And the shade of red used in the window trim. (When I toured Falling Water, it was called "Cherokee Red," but they may have re-named the color since then."
I watched an interesting documentary about FLW a few days ago. I like his architectural style and would love to visit Fallingwater.
As it turns out, he was kind of an asshole and had a long period years where the architectural world thought he was no longer relevant before finding himself back in the limelight. Also, his buildings were notorious for leaking when it rained.
FLW houses are known for their special maintenance needs. Especially when he really defined his "Usonian" style. Fallingwater is probably Wright's most maintenance intensive build.
Architects make it look pretty. Engineers have to figure out how to make it work. A friend of mine is a civil engineer and he regularly has to collaborate with designers and architects.
FLW was more than just an architect though, he trained in engineering and acted as the builder himself for his famous builds, or guided his proteges to. He consulted with engineers but was running the show and had almost pathological control over every single element of the build.
They were structurally sound, but his specifications in some areas were just impractical, particularly when it came to roofing. Also some of his open fireplaces nearly burned down houses and meant you'd end up cleaning ash out of your living room whenever you used it.
Still beautiful and innovative design without a doubt though. Next summer I plan to build a "Frank Lloyd Wright inspired" shed!
I see what you're trying to say, but this style did very much belong to one person... By contrast, Bauhaus was a formal movement, and mid-century modernism was more a style that developed roganically
I know you meant organically, but now I have the mental image of the very first elements of MCM design being grown on the heads of balding men, and it amuses me.
This place is gorgeous. I know it's a lot, but with that much land and so close to Chicago I would have expected it to be more. It's an incredibly well thought out design, has many beautiful places to sit. The pool area is amazing. What is the shape of the pool? Is it random? The same shape seems to appear in the field beyond the barn. And that barn is simply fantastic. Well outfit and lots of space. You could stable enough horses in that thing to pay your mortgage!
It’s close to 88, only about an hour drive to Chicago. And yes, I am almost certain it was a second home. Also, Elburn has a Metra line, not exactly “boonies”. There are million+ homes all over the place out here
There are a good amount of finance jobs in Geneva, St. Charles, and Elgin. Most rich fucks I know but second homes is Michigan or Wisconsin. I’m sure some people still do buy second homes on the outskirts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a main residence
I was going to say, my grandparents lived in elburn when I was a kid. Their house looked nothing like this, for sure! And every house around them looked like their house.
Beautiful yard, creek on the side, but very small.
I'm sure there are outskirts of town, but are still considered in the town. Lots of farmland out there.
Gorgeous home, outdoor spaces are breathtaking, absolute high end everything, 6,000 square feet, and yet the toilets are still right out in the middle of the bathrooms
I noticed that as well. Guessing the pool house has 1-2, and the outbuilding likely has at least one as well. If there's 2 each that leaves 9 in the house. Still a bit excessive, but not as odd as 13 for the house alone.
This home can scream 90s all it wants, because if I were able to afford a $5million home, I’m sure I would be able to afford to make some changes. I see the changes I’d make, but either way this is a beautiful home +!
Sometimes I feel like people in this sub don't think about the practicality of some of these houses. What on earth would you do with this place? It's far to large for even a family of 4. There's ungodly amounts of wasted space, and the interior is not well designed for what they were going for (happens way too often with large houses, too hard to keep up good design over 10k sqft+ I guess). Are you going to hire maids to clean the place? What would you put in all the rooms? There are rooms that just seem to exist, so the owners put chairs in them. How often will they get used? I bet the owners spent 95% of their team in <50% of the house.
It says it was built in 1994 and I think it has a 90s high end esthetic. Reminds me a little bit of the styles you’d see out west in that era. Mixed with a nod to mid century modern.
Sorry, I don't agree whatsoever. This home is very much FLW in style, particularly the Usonion school. I will agree that there are MCM elements in the design.
