Famed American architect Frank Lloyd Wright has been a reference for some of the world’s most fascinating buildings for decades, with his portfolio boasting a collection of dramatic, highly complicated designs that range from private residences like ‘Fallingwater’ in Pennsylvania to The Guggenheim in New York City. There aren’t many people in the world that can claim a piece of this man’s storied history, but you could certainly be joining this prestigious circle if you’ve got a spare US$1.69 million (~AU$2.28 million) – the asking price as Frank Lloyd Wright’s The Harper House heads to market for the first time in 25 years.
The newly listed Harper House is a 3,154 square-foot lakeside home located in St. Joseph, Michigan, which is just over a 1.5-hour drive interstate from Chicago. Lloyd Wright built the 4 bedroom, 2 bathroom private home back in 1953 for Dr. Ina M Harper, just years before the pioneering local pediatrician passed away. Its most distinctive exterior feature is a distinctive L-shape which has been used with floor-to-ceiling glass to maximise unobstructed views of Lake Michigan along with some of Lloyd Wright’s signatures like panelled and bare brick walls, pitched ceilings, rich mahogany, and built-in furniture.
The property is being offered fully furnished along with numerous artworks hung throughout the house, elevating the interiors with a collection that includes a full-size reproduction of a Sprite sculpture, designed by Lloyd Wright for Midway Gardens in 1914. Along with the art collection, the turnkey sale will include a Baldwin grand piano.
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Gina Flamm and Arthur Wolak, Harper House’s current owners, have overseen a complete restoration of the property in collaboration with the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy in Chicago. The house now features a tankless water heater, central air conditioning, and energy-efficiency glazing, throwing a few modern layers on top of the historic Usonian-style residence,
Lloyd Wright originally built Harper House at a smaller footprint of only 1,700 square feet but, following his death, it was reworked by his apprentice Charles Montooth to add a further 2 bedrooms and a bathroom in the flat-roofed extension. A few other upgrades carried out over the past two decades have transformed Lloyd Wright’s original construction without messing with the fundamental features, encompassing a major kitchen revamp, new skylights, and the installation of a high-end security system.
Anyone who purchases the home can expect a healthy stable of high-end design features, including banquette seating, recessed lighting, tidewater cypress woodwork, and a Chicago brick statement fireplace that has been shaped to echo the angles of the room. Rich red timber defines the main living room of the house, sitting under a high ceiling that follows the natural lines of the nearby tree canopy.
See below for more photos of Frank Lloyd Wright’s Harper House by VHT Studios.
