12 Must-See Houses Designed by Architect Frank Lloyd Wright

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12 Must-See Houses Designed by Architect Frank Lloyd Wright

Considered one of the most radical architects in history, Frank Lloyd Wright used revolutionary building techniques and materials, and experimented with incorporating the natural landscape in his designs. Over his lifetime, he designed more than 1,000 projects in the U.S., many of which were residences that are still privately owned. Many operate as museums, such as Taliesin West (pictured above), but many more homes are open to the public. Here are 12 Wright-designed buildings you can visit — and six that can be booked for an overnight stay.

Top 3 Can’t Miss

  • With a waterfall that appears to flow from under the home, Fallingwater is an architectural marvel that tops many Wright enthusiasts’ lists.
  • Wright’s Oak Park, Illinois, home and studio show visitors how the architect lived with his family during his early years and where his career took off.
  • The 800-acre Taliesin campus was Wright’s home and architectural lab for 48 years. It now hosts various workshops and cultural events.

Fallingwater, Mill Run, Pennsylvania

Richard T. Nowitz / Getty Images


Designed for the Kauffman family in 1935, Fallingwater is one of Wright’s most lauded examples of organic architecture, where art and nature coexist harmoniously. Located within Bear Run Nature Reserve, the home is tucked into lush greenery, with a waterfall that appears to flow from the building’s foundation.

The property and surrounding grounds were donated to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963. Fallingwater is unique because it is the only public property that has been acquired with its artwork and Wright-designed furniture intact. Visitors can choose from a variety of tours to see the home and grounds.

Frank Lloyd Wright Home and Studio, Oak Park, Illinois

littleny / Getty Images


Wright designed this small two-story home in Oak Park, Illinois, when he was in his early 20s, shortly after marrying Catherine Lee Tobin. Over the 20 years he lived there, he revised the design many times, eventually adding a playroom for his growing family of six children. A studio wing was also added, with decorative sculptures setting off the building’s angular lines to impress visiting clients.

Guided interior tours of the home and studio are available. You can combine this with a self-guided audio tour of the historic neighborhood or enjoy them separately.

Taliesin, Spring Green, Wisconsin

© Andrew Pielage

Wright was born in Richland Center, Wisconsin, and spent many of his teenage summers vacationing in the Wisconsin River Valley, where his mother’s Welsh family had settled. Later, he would return to build Taliesin, which means “shining bow” in Welsh. For 48 years, the 800-acre campus was his home and architectural lab. Architecture aficionados are drawn to the site, as its buildings reflect Wright’s lengthy career. In 2019, the campus was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site. 

Today, Taliesin hosts a variety of art and cultural events, mindfulness workshops, and cooking classes. It operates tours from April through November, featuring different parts of Wright’s residence and personal drafting studio, as well as his Hillside school, theater, and 5,000-square-foot drafting studio.

To escape the harsh Wisconsin winters, Wright constructed Taliesin West. This lab and design studio served as his winter respite in the Sonoran Desert until his death. Self- and docent-guided tours are available.

Elam House, Austin, Minnesota

Peter D. Plunkett/Courtesy of The Elam House

From the mid-1930s onward, Wright built “Usonian” homes, designed to be accessible to Americans of more modest means, and the Elam House is the largest example of this style. Among other characteristics, Usonian houses are typically L-shaped with abundant natural light and set within the existing natural landscape or garden. Elam house is mostly windows — over 100 to be exact — and the whole structure rests on giant limestone piers. It’s an impressive home, with five bedrooms and six baths. The guest house suite is available for overnight rentals, and tours of the main house are available for guests.

Palmer House, Ann Arbor, Michigan

(L) Jorrit Klaus; (R) James Haefner / Courtesy of Sue Cox

Billed as one of Ann Arbor’s most significant residential homes, Palmer House is one of Wright’s later designs for William Palmer, a one-time professor of economics at the University of Michigan. The home sits on two acres of hilly, wooded land at the dead end of a quiet street and is a classic example of Wright’s ability to marry architecture with the natural landscape. The structure flows organically into a grassy hillside. Original chairs, tables, and other furnishings designed by Wright decorate the three bedrooms. A separate tea house has its own bathroom and a small kitchen. The house is available for overnight rentals and sleeps up to five guests.

Bernard Schwartz House (Still Bend), Two Rivers, Wisconsin

© Andrew Pielage

In 1938, Life magazine invited Wright to design a dream house for families that earned between $2,000 to $10,000 per year. Wisconsin businessman Bernard Schwartz read the article and commissioned Wright to build a version of what he’d designed for the magazine, which he called Still Bend. The house is in the small town of Two Rivers, perched along the river overlooking a large marsh. It can be rented overnight for up to eight people. Property tours are also available.

