bradley house, frank lloyd wright, house museums, house preservation, illinois, kankakee, prairie style, preservationist

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Sunday Real Estate Round-Up, 02/07/10

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates, Celebrity Shopping

From Cityfile's Buyers and Sellers:
--via Curbed, actress/TV producer Polly Draper and her husband Michael Wolff, a jazz pianist and composer who served as the bandleader on the Arsenio Hall Show, have listed their apartment at 43 Fifth Avenue on the market for $25 million.
--via the NY Observer, Texas-based restaurant kingpin Bradley Blum, CEO of Romano's Macaroni Grill, has bought a a pied-à-terre at 141 Fifth Avenue for $3.7 million.
--James P. Marden, the son of pharmacy mogul Bernard Marden, has picked up a townhouse in the West Village for $4.125 million. Bernard Marden father sold his home in Wainscott for $11.2 million last year. And his former wife just recently sold her own penthouse for $11.5 million.
-- Jennifer Scully-Lerner, a Goldman Sachs executive and top Obama fundraiser, and her husband, fellow financial exec Richard, have picked up a new apartment on Fifth Avenue for$3.575 million.
--New York Times reporter Steven Greenhouse and his wife, Miriam Reinharth, have paid $1.1 million for a condo at 134 West 93rd Street.
--via the NY Observer, opera star Catherine Malfitano has sold her duplex loft at 79 Laight Street for $2.6 million.
--via Curbed, Courtney Love has been spotted checking out a West Village townhouse at 56 Bank Street that is listed at $5.998 million.
--Carol McFadden has closed on the sale of her penthouse at The Metropolitan on East 90th Street for $6.925 million.
Rolling Stone founder Jann Wenner has given up his share in the Upper West Side townhouse that he shared with his ex-wife Jane. Property records show that Jane paid Jann $4 million for his share of the five-story townhouse at 37 West 70th Street.
--Guy Metcalfe, the co-head of Morgan Stanley's real estate investment banking group, and his wife, Lisa paid $6.125 million for a four-bedroom apartment at 90 Riverside Drive.
--via the New York Daily News, photographer Annie Leibovitz is trying to sell her 220-acre compound in Rhinebeck for $11 million. David Bowie and his wife, Iman recently toured the property.
--via the NY Observer, Vicki Rosen-Solomon, the widow of private equity executive Adam Solomon, has closed on the sale of her co-op at 956 Fifth Avenue for $12.5 million to David Herro, a Chicago-based investor.
--Marc Brown, the author and illustrator who created the Arthur series of books as well as the animated PBS show, and his wife Laura have dropped the price of their Tribeca townhouse to $9.995 million. It was once listed as high as $15.85 million.

Gallery: Marc Brown in Tribeca

--Rory Tahari, the wife of fashion mogul Elie Tahari, has sold two-bedroom loft at 72 Mercer Street for $3.2 million.
--David Bizer, a former Lehman Brothers exec, has relisted his 24th-floor apartment at 15 Central Park West for $7.495 million.

From the Wall Street Journal's Private Properties:
--Media mogul Jeffrey Katzenberg has paid $35 million for a house in Beverly Hills, California.
--The Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Ennis house in Los Angeles has had a price cut to $10.5 million. It was originally put on the market last June for $15 million.

Gallery: The Ennis House

From the Real Estalker:
--Actress/rapper Eve has listed her Los Angeles home for $2.295 million. The listing is here.

Gallery: Eve In Los Angeles

--Celebrity photographer Timothy White has dropped the price on his light-filled loft at 448 West 37th Street. It is now listed for $4.495 million.

Gallery: Timothy White In NYC

From Move Trends:
--Actor Eddie Cibrian has listed his home in Calabasas, California. He is asking $2.349 million but he and soon-to-be ex-wife Brandi Glanville paid $2.5 million in 2008. Check out the listing pictures below, the master bedroom includes a stripper pole.

Gallery: Eddie Cibrian in Calabasas

--John Goodman's former 6 bedroom Los Angeles, CA home is listed for $1,998,000.

From ShelterPop:
Jennifer Aniston is showing off her new home in the pages of Architectural Digest.

Tags: ennis house, EnnisHouse, eve, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, jeffrey katzenberg, JeffreyKatzenberg, john dockery, JohnDockery, paul greenwood, PaulGreenwood, pete sampras, PeteSampras, polly draper, PollyDraper

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Treetops, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Frank Lloyd Wright protege Wesley Peters designed this incredible home composed of overlapping concentric circles. The private 80-acre estate offers total privacy with nature trails, a stream and a pasture. It includes a high tech roof and a five-car Wright-style garage. It is located in Vermont, Wisconsin which is about a half hour away from Madison. The home has been through a remodel and restyle but maintains the vision of the original architect. It is listed at $2 million.

