The problem with touring a Frank Lloyd Wright house – especially his house – is that you leave wishing you lived in a Frank Lloyd Wright house.

Look, I love my home, but the walls are not made of limestone, the roof isn’t cantilevered, there are no wide expanses of glass to seamlessly blend the outdoor space with the indoor space, and we don’t have a single iron bell suspended from the ceiling to clang.

Damn you, Frank. You’ve ruined houses for me forever.

That being said, our tour of Taliesin on Friday was a lot of fun. The place really is beautiful. Pics don’t do it justice, but I’m posting a whole bunch anyway.

We opted for the Highlights Tour, which splits time between FLW’s architecture studio and home. My only regret was the fact that we were shuttled back and forth. Don’t get me wrong, I was thankful for an air-conditioned bus, but I would have preferred walking instead. We passed a bunch of other interesting buildings, like guest cottages and a farmhouse, that a tour bus only offered brief glimpses of. There actually is a longer, four-hour tour that takes you across the entire property on foot. Maybe we’ll do that one of these years. Preferably in the fall sometime, when the surrounding hills are ablaze with autumn color and the heat and humidity (and mosquitoes) are a distant memory.

After visiting Taliesin, we stopped in Madison to run a few errands, which included cheese curds and cocktails at the Great Dane Pub. We timed our stop perfectly, because a thunderstorm and heavy downpour rolled through while we were parked at the bar. The storm broke just in time for our next stop: Schuster’s Farm, for their annual Blooms on the Farm event. We went last year and had a blast, so a return trip was in order.

We strolled through acres of zinnias and sunflowers and got frisky on a giant wooden chair, as one does (especially when there’s alcohol involved). It was super muddy because of the recent rain, but that was okay because it kept the crowds away. We practically had the whole place to ourselves.

We stopped at Culver’s on the way home and walked through the door twelve hours after setting out. All in all, it was a great Friday and an excellent Plan B for the postponed Heart concert. Made possible by the generosity of my Aunt Nancy, not to mention my manifesting skills, ’cause otherwise, we would have shelled out a ton of money for an overnight stay in Milwaukee with no real place to go.

You might recall in my last post I mentioned my tenacity in convincing a third-party booking company to disregard their “no refunds, period!” policy and give me my money back. This took tons of pluck and determination, and I got into a battle of wills with a virtual chatbot (admittedly, this was pretty one-sided), but in the end, there was justice for the little guy. It’s a great story that I break down on my latest guest appearance on the Sharing the Heart of the Matter podcast. I also talk about willing a campsite into existence for Tara’s birthday one year. I encourage you to check it out! Wynne and Vicki even sweet-talked my camera-shy ass into appearing on video, so there’s that, too.


59 responses to “The Wright Stuff”

  1. Another great trip for the books! Love all those flowers. The house is cool. I’m a sucker for glass walls. The limestone is new. I could get behind that. The giant hanging bell… Hmm. I’d be so afraid the chain would break and it would brain someone. How did you get the pic of yourselves in the chair? Is there a phone stand set in place for just such occasions?

    Liked by 1 person

    1. First again! What is that, three times in a row?

      Yes, there was a selfie stand set up in front of the chair. How convenient! As for the bell, FLW used it to get people’s attention from across the room. We were told by our tour guide in no uncertain terms not to ring it.

      I still almost rang it.

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      1. Way to make people WANT to ring it. I suppose once you give permission, EVERYONE will want a turn. Then it would just get loud and take forever. I get it.

        Yep, I think third. I’m on a roll!

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  2. Ever since I read Ayn Rand’s The Fountainhead I’ve been interested in architecture and loved loved loved your pictures! The house is not my style but boy do I appreciate its design. I can actually see you and Tara live there, it seems made for you two. 🤠

    Awesome pictures, as always. Will check out the podcast, too, as I usually do. Where’s the video?

