Must-Know Modern Homes: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Fallingwater – SeaCliff Team Home Sales and Information Center

(Originally published on Houzz)

There have been many times over the years that we’ve visited Fallingwater, a house located in the hills of western Pennsylvania. We’ve done the regular tour, a Sunday brunch tour and attended an evening reception there. In each occasion, Fallingwater never failed to enchant, enliven and teach.

The house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright in the early 1930s for Edgar Kaufmann, a Pittsburgh department store owner, and in 1991 it was named the “best all-time work of American architecture.” In 1963 the Kaufmann’s son, Edgar Jr., entrusted the house, land and original furnishings to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, which today continues as conservator of this remarkable building.

In celebration of the 75th anniversary of Fallingwater, the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, caretakers of Fallingwater, held “an enchanted evening” at the house on Friday, Sept. 17, 2011. (Learn more about the event here.) An evening reception at Fallingwater — with the house aglow like a lantern in the woods while the sounds of the waterfall, soft music and good conversation fill the air — would be like no other.

The iconic view of the house can be had with just a short walk through the woods to an outcropping. In what can rarely be said about buildings, this house makes Mother Nature all the better for being there. It truly is the high point in Frank Lloyd Wright’s quest for an “organic architecture.”

The house hovers over the waterfall. At once connected and rooted to its site while seemingly ready to fly free and into the sky. Mrs. Kaufmann, an avid outdoors person, would fish from the stair over the waterfall.

The main living space features windows all around and a stone floor. Terraces overlooking the water are accessible from the right and left, expanding the space of the room to the outdoors. And though large, this room lives quite comfortably. This is a testament to Wright’s ability to manipulate scale to get the desired effect.

In true Wright fashion, built-in seating provides a relaxing place to take a nap, read a book or share the company of friends and family.

The covering over the stair that leads from the main living room to the waterfall can be seen in this photo. When open, the sounds of the water rushing below fill the room. When closed, the water’s sound is muted to a soft background song.

The central, vertical core of the house is built of local stone and houses fireplaces at each level, although none as grand as at the main living room. This fireplace, like those great hearths in Colonial America, gives a sense of welcome and warmth to the space. The large stone at the hearth has existed in this location for thousands of years, connecting the house to its site like no other.

From almost every room there is a sense of the stone core that rises from the site. Against this backdrop are places to relax and recharge. This was, after all, a weekend “vacation” home for the Kaufmann family.

The attention to detail is unsurpassed, as in the matching woods of the wardrobe. A testament to the close collaboration between architect and client.

What could be a better place to sit and write a letter to a dear friend while overlooking the stream below.