Gallery: Treetops

Tags: estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, treetops, vermont, wesley peters, WesleyPeters, wisconsin, wisconsin real estate, WisconsinRealEstate

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Acme Studio Compact Mirrors

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Need a stocking stuffer for a design lover in your life? Check out the new compact mirrors from Acme studios, the same folks that make pens and business card cases using designs from Karim Rashid, Frank Lloyd Wright and more. There are six designs each are made of chrome-plated stainless steel with a lacquered inlay cover. Inside there is a circular detail mirror as well as a square one. Each one sells for $39.

Source

Tags: acme studios, AcmeStudios, compact mirrors, CompactMirrors, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, karim rashid, KarimRashid

Harry Winston Premier Collection Guggenheim Chronograph Watch

by Ariel Adams (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Timepieces / Watches

This watch almost slipped under my nose, but thanks so a helpful reader I was alerted to the timepiece. It just goes to show that watch makers still think wealthy people read museum catalogs. What? Like the rich have nothing better to do that wander around monolithic art depots all day? Well, maybe some do.

Specially made for the Guggenheim art museum is this Harry Winston Premier Collection Guggenheim Chronograph timepiece, for women. It is all about the bling. Nothing special about the Swiss quartz chronograph movement. You won't even use it anyway. The dial design is meant to replicate the view when standing in the Guggenheim and looking up at the atrium glass window - that here looks remarkably like an umbrella. The look is done with alternating diamonds and mother-of-pearl. A total of 2.65 carats of diamonds awaits your wrist. The rest of the watch is in white gold, and I am guess that it is not incredibly large in diameter. For the Frank Lloyd Wright and Harry Winston enthusiast who wants to pony up for the timepiece, maybe it is just what you need to lighten that dark winter coming up. You can also be assured that the iconic style of the watch tells people it is Harry Winston. Price is $46,000, but you lucky museum members out there get almost five grand off! Look closely at the Guggenheim online catalog and you can get some matching Harry Winston accessories.

See it here.

Ariel Adams publishes the luxury watch review site aBlogtoRead.com.

Tags: diamonds, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, Guggenheim, harry winston, HarryWinston, museum, watch

Frank Lloyd Wright's Ennis House Up For Sale

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

One of Frank Lloyd Wright's most ambitious homes, the 1924 Ennis House in the Los Feliz area of Los Angeles has been put up for sale. The home on a hilltop has a striking composition of patterned and smooth concrete blocks that give it the apeparance of an ancient temple. The private foundation that has been restoring the home has put it up for sale for $15 million. The LA Times reports that Eric Lloyd Wright, the architect's grandson and a member of the nonprofit Ennis House Foundation's board,has said that the board decided that private ownership would be the best way to save the house. The house was donated to a nonprofit trust in 1980 and the foundation began its restoration in 2005. The home had sustained damage both from rain and the 1994 Northridge earthquake.

You may have seen this one in the movies including "House on Haunted Hill," "Grand Canyon" and "Blade Runner." The home is not exactly in move in condition. The LA Times article states that the new owner is also facing a projected repair bill of $5 million to $7 million. But whoever does take on the project will be getting an incredible one-of-kind home that is a California State Landmark.

The main house includes a billiards room with a bar and open fireplace, an incredible elevated dining room with a massive fireplace and a living room with art glass windows. The listing says that the glass-tile mosaic fireplace in the living room is one of only three ever created and the last remaining intact example in any Wright residence. The home is on around a half an acre and includes a pool which is set against a long loggia that connects the public areas with the private rooms include the master bedroom, a guest room and an upper terrace.

In addition to the repair costs, the new owner will also have to agree to a conservation easement, to be held by the Los Angeles Conservancy to allow at least some public access to the house but that's the price of living in such a historic home.

The home is the largest of Wright's four textile-block homes. Another, the Millard House in Pasadena, is listed at $7.733 million an was previously our estate of the day.

Gallery: The Ennis House

Source

Tags: ennis house, EnnisHouse, estate, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, los feliz, LosFeliz

Frank Lloyd Wright Rendered in Legos

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Children

Aspiring kid architects can learn from greats with the Lego architecture series. Bright and Spacious has a gallery of the Lego's Architecture Series by Adam Reed Tucker that includes the Empire State Building and the Seattle Space Needle and now has a couple of offerings by Frank Lloyd Wright. The NY Guggenheim Museum model is shown above. I'd love to see Lego interpret the works of Frank Gehry, now that would be a challenge. Each set sells for $45.