Yes I see a bit of FLW but, IMO, it lacks the flow. I hate to say it but it feels a little trying to be FLW without pulling it off. Like it’s almost there but then parts of it are giving me 90s VIP airport lounge.
But let me be clear, I’d 100% happily live there because so much of it is right.
it is a (very narrow, particular, as in a single very famous architect) 1920s aesthetic. The fact that apparently many rich people in your particular area in the 1990s rediscovered it doesn't make it a 1990s aesthetic.
It’s not that I don’t understand FLW esthetic. I used to live in that area, near many of the homes. My college roomie was in an architecture program, FLW being one of her faves. I think it’s not pulling off FLW the way you think it is. But we can agree to disagree on this.
Uninteresting roof lines and silouhette, that while prairie in inspiration, don’t seem to organically grow out of the environment around it. The stonework is very 90s - that’s what gives me out west vibes the most. I’d love if the stones are local to the region. I am doubtful. The built ins and cabinetry could be in any high end home of the era. FLW’s seem so custom to the home they almost grow out of the walls. While some of FLW’s interior spaces can be quite expansive, they feel somehow very contained and intentional with thoughtful design elements meant to encourage humans inside the spaces to commune. The main room in this home is rather open and the drop down tray ceilings strike me as very high end 90s. FLW would take much, much more care in designing those ceilings. These are unfortunate, IMO. Finally, FLW loved (especially interior) bricks and they’d make so much sense to use on a home in this area, given its proximity to Chicago, a city famous for brick production.
I think FLW would be super turned off by a lot of the design elements of this home. And not for copyright reasons as much as “don’t attach my name to this” reasons. But artistic geniuses can be that way. 🙃
I never said it was FROM the same era. If a home was built in the 1940s, but was built in the Victorian style, calling it a "40s" home would be misleading. One would say "Buiilt on the 1940s"
Stunning home.... love the detail, this would be one of favs here I have seen in a long time. No care for the barn /horse stuff, would sell off that side of it.
Really looks like it was designed by FLW but, with a more modern touch.
Really looks like it's in the middle of nowhere...
Given how gorgeous this house (it really brings the outdoors in as part of the decor) but with acerage and the amenities $5 million seems like a hella good deal. Someone.realy emulated/studied FLW here.
Looks FLW inspired
That prairie roofline was the first thing I noticed. Imitation is the ultimate form of flattery.
And the shade of red used in the window trim. (When I toured Falling Water, it was called "Cherokee Red," but they may have re-named the color since then."
I went there this summer and they still called it Cherokee Red
The Japanese feel the same way about FLW I’m sure.
I remember reading about the Imperial Hotel in Japan after the earthquake and subsequent fire in 1923. It was one of the few buildings still standing.
He talks about that in his autobiography.
I watched an interesting documentary about FLW a few days ago. I like his architectural style and would love to visit Fallingwater.
As it turns out, he was kind of an asshole and had a long period years where the architectural world thought he was no longer relevant before finding himself back in the limelight. Also, his buildings were notorious for leaking when it rained.
FLW houses are known for their special maintenance needs. Especially when he really defined his "Usonian" style. Fallingwater is probably Wright's most maintenance intensive build.
The roofs were designed to look good. If they happened to keep water out that was nice, but not a big priority.
Architects make it look pretty. Engineers have to figure out how to make it work. A friend of mine is a civil engineer and he regularly has to collaborate with designers and architects.
FLW was more than just an architect though, he trained in engineering and acted as the builder himself for his famous builds, or guided his proteges to. He consulted with engineers but was running the show and had almost pathological control over every single element of the build.
They were structurally sound, but his specifications in some areas were just impractical, particularly when it came to roofing. Also some of his open fireplaces nearly burned down houses and meant you'd end up cleaning ash out of your living room whenever you used it.
Still beautiful and innovative design without a doubt though. Next summer I plan to build a "Frank Lloyd Wright inspired" shed!