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    1. If they ever decide to discontinue the tours and let Team MarTar live there, I’d be game!

      The video is in the post I linked to.

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    2. (I linked to the wrong post initially. Duh! Thank you for asking about the video; I might not have realized my mistake otherwise.)

      Liked by 1 person

  3. Stunning house! Being in the middle of a stone project certainly makes me appreciate the effort that went into Frank’s.
    Love the flower farm. Mud aside, you timed it right for fabulous blooms.
    Looks like a great trip.

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    1. Blooms on the Farm is only open Thurs.-Sun. in August. Such a limited engagement just makes it feel extra special.

      Liked by 1 person

  4. what a cool, cool house

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    1. Makes me want to tour more FLW houses!

      Liked by 1 person

      1. there is one in my city that I now realize I need to visit, and not take for granted.

        Liked by 1 person

  5. Finally realized why I have New Kids on the Block stuck in my head. Curse you, Mark!!!!!!!!!!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. If it’s any consolation, that song is stuck in my head too!

      Liked by 1 person

  6. Fab photos, Mr. Manifester! 🥰

    Liked by 1 person

    1. As Elvis would say, thank you. Thank you very much.

      Liked by 1 person

  7. Love the frisky photo 😆

    Liked by 2 people

    1. The friskiness only lasted for a few seconds. But what a few seconds they were…

      Liked by 1 person

  8. Love zinnias! We read “Loving Frank” in Book Club and I think it was about that house. It was a long time ago though. I would enjoy touring the house but wouldn’t like living there. Too many windows to clean!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Haha, great point, I imagine though, if you’re wealthy enough to afford a house like that, you can probably pay a window washer to come through regularly.

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  9. You look like little kids in that chair!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Perfect, ’cause we were kinda acting like little kids, too!

      Liked by 1 person

  10. We have Taliesin West here in Phoenix. I’d never considered there was a Taliesin, er, sans West. The pictures are so neat!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Taliesin West was his winter home. Apparently, ol’ Frank wasn’t as fond of the cold and snowy Wisconsin winters the older he got.

      Have you visited?

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ah, interesting! We’ve got a fair amount of Wright pubic art around, which is neat. Yes, I’ve been to Taliesin West a few times, most recently with my uncle who volunteers there are was able to let us in on all the juicy facts… all of which, of course, elude me, at the moment. It’s worth a visit if you ever visit AZ.

        Liked by 1 person

  11. I will definitely check out that podcast! The FLWright house is gorgeous! I’m now second-guessing everything I love about my house, too, though I could certainly live without such a big home theater, and I do hope that tree doesn’t get any bigger and wreck the roof. By the way, in the oversized “frisky chair,” I notice Tara’s cup is nearly full, but yours is empty. Just sayin’. 😉

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Actually, she finished hers much faster than I did. If you look carefully, mine’s a margarita, and still nearly full. Hard to tell with the reflecting sun. Hers, btw, was an apple cider donut beer. Which lived up to its name. It was surprisingly good!

      The home theater was more for guest lecturers, according to our tour guide, though there was a screen he would pull down sometimes for movies.

      Liked by 1 person

      1. Ah, my mistake. A plain margarita can look like an empty margarita from a distance, I now know. If you’re supposed to learn one new thing a day, well, that’s Tuesday for me! #education

        Liked by 1 person

  12. Not to be a contrarian, but I don’t care for Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture. It’s too structured for a free spirit like me. But I accept I’m in the minority with my opinion and do admit you took some lovely photos of the house.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Contrary away! I know it’s not for everybody. I like the way his homes really help you connect with nature (though in the case of that tree, maybe the connection is a little too strong…)

      Liked by 1 person

  13. “Damn you, Frank. You’ve ruined houses for me forever.” I feel the same way about FLW’s Fallingwater in western PA. Hard to look at any house after that.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I’d love to visit Fallingwater one of these days!

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  14. Ah, those are great pictures! The house looks absolutely stunning.