Source

Tags: architecture, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, legos

The Fawcett House, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

Frank Lloyd Wright houses always seem like a lot to live up to and this one, the Fawcett House in Los Banos, California is no exception although this ranch house designed by an aging Frank Lloyd Wright is a bit less dramatic than some of his other creations. The long and low home was designed for a family, Buck and Harriet Fawcett and has two twin wings with a row of bedrooms radiating outward on the north side and the kitchen and play room on the south.

The family room is dominated by a massive altar of a fireplace. The theme of triangles reappears in the home, the floor is decorated with them and they appear in wood screens, fixtures and skylights. The home sits on 76 acres including a walnut orchard and has an angular pool, separate studio, wine cellar, tractor bay, Japanese garden and koi pond.

As the San Francisco Chronicle mentioned, there's a responsibility to owning a Frank Lloyd Wright home, it must be maintained according to the original design. But who would want to mess with it anyway? This home is listed at $2.7 million, there are many more pictures at the property website that are well worth a look.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

[Thanks, Lana]

Gallery: The Fawcett House

Source

Tags: estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, los banos, LosBanos, luxury real estate, LuxuryRealEstate

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La Miniatura, Estate of the Day

by Deidre Woollard (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Estates

One of Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpieces is on the market. La Miniatura is the first residence to utilize Wright's textile block building system. As Curbed reported last year, the home was bought in 2000 for $1.3 million and underwent a massive renovation that may have cost as much as the purchase price. The listing calls it one of the most romantic, and creative living spaces anywhere and it certainly does offer the experience of living in a work of art. The unique textile blocks give the home an almost temple-like feel. It sits on nearly an acre of gardens in Pasadena, California. The residence and separate studio include four bedrooms, two kitchens, a living room and formal dining room. As you might expect, the Millard House is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It is listed at $7.733 million.

Experience more lush living in luxury homes and mansions or see the stars living large with celebrity homes galleries at AOL Real Estate.

Gallery: La Miniatura

Source

Tags: california, estate of the day, EstateOfTheDay, frank lloyd wright, FrankLloydWright, la miniatura, LaMiniatura, pasadena

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Frank Lloyd Wright Globes from Replogle Globes

by Annie Scott (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Decor

Replogle Globes has released a lovely collection of Frank Lloyd Wright Globes.

The design of each globe has been meticulously crafted to reflect the style of one of our all-time-favorite designers, Frank Lloyd Wright.

Replogle's five Frank Lloyd Wright Collection® Globes include the Tabouret, the San Marcos, the Hexagon, the Barrel (right), and the Wright. See the gallery to view all five.

The Barrel, as you can see, is modeled after Wright's famous "Barrel Chair," and the Hexagon's story is even more intriguing. From the press release:

The "Hexagon" also reveals an uncanny, historic connection between Replogle and Frank Lloyd Wright. Volker shares: "Just after Replogle became a licensee and they were working on the first five prototypes, I made a trip to the Price Tower in Bartlesville, Oklahoma. While touring the building, we entered the office that was occupied by Mr. Price. In a triangular corner across from his desk was a large globe resting on a trapezoid, copper stand designed by Mr. Wright. The story goes that Mr. Price wanted a large wall map placed in his office. Mr. Wright convinced him that he should have a beautiful globe and stand to match the other design elements in the room instead. Well, Mr. Wright prevailed. As we rotated the original globe, we noticed the manufacturer was Replogle Globes. It was like an endorsement."

These beautiful globes will be available at high-end specialty stores and online stores. For a list of dealers, click here.

Gallery: Frank Lloyd Wright Globes from Replogle Globes

Source

Tags: frank lloyd wright, globe, globes, replogle, replogle globes

Wear a Fragment (or Two) of the Guggenheim Museum

by Rigel Celeste (RSS feed) —

Filed under: Jewelry

I simply LOVE this collection of jewelry! Aptly named Restoration Rocks, each piece contains fragments of Frank Lloyd Wright's historic Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum that were set aside and saved during the 2007 restoration process. In the hands of jeweler Cara Tilker the little bits of concrete become wearable works of art that, due to the very nature of the material, are each individually unique and in limited edition. The collection is made of sterling silver and crystal clear acrylic, but a few of the pieces are also available in 14K gold by special order. Prices range from $125 - $4,350.

Via psfk

Gallery: The Restoration Rocks Collection