My dad worked in the SC building in Racine, WI that was designed by him. Always leaking roof
He is quoted as having sayings like "real architects build buildings that leak" or variations on that. He wasn't being hired for cozy and easy.
There's a place not far from falling water where you can tour or stay in some of his houses. It's called Polymath Park. Lot of fun.
Yeah, you put it very mildly... If he were alive he'd likely have gorunds for a lawsuit roflmao
I mean it's a style he created, but that doesn't make it IP. No more than mid century modern or bauhaus styles belonging to one person.
I see what you're trying to say, but this style did very much belong to one person... By contrast, Bauhaus was a formal movement, and mid-century modernism was more a style that developed roganically
I know you meant organically, but now I have the mental image of the very first elements of MCM design being grown on the heads of balding men, and it amuses me.
Bwahahaha cannot be unseen
Jaime pull up that strong horizontal element
Definitely
Yea, exactly what I was thinking of the images here...
What does flw stand for
Frank Lloyd Wright
There is definitely a style that is something like Acolyte of FLW.
Very mid century.
Such prairie house
A gorgeous home and acreage, perfect.
Except for location. Flat, hot, humid and freezing.
Jebus, that’s gorgeous.
Shower orgies strongly encouraged.
It is probably the pool room/spa shower lol. But yea… it does seem that way lol.
Hell yeah this house is awesome!
This place is gorgeous. I know it's a lot, but with that much land and so close to Chicago I would have expected it to be more. It's an incredibly well thought out design, has many beautiful places to sit. The pool area is amazing. What is the shape of the pool? Is it random? The same shape seems to appear in the field beyond the barn. And that barn is simply fantastic. Well outfit and lots of space. You could stable enough horses in that thing to pay your mortgage!
I wish I could have this place.
It’s been posted a half dozen times. Unfortunately, it’s right next to a popular gun range.
Ugh. That's going to have an impact on who wants it. That's a shame because it really is lovely.
Although it’s clearly inspired by FLW etc it absolutely screams 90s to me.
Something about the brick, roof materials and overall aesthetic totally makes this a 90s build.
For me, the biggest tells of 90's styles on display are:
Completely agree. And the black counters + light wood look is so 90s.
It’s the can lighting that does it for me. Weird choice.
All the typical features. Your entire family can shower together, it has a Skeeball annex, and you can commute from your helipad!
(But seriously, I would live here!)
That shower room is a dream come true! Then the skeeball. And those stables!
man that is a nice house way out in the boonies, its 'near' Chicago ish sort of not really
Edit: whole time im thinking what weird cult used this house because that is not a $5mm house town
and then bam the barn, Indoor and outdoor stables yadda yadda, oh OK
folks with daughters and money and this is their occasional cottage while their real place is in Lake Forest or Winnetka os some such
but i thought the rich folks with horse farms were in Barrington
It’s close to 88, only about an hour drive to Chicago. And yes, I am almost certain it was a second home. Also, Elburn has a Metra line, not exactly “boonies”. There are million+ homes all over the place out here
There are a good amount of finance jobs in Geneva, St. Charles, and Elgin. Most rich fucks I know but second homes is Michigan or Wisconsin. I’m sure some people still do buy second homes on the outskirts, but I wouldn’t be surprised if that’s a main residence
I actually know someone who knew the previous owners and it was most certainly their “weekend getaway”. They lived in Chicago.
That was my first thought too…$5m to live in ELBURN?
Close access to the Reams though!
I was going to say, my grandparents lived in elburn when I was a kid. Their house looked nothing like this, for sure! And every house around them looked like their house.
Beautiful yard, creek on the side, but very small.
I'm sure there are outskirts of town, but are still considered in the town. Lots of farmland out there.
Gorgeous home, outdoor spaces are breathtaking, absolute high end everything, 6,000 square feet, and yet the toilets are still right out in the middle of the bathrooms
13 bathrooms? What's up with that?