    But it’s the chalk heart that got my attention. I always think of it as Team TarMar. Funny!

    Thanks for the shoutout to your great podcast episode! Happy Monday!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yeah, how weird that we just happened to stumble upon a truck with our nickname on it. What are the odds??

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  15. Great photos! I love all the zinnias especially. Although the house is nice, too.

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    1. We got there right around sunset last year so the colors weren’t as vibrant. Obviously, seeing them in person best!

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      1. I spent the morning transplanting zinnia and marigold seedlings into bigger pots. Let’s hope they turn out as colorful as the ones in Wisconsin.

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  16. I’ve always wanted to visit a FLW house. There are 3 in Ohio that are open to the public, although one is only for rentals. I’ll make it there, one of these days. Or to Fallingwater!

    Ok, did you say to some stranger, “Can you take a photo of me making out with my wife on that chair?”???

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Wouldn’t that be kinky? But no. There was a “selfie stand” conveniently located there!

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  17. Sounds FUN!

    If you are in Florida anytime down the road, you might want to make a pit stop at Florida Southern College in Lakeland:

    The architecture of Florida Southern College is a unique and beautiful example of FrankLloyd Wright’s Usonian style. The campus is home to 13 Wright-designed structures, including the Annie Pfeiffer Chapel, the Danforth Chapel, and the Usonian Faculty House.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Sounds pretty cool! Have you been?

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      1. We haven’t been yet.

        It’s on the list. Well, it would be on the list, if we had a list.

        We are such “pantsers” these days. 😀

        “Pantsers don’t know what the road looks like ahead, so they can take a right, a left, or go off-roading if they want.”

        Or, sometimes, especially in the heat of summer, we can just hibernate at home in the A/C and wait for cooler temps to prevail. 😀

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Sounds like you need to make a list!

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  18. Not to be dark, but did they talk about the murders that happened at Taliesin? It’s pretty sad.

    That flower farm looks so beautiful! I’m adding it to my ever-growing list.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Yes. But it wasn’t an “official” part of the tour. We asked questions during, and our guide said anyone interested in the darker history of the place could hang around the visitor’s center for a few minutes after, but the conversation didn’t really fit in with the rest of the schedule. Pretty much all 23 of us stayed for that part of it. I knew a little about the murders, but not in that detail.

      Liked by 1 person

  19. I have always wanted to visit a Frank Lloyd Wright house but maybe I don’t now because I still want to love my old Eaton’s catalogue house! Those fields full of flowers are stunning! Seems like a great day. Bernie

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    1. When I lived in South Dakota, I interviewed someone who lived in a Sears catalog house their grandparents assembled in the 1920. Still standing strong, too!

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      1. Ours was built in 1917/1918 & we moved it 186 kms. I have a blog dedicated to the project. It’s been 15 years and counting. The house is done but now it’s all outbuildings and landscaping.

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  20. Dang! We were down at the Oregon Gardens a couple weeks back, and passed on a chance to check out the Wright house on the periphery. It’s the only one in Oregon. Too hot, tired, and hungry I guess. Now you’re making me second guess myself.

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  21. Yes, he was an amazing architect. Have you seen his house at Falling Waters, over a waterfall. Its beautiful!

    Liked by 1 person

    1. I have not, but it’s on my bucket list!

      Liked by 1 person

  22. Awww, you guys have the best field trips! I would LOVE to do a long visit through some FLW properties and now I need an iron bell in my family room.

    The wild flowers are just gorgeous too; I think you’re supposed to just have photos in those big chairs, not get jiggy wit’ it. 🫣

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We have so many fun outings, it took me a moment to register which one you were referring to here since I’m responding to the notifications section rather than on the actual post!

      Like

  23. […] our first-ever Wisconsin State Fair cream puffs, explored Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin, and escorted Tara to the emergency room after midnight, where she joked that I beat her. I was not […]

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