Martin House Complex, Buffalo, New York

© Biff Henrich / Courtesy of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation

In the late 19th century, Buffalo was a center of urban planning and home design. Constructed between 1903 and 1905 for business titan Darwin D. Martin, this complex of six buildings is one of Wright’s greatest works of Prairie architecture. The home fell into disrepair and was briefly abandoned. After a $50 million renovation of the main house, conservatory, pavilion, interior furnishings, and grounds, the Martin House Complex was completely refurbished, with the final phase completed in 2019. Each building holds a trove of Wright-designed furniture.

A visitor center designed by Toshiko Mori to incorporate Wright’s “organic principles” is fully walled in glass, providing views of the Martin House estate and grounds. Here, visitors learn about the architectural complex and the history of Wright and the Martins. Tours of the property are available, including one that focuses on the women who lived and worked there and how life changed for women in the early 20th century. For those who can’t visit, a 3D tour is available on the website.

Graycliff Estate, Derby, New York

Philip Scalia/Alamy

Lake Erie’s eastern shore is home to sprawling summer retreats belonging to Buffalo residents. One of the most famous is Frank Lloyd Wright’s Graycliff Estate, the summer home of the Martin family, owners of Wright’s Martin House Complex.

The property has undergone many incarnations throughout its history, at one point serving as the home of an order of Roman Catholic priests from Hungary. In 1997, when only a few elderly priests remained, it was put up for sale and in jeopardy of being purchased by a developer who wanted to tear it down and replace it with condominiums. In response to the efforts of interested townspeople, the Graycliff Conservatory was formed to acquire and preserve the property as a nonprofit.

Graycliff Estate is an example of Wright’s organic architecture principles, using rocks from Lake Erie and many windows that let the natural outside landscape flow in. Various tours are available, some combining visits to the Graycliff and Martin House properties and including a boxed lunch.

Louis Penfield House, Willoughby, Ohio

© Eric Hanson/Courtesy of The Louis Penfield House

Wright was famous for designing spaces that played with proportion. Confined spaces or bottleneck breezeways opened into grand double-height rooms with walls of windows. These were features that created an element of surprise and illumination.

He was also famous for designing homes with short doorframes, one of the first things he addressed at the Louis Penfield House, whose owner was 6 feet 8 inches tall. The house is another example of Wright’s later Usonian aesthetic and features original furnishings, floating staircases, and rooms that are nothing but windows with views of the forested property. Unique to the property were 16 long, thin windows reflecting the owner’s physique. The home is available for overnight rentals and corporate retreats.

Hollyhock House, Los Angeles, California

© Joshua White; Courtesy of Hollyhock House/Barnsdall Art Park

Later in Wright’s career, when his personal life nearly destroyed his architecture practice, the heiress, feminist, and champion of experimental theater Aline Barnsdall commissioned him to build a 17-room house with a Mayan motif on Olive Hill in Los Angeles. She never liked the notion of living in the house, and before its completion, she gifted it to the City of Los Angeles to be designated as a public library and park as a memorial to her father. In 2019, the property became L.A.’s first UNESCO World Heritage site.

Hollyhock House was named for Barnsdall’s favorite flower, which is represented in the home’s furniture, art glass, and textiles. Today, visitors can take a self-guided tour to learn about the architectural and personal details of Wright’s work and relationship with Barnsdall. A virtual tour is available online.

Seth Peterson Cottage, Lake Delton, Wisconsin

© Kit Hogan / Courtesy of Seth Peterson Cottage

Wright was nearly 90 when he was commissioned by Seth Peterson, a Wisconsin native who shared the same birth date as Wright. Peterson never lived to see the completion of the 880-square-foot cottage. Despite its jewel box size, the cottage is majestic, built high on a wooded hill above the lake. It was purchased by the State of Wisconsin in 1966 and underwent significant restoration beginning in 1989. To pay the outstanding restoration bills, the cottage was made available for overnight guests, and up to four guests can still stay there today.

The cottage is located in Mirror Lake State Park, which offers plenty of opportunities for outdoor recreation. In recent years, a dock was added, and a canoe is available for guests who want to explore the lake. Monthly tours are also available.

Duncan House, Acme, Pennsylvania

Elizabeth Duncan was a fan of Wright’s work, but the designs were more than she and her husband could afford. When the architect collaborated with the Marshall Erdman Corporation to produce prefab houses in the mid-50s, the Duncans were able to purchase their dream home. After the death of Donald Duncan in 2002, the Lisle, Illinois, house became run down. It was dismantled and moved to Polymath Park in Pennsylvania two years later.

You can visit the home and a second Wright design, Mäntylä, as part of a combination tour or book an overnight stay to experience the home and surrounding nature over multiple days.

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