I noticed that as well. Guessing the pool house has 1-2, and the outbuilding likely has at least one as well. If there's 2 each that leaves 9 in the house. Still a bit excessive, but not as odd as 13 for the house alone.
What? For five million dollars there's no hangar for the chopper?! One does not leave their toys in the yard...
Man I love this. The design is just appeals to me so much.
This home can scream 90s all it wants, because if I were able to afford a $5million home, I’m sure I would be able to afford to make some changes. I see the changes I’d make, but either way this is a beautiful home +!
i wish i had 5 million lying around. this looks so cool
Sometimes I feel like people in this sub don't think about the practicality of some of these houses. What on earth would you do with this place? It's far to large for even a family of 4. There's ungodly amounts of wasted space, and the interior is not well designed for what they were going for (happens way too often with large houses, too hard to keep up good design over 10k sqft+ I guess). Are you going to hire maids to clean the place? What would you put in all the rooms? There are rooms that just seem to exist, so the owners put chairs in them. How often will they get used? I bet the owners spent 95% of their team in <50% of the house.
Obviously people who can afford this home aren’t cleaning it themselves. Hell, it would most likely not be their primary residence either.
It says 6500 sf, but it seems far larger
awesome but impractical
That thing is perfect
What a fascinating subreddit this is:
"I fucking hate this shit" (proceeds to post the most comfiest house ever)
They posted this home on the wrong day. Thursdays are appreciation days.
oooh okay. Sorry I'm not familiar with the sub's lore lol
I learned the same way.
10/10. No notes.
Love it
I don’t know what I’d do with a barn that big but that’s about as close to a dream home as I can imagine.
I actually love this one 😍
It's cool compound. I was impressed by the commitment and tasteful use of the rectangle over varying scale and material selections. Decent price too
Except for the shitty lighting, I love this place.
Love this home
The property taxes have to be astronomical.
I mostly like it. It has a few Frank Lloyd Wright touches, like the big overhanging eaves and some of the windows.
I’m not usually one to envy the rich, but damn. That is lovely and I’ll just take the stable and arena, thanks.
I thought it was FLW's Pope-Leighey House for a second, which I visited years ago.
But the interior is totally NOT FLW, in the least. His Usonian homes were meant to be practical and affordable. This ain't.
Definitely a Usonian style home, but you can tell is a contemporary build. I wouldn't mind being caught living or otherwise on that property.
Psssh, the home theater has flat seating instead of raked. How plebeian.
It’s beautiful. Not a McMansion.
Don’t judge a book by its cover…
Outside: Stunning
Inside: Typical 1990’s home
Ah yes, the 90s, when everyone rediscovered Frank Lloyd Wright
Wright ripoff outside. Holiday Inn Express homage inside.
And only $5M. I’ll take three.
Yessss.. thank you…. I was calling it “airport lounge” … why is it giving 90s business travel? It’s kind of cracking me up.
This isn't a 90s home.
It says it was built in 1994 and I think it has a 90s high end esthetic. Reminds me a little bit of the styles you’d see out west in that era. Mixed with a nod to mid century modern.
Sorry, I don't agree whatsoever. This home is very much FLW in style, particularly the Usonion school. I will agree that there are MCM elements in the design.
Yes I see a bit of FLW but, IMO, it lacks the flow. I hate to say it but it feels a little trying to be FLW without pulling it off. Like it’s almost there but then parts of it are giving me 90s VIP airport lounge.
But let me be clear, I’d 100% happily live there because so much of it is right.
If FLW wer alive he would sue this architect that's how "unique" this home is roflmao
I don't think that's what any of those words mean roflmao
I mean… I used to hang out in a lot of high end 90s homes because I grew up around rich kids… and this is most definitely a high end 90s esthetic.
it is a (very narrow, particular, as in a single very famous architect) 1920s aesthetic. The fact that apparently many rich people in your particular area in the 1990s rediscovered it doesn't make it a 1990s aesthetic.
