Oak Park, Illinois, just
west of Chicago, is known for many things. One that residents are most proud of
is their trove of Frank Lloyd Wright buildings. A number of houses designed by
Frank Lloyd Wright are there and the Chicago Architecture Foundation
(www.architecture.org) gives a tour of them. In addition, The Frank Lloyd
Wright Trust (https://flwright.org/tours) has restored the home that he lived
in with his first wife and six children. Guided tours of it are given to the
public.
This week we took a tour
and it was certainly worth the visit. I had to admire the design of the house.
What I especially liked was its simplicity and lack of clutter. The large
windows and skylights let in lots of light. The attention to every detail is amazing - from the design of the furniture and murals to the light fixtures and objects on the shelves. Frank Lloyd Wright was an admirer of Japanese art
in particular and there are several Japanese sculptures and paintings throughout
the house. The influence of Asian design can be seen throughout.
Although Frank Lloyd Wright was a collector of objects of art, paintings, and
all things unusual and interesting, he was able to design places to put all of
them. There are built-in shelves, cabinets, and closets all fitting in
beautifully with his overall design. What is left is a feeling of space
and clean lines amid an attention to detail that is stunning and beautiful.
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| Looking out through windows onto the street |
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| skylight in the dining room |
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| Murals adorning one of the rooms |
Inspired by this vision, I left the Frank Lloyd
Wright House determined to go home and clean out more closets and shelves. The
visit provided me with an ideal for which to strive in my attempt to
de-clutter. That house is the gold standard to which I now aspire. Ever since
the 2016 election, I’ve been cleaning out closets, emptying drawers and
shelves, and shredding any papers that I no longer need. At first, the impetus
was to have less to pack in case we have to move.
Since starting this
project, however, I have found some other benefits. I can actually walk in my bedroom walk-in closet. Everything is neatly where I left it. I freed up loads of space in my file
cabinets and have room now for all my latest projects. My bookshelves have room
for new books and I’m no longer tripping over boxes in the bedroom. I think I
like this.
Now it’s onward to the
next set of shelves. Next time people come to visit, I hope that they can see
some open spaces. It may remind them of Frank Lloyd Wright.
What a great variety of stories and reports. Thanks Lisa.
ReplyDeleteI was raised by a mom who threw out anything she either didn't like or hadn't used recently. And as a consequence I naturally de-clutter. Another good reason is to make sure that my descendants don't have go through all this stuff eventually. Thanks Lisa. I look forward to my next visit to your house which has never seemed cluttered to me.
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