Classic style for luxury living
Hugh Connolly designed this Frank Lloyd Wright-inspired luxury home that uses the best aspects of Wright's architecture to meet today's practical, technological, and aesthetic needs.
First, Connolly developed a site plan that would take maximum advantage of existing geography and site surroundings. Decks look out onto a small creek behind the house, with a vista of fields and forest.
Nestled into the slope of a large tract off a rural road, the spacious home does not directly copy any of Wright's houses. Instead, the house takes several strong cues from Wright while adapting to the needs of a contemporary family.
"This is not a recreation of any particular Wright house," says Connolly. "It reflects his most commonly-recognized features, but is updated for living in today's world."
The main emphasis outside is on the horizontal, and the stucco finish is typical of Wright's Prairie Style, as are the massive piers.
Connolly also found a way to echo Wright in the entry ways of the house. Wright had a habit of hiding the entry, compressing it and then having an "explosion of space" following it, according to Connolly.
"This is very typical of Wright, and we did it both here in the entry to the house and also into the den." The entry to the den is not its only dramatic aspect. The room is over 1,000 square feet, with a perimeter low ceiling surrounding a soaring 2-story space with high clerestory windows letting light pour in. The exhilarating space is anchored by a massive 2 story stone fireplace.
The layout of the house is cross-shaped, another Wright hallmark, and the house is large, with 4,500 square feet on the main floor and 1,200 square feet upstairs. There is also a full basement and a four-car garage.
The look of Wright's Prairie Style is all over the house, both inside and out. The horizontal band of oak trim running around and between rooms, forms a kind of screen between the living room, foyer, and dining room; the prow shapes at the front ad rear of the house; the ribbons of windows - more than 125 in all - and the way the roof appears to float over the top of the house are all Wright inspired. Also, one of Wright's famed stained glass window designs was adapted, enlarged, and carved into the stucco at the entry. Three of the circles in the design were turned into windows and can be seen on the interior playfully bouncing down the stairs towards the foyer.
"One of Wright's cornerstone ideas was to blur the distinction between the outside and the inside," says Connolly. "That's why there are so many windows in his houses, and using this feature was a logical choice in this house, given the sweeping views of the natural beauty surrounding the house."
Glass on the doors, done by stained glass craftsmen, recall Wright in their geometric patterns, triangular, and circular shapes.
From the den, a spiral staircase goes up to the master suite, which makes up the entire second floor. Stained glass windows behind the bed open to reveal a space overlooking the first level.
Downstairs, four bedrooms are down the hall from the kitchen. There are three fireplaces, and the unusually long dining room table was made specially to fit the space, with Wright-inspired designs in the base and on the top.
Doors and trim on the house are red oak, and there is tasteful use of native woods and marble throughout.
In describing his design of the home, Connolly said, "I like Wright because I see him as a bridge between Victorian and modern architecture. He has the clean lines of modern style, but the detail and scale that are typical of older architecture. In many ways, he represents the best of both worlds."