This is a good roundup of (mosty US American) 1990s aesthetic:
https://www.architecturaldigest.com/story/90s-decor-from-the-ad-archive-that-stands-the-test-of-time
It’s not that I don’t understand FLW esthetic. I used to live in that area, near many of the homes. My college roomie was in an architecture program, FLW being one of her faves. I think it’s not pulling off FLW the way you think it is. But we can agree to disagree on this.
To me It's copyright infringement level FLW... I'd actually appreciate it if you could help me find some details that are not found in his work?
Uninteresting roof lines and silouhette, that while prairie in inspiration, don’t seem to organically grow out of the environment around it. The stonework is very 90s - that’s what gives me out west vibes the most. I’d love if the stones are local to the region. I am doubtful. The built ins and cabinetry could be in any high end home of the era. FLW’s seem so custom to the home they almost grow out of the walls. While some of FLW’s interior spaces can be quite expansive, they feel somehow very contained and intentional with thoughtful design elements meant to encourage humans inside the spaces to commune. The main room in this home is rather open and the drop down tray ceilings strike me as very high end 90s. FLW would take much, much more care in designing those ceilings. These are unfortunate, IMO. Finally, FLW loved (especially interior) bricks and they’d make so much sense to use on a home in this area, given its proximity to Chicago, a city famous for brick production.
I think FLW would be super turned off by a lot of the design elements of this home. And not for copyright reasons as much as “don’t attach my name to this” reasons. But artistic geniuses can be that way. 🙃
Edit: clarified interior bricks
?
Just because it looks FLW inspired doesn't mean it's from the same era.
The word 90s does not only refer to a time period, but also to a style, just like 80s, and this is a 1920's usonian style built in the 1990s!
I never said it was FROM the same era. If a home was built in the 1940s, but was built in the Victorian style, calling it a "40s" home would be misleading. One would say "Buiilt on the 1940s"
If was literally built in the 90s, what then is it?
Yeah, what on earth…
Beautiful
Tremendous
Using the same stone everywhere is overdoing it a bit. I feel the pool area could have benefited from a bit of contrast.
13 bathrooms? Did I read that right?🤔
Was that a wine fridge in the bathroom (#25)?
Spent a night in the Elburn jail once. F#ck Elburn and their racist little town. This house os the only exception
I actually like it
Stunning home.... love the detail, this would be one of favs here I have seen in a long time. No care for the barn /horse stuff, would sell off that side of it.
Really looks like it was designed by FLW but, with a more modern touch.
Really looks like it's in the middle of nowhere...
Flipped through the Zillow listing. The property just keeps getting better and better! Has a helicopter landing pad
FLW inspiration aside, reminds me of the house from ‘Beau is Afraid’
omg! love the barn
Nice. Note that landscaping contributes half of the appeal. I've noticed most McMansion Hell photos are of huge houses devoid of any landscaping.
What a dump!
/s
is the pool shaped like Cyprus?
Yeah but it’s IL
Everywhere you look there’s a bathroom
I love it
Why was this posted on a Friday? I think it belongs on a Thursday post. This house is beautiful!
How the fuck do you need 13 bathrooms in a 5 bedroom house?
I really like this.
Taste is objective, but I don't see anything that I would say is offensive.
And for the amount of land and space you get, I guess 5 mill is a reasonable price for someone who has that kind of money.
Also not a mcMansion
Check your calendar
Thursdays ALWAYS fool me. UGH. I have followed this sub forever and still get fooled on Thursdays.
Thursdays are design appreciation days where people post non-McMansions (note the post flair)
Oooh, sorry! Thank you!
Given how gorgeous this house (it really brings the outdoors in as part of the decor) but with acerage and the amenities $5 million seems like a hella good deal. Someone.realy emulated/studied FLW here.
I thought for sure this was Frank Lloyd Wright
Completely over-designed. Poor take on FLW.
This must be the nicest house in all of Elburn because that place is a SHITHOLE
This is just FLW revival if that's a thing... Unique, no roflmao
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