I loved coming over the bridge and seeing my favorite part of the house right away, the lower deck. I guess Mr. Kaufman didn't understand the purpose to this deck and he argued with Wright about building it. After Wright told him he'd learn to live with it the deck became one of Mr. Kaufman's favorite places too. He'd go down there and fish, he would take his coffee down and enjoy the sound of the water (of course you could hear the water from anywhere in the house but there is something therapeutic being close to water I think). The deck would also help cool the house during the hot summer days.
This is the front entry way to the house. Wright was a firm believer that the front door should be hidden only to be revealed when the owner of the house invited you in.
The front room is a beautiful open floor plan with the dinning room adjacent to it. A couple years ago they had to pull all those stones up and reinforce the floors because they were sagging and threatening to fall. The contractor that was initially building the house told Wright he needed more reinforcement for the building but in proper Wright etiquette he said no and told them to do it the way he designed it.
I learned at Taliesin West that Wright felt like he designed a house with the person he was building it for in mind and when that person died he felt like the house should be demolished. I don't know if this philosophy is why he didn't want to reinforce Fallingwater more, he didn't build it to last forever. I honestly don't think he knew just how famous this house was going to be even though it was hugely popular even as it was being built.
Wright was also known for designing all the furniture for his homes. He designed this cauldron that fit snuggly out of the way when not in use but when there was a big party it could warm up enough cider for everyone to enjoy.
Wright had this beautiful color of red throughout the house. When it was being built Mrs. Kaufman was against the color and tried to get him to change it, he told her she'd learn to live with it. Are you seeing a theme here?
This is me enjoying myself in a sitting room next to the servants kitchen. I was a giddy as a school girl at Christmas going through the house. I think I took a picture of every thing.
Every angle was amazing. I loved all the straight lines, the stone, the oneness with it's surroundings. Every room had a fireplace, a terrace, and an awesome view.
This is one of the main terraces. It is an extension of the living room. At one point the Kaufmans had the statue you see here inside when Wright came to visit and told them that it needed to be outside. I don't know if I could handle having someone tell me where I HAD to put stuff but that was Wright and if you wanted one of his houses I guess you lived with him in your life forever.
He was also famous for buying gifts and sending them to his friends and people he built homes for and telling them where to put it. A couple weeks later he would then send them the bill for the gift.
The stones here are actually the mountain, the house was built around them. If you look closely you can see a water fall. How cool is that to have an actual water fall inside your home as well as under it.
This is the front porch to the guest/servants house. It is located up above the main house.
This is a pool for their guests to enjoy. In one corner there is a trickle of water feeding the pool and it drains down into the river underneath. The pool is approximately six feet deep. That is a lot of chilly water.
I couldn't resist taking a picture in front of the famous view point of the house. I enjoyed every minute of my tour and it was well worth the $67