Rare $1.1 Million Frank Lloyd Wright House for Sale Near St. Louis
While you might need to be a millionaire to afford a Frank Lloyd Wright home today, that wasn’t always the case. A portion of Wright’s work was devoted to creating a house design and system that was affordable for the middle class. This house was one of these designs — and there are only seven of them in America.
Listed for $1.1 million, this house in Town and Country, Missouri is a spectacular four-bedroom, two-bathroom Wright creation and a curious example of an affordable housing solution that was meant to be both affordable and fashionable. Take a look.
A New Type of Architecture
This home is a Usonian Automatic home — a word coined by Wright. It’s not entirely clear what Usonian means — one guess is a combination of U.S. and utopian, another that it simply means United States of North America — but the intentions were clear: An affordable DIY home able to be built by the owners that also looked fantastic.
“The house of moderate cost is not only America’s major architectural problem but the problem most difficult, if not improbable of solution, for her major architects,” Wright said.
The Usonian Automatic
Usonian Automatic homes, like this one, are rare. Usonian Automatics involved the process of a concrete masonry building system which used a series of heavy, 12x24-inch concrete blocks. It wasn’t like Legos, though: the bricks were designed with a semicircular holes wherein a rebar was placed. Then grout was poured into the area around the bars, which cemented them together. Hence the blocky architecture.
There are only seven Usonian Automatic homes in the country, while there are around 60 Usonian homes that are not Usonian Automatic (meaning they don’t employ that building system).
It Started With a Letter and a $300 Check
This house was designed for Bette and Theodore Pappas; construction began around 1960 and ended in 1964. Theodore sent Wright a letter in 1955 that read, in part: “I have a wife who feels she has to have a house built by you.” He enclosed a $300 check (about $2,800 in 2019 dollars).
Building the Home
Wright agreed to speak with the couple and they visited the architect at Taliesin. The three discussed the project, with the couple being nervous about costs. “I don’t know if we can afford two bathrooms,” she recalled to the Wall Street Journal in 2017.
Bette passed away in 2018, while Theodore died in 2004.
Building the House, Continued
Wright died in 1959, a year before the Pappas broke ground. Like some of his other projects, he likely never visited the area itself, and instead used topographical maps and photos to plot his design from his studio.
Making Use of the Space
These Usonian homes were somewhat small — this one is 2,310 square feet — but the design isn’t cramped. The sunken living room doubles as a workspace and dining area.
The Art of Concrete
The concrete blocks could be molded in differing patterns and designs, like the coffered ceiling and textured walls shown here.
The Original Sketch
Concept art from Wright shows his vision for the house.
Building Was Difficult
Despite Wright’s attempts at making a homebuyer/homebuilder-friendly design, putting the entire thing together proved tougher than anticipated. The Pappas hired some workers to help and two of them quit soon after.
The House Went Way Over Budget
While Wright had a vision for affordable, modular housing, there’s a reason why only seven of these houses exist: they were expensive and difficult to build. It seemed to be almost impossible to create one of these homes with just a few people, and additional workers were needed.
This house took four years to build — a very long time for a four-bedroom, two-bathroom, 2,310-square foot house. According to Theodore’s obituary, he and his wife labored “evenings, vacations and weekends” and spent four times the house’s original, sub-$20,000 budget. If the house cost $80,000 by its completion 1964, that would equal over $660,000 in 2019.
When the Pappas expressed concern about the money, Wright told them, “Don’t worry about the money. It will come. It will come. It always does,” according to The Wall Street Journal. Wright may not have been as in-touch with the common folk as he believed.
As the family grew, the Pappas enlisted the help of the Taliesin Associated Architects to create an additional bedroom and family room.
The Furniture
Wright designed not only the house, but some of its furniture as well. A staple of Wright’s architecture is built-in furniture, but he also created freestanding pieces. The small chairs found in the dining room and bedrooms mirror those designed for the David Wright house.
The Furniture, Continued
This coffee table is also a Wright-designed piece. The main reason why Wright included furniture in many of his homes was to keep a consistent look. He didn’t want homeowners to mess up his creations with their own furniture.
There Are Tons of Windows
Glass is a Wright architectural staple, and he included it in this home as well. The tall French doors leading to the outdoor patio is are framed by forty small rectangular windows.
The Kitchen
This kitchen, like most of Wright's, is a small and functional space for cooking.
The Kitchen, Continued
Unlike the modern design trends which skew include large kitchens and open floor plans, Wright saw kitchens as a utilitarian area that should be offset from the home’s main living spaces.
The Kitchen, Continued
The kitchen has a 12.5-foot ceilings with exposed, terracotta-colored blocks.
The Hallway
A long, tight hallway connects the main living areas and the bedrooms.
The Bedrooms
These bedrooms, as the Journal aptly puts it, are set up “like ships’ cabins.”
The Bedrooms, Continued
This small bedroom includes a built-in desk with signature Wright chairs.
The Bedrooms, Continued
The bedrooms include both wood paneling and wood-colored concrete blocks.
The Bedrooms, Continued
Like the kitchen, Wright’s Usonian bedrooms were utilitarian. Here, a double closet spans the entire window-facing wall.
The Bedrooms, Continued
A small hallway leads to the master bathroom.
The Bathroom
Wright believed that everything in one of his homes should adhere to one aesthetic, and that included the bathrooms. The wood paneled walls are the same as those in the bedroom and other areas throughout the house and the red concrete tiled floor extends into them as well.
The Bathroom, Continued
You can see that Usonian bathrooms were designed to be functional above all else in this picture. The countertop extends over the bathtub, with a piecing having been carved out to give more room to the bather.
The Foyer
Back in the main area of the house is this sitting area/foyer, which includes eight blocky dining chairs, a typical design of Wright’s furniture. The entire wall includes built-in bookshelves and cabinetry.
The Foyer, Continued
The floor-to-ceiling glass doors lead out to the 3.36 acre-lot.
The Exterior
Wright preferred the minimalist structure of carports instead of garages. In fact, he coined the term.
The Exterior, Continued
The entire house is made of concrete, including the patio. The house has no attic or basement, a typical Usonian feature.
The Exterior, Continued
The home has been on the market for about five months. It originally listed for $1.2 million but has been reduced to $1.1 million. Would you want to live here?