A rare chance to purchase a Frank LLoyd Wright home

Have you ever thought that it would be "oh so cool" to own a Frank Lloyd Wright house? Now is your chance; there is one available! And it is a refined and wonderful expression of the Wright style that is a perfect marriage between his art and the surrounding landscape.

The beautiful Fawcett house was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Randall & Harriet Fawcett, in Los Banos, California, and it is now on the market. Commissioned in 1954 by the Fawcett's, this California home was one of Wright's final projects. The architectural masterpiece was completed in 1961, two years after Wright's death at the age of ninety one, and has remained in the Fawcett family since it was first built. Randall Fawcett passed away in 2006 and the home is currently in the care of Mr. Fawcett's two daughters.

The Fawcett home is perfectly situated on the site to shield against the north west winds and the hot summer sun, all the while taking advantage of the spectacular views of the central California Coastal Mountain Range. The home is sited in the middle of hundreds of acres of agricultural land in the central valley of California. It was designed around a central core with two wings radiating out at 120 degree angles.

Some of the notable features of the home include the colored concrete floors, scribed with grid lines, that intersect at 60 degree angles, an extraordinary fireplace that is 12' wide by 6' tall to accommodate the owners 5' long x 3' diameter firewood (burned for days), cinder block walls with raked horizontal joints and flush grouted vertical joints (emphasizing the horizontal line), mahogany interior walls, cabinets, shelves, doors, windows and posts, open floor plan, wonderful central kitchen...the details go on and on. I am SURE it is a MUST SEE.


The vitals
List price: $2.7 million
Details: 6 bedrooms, 4.5 baths, about 3,700 square feet on roughly 80 acres.
Listing agent: Crosby Doe Associates, (310) 275-2222; http://www.fawcetthouse.com/
Address: 21200 S. Center Ave., Los Banos

1961 - photo by Joe Monroe

View of home today

Wonderful pool

Love this outdoor firepit!!

Front Entry - note the scribed floor pattern and pivoting door

Living Room with view to shielded Courtyard

Living Room with view of massive fireplace

Centrally located kitchen

Bedroom with mahogany paneling and built-ins

Great historical information on the Fawcett home by Henry Whiting II in his piece "The Fawcett House: A Memoir"

Journal Posting - Cabinet Estimates

Today we met with two mill work suppliers to discuss the kitchen cabinets and we hope to receive their estimates in a few days. This was my first meeting with these suppliers and I had a packet of floor plans and elevations ready for them to use as they prepare their estimates. We are honing in on our wood selection for the cabinets. On our list is ash, elm, and white oak. We are looking for a nice compliment to both the hickory on the ceiling and the reclaimed oak flooring in the adjacent area.

Pictured right are Lawry and his contractor, Rich Klesta. We had some very nice morning sun today.

Our space is very tight in the open area that makes up the kitchen and living room. We spent some time reviewing the measurements and the best size and location for the high counter at the kitchen.

We reviewed possible television locations, the fireplace in the Master, Master Bath counter heights (Lawry likes his counter height at 39" which is a bit higher than the standard), and then finally the ceiling materials. Busy morning on the site.

Journal Posting - Timberframe Flooring

It is time to select the flooring material for Lawry’s timberframe home and the first choice on our list for the bulk of the floor area is reclaimed wood. It is perfect for the rustic feel that we are going for and its being reclaimed adds an extra bonus in knowing that we are being good stewards of our natural resources.

I have often wondered exactly how they recovered the wood from these old structures. I discovered an interesting video from Olde Wood Limited on the reclamation process. A little PR for Olde Wood in the video, but still good information.

Click here to see their video on the "Step by Step" process of reclaiming wood for floors.

When we first started to consider wood, I began a search for reclaimers here in Ohio and found Olde Wood in Malvern, Ohio. Perfect! They have a good supply of wormy chestnut and oak in various board widths for us to consider.

I am also a big fan of Carlise Wide Plank Floors. I have used their products many times and love their wide range of offerings; many different wood species are available in a wide range of board widths. They have beautiful wood floors with several antique (reclaimed) options. Carlise could also be a terrific source for our floor. Wide plank flooring – love it!

We have narrowed our selection down to wormy chestnut and oak. The wormy chestnut is a rarer find due to the blight on the chestnut tree and it’s resulting status of near extinction. Old chestnut is still available, however it is priced accordingly. The oak samples that we received are very nice (not that I typically like oak) and at this point it appears that we are leaning toward a mix of 4” and 6” boards in white and red oak. It’s a great price point and available here locally from Olde Wood.

Do you have a favorite?

Olde Wood Antique White and Red Oak

Olde Wood Antique Chestnut

Olde Wood Antique White Oak

Olde Wood Antique Cherry

Carlisle Milled Barn Siding

Carlisle Milled Barn Siding

Carlisle Antique Elm

Carlisle Antique Chestnut

Carlisle Antique Oak


Carlisle Antique Oak

CRAFTBOSTON Art Show

My friend just told me about a wonderful contemporary art show, CRAFTBOSTON, which took place this last weekend in Boston MA. The show is produced by the Society of Arts and Crafts in Boston and featured a wide range of artists (200); both well known and emerging, national, and international.

Nicholas Kekic - picture right

The artists in the show present their crafts in clay, glass, fiber, metal and wood media. Looks like it was an interesting show. I hope that I can plan a trip to Boston to visit my family later this year so that the trip will coincide with their fall event.

The Society of Arts and Crafts has a wonderful web site where you can view a few selections from each artist and obtain more information about the upcoming fall exhibit. I have put together a few fun samples from the show for you to see. Enjoy.

Matt Seasholtz





Stuart Loten

Amy Gillespie

Hannah Niswonger - love her work!

Dawn Dalto

Michael & Maureen Banner

Dan Maher

Eve Behar

Starr Hagenbring

The Martini

In preparation for our local ASID trade show I have been experimenting with martini recipes. All this martini buzz has me thinking about how martinis look crisp and fresh, and how much a beautiful glass adds to the experience.

cocktailshaker.com Glass Slipper

pictured left

I am not an experienced martini drinker - far from it. I thought perhaps I needed a little lesson on how to make the perfect martini.

And now for the glasses...I have found a few very cool candidates. I like them all!!

Orrefors Satin Martini Glass

After 5 Catalog New Age Stem Martini Glass

Riedel O Martini Glass

Orrefors On The Rocks Martini Glass

MartiniArt Honeycomb Martini Glass

Crate and Barrel Clio Martini Glass

Swank Martini Parisian Martini Glass

Sagaform Handblown Martini Glass