FLW - Westcott House

This past Saturday, John and I did a day trip to Springfield, Ohio and the nearby area. We took a wonderful tour of Frank Lloyd Wright's Westcott House. {click on the link to see their website} The house is the only FLW Prairie Style in Ohio and was built in 1908. The home touches the property line on both sides. At one point the house was converted into apartments which really changed the architecture. The restoration of the house took about 5 years. Photography is not allowed inside the house so I have only exterior shots. The bedroom closets are the largest I have ever seen in a FLW home. It is believed that Mrs. Westcott was able to convince FLW to have built-in drawers inside the closet. The Westcott House Foundation has done a fabulous job with restoration and care of the beautiful home.

The Westcott House is available to rent for events and does host several public events. On June 11 there is a celebration of Frank Lloyd Wright's (144th) birthday. Check the website for more information.

The garden and the garage - not carriage house as they had automobiles. There were a couple stalls for ponies (for the children?).

The walkway between the house and the garage

A view of the back of the house and garden.

Penfield House

This weekend John and I spent the weekend with my parents at the Louis Penfield House. It is an Unsonian house designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. The Penfield House is one of three FLW houses that are available to rent overnight.

The photo below is the gate near the road. The driveway is quite long and the house is near Chagrin River (and a highway - you can hear the traffic but not see it). We saw a buck walking across the driveway one night.

This is the "front" of the house which faces the back property which is quite wooded and gives the feeling of "getting away from it all" despite being located in Willoughby Hills (a suburb of Cleveland).

I am a fan of Wright's style and it was a thrill to actually live in one of his designs instead of just touring a FLW home for a bit and leaving.

Frank Lloyd Wright's signature on a tile near the front door.

A view of the house walking back from the river.

John adjusting the fire in the "walk-in" fireplace.

The house from the "back" which faces the road. Wright believed the front of the house should not face the street but have a view of the less busy and more relaxing backyard.

I only took a few inside photos this year. The first time we rented the house was in 2007 and I took a lot more pictures at that visit. If I can find them (and if they are digital), I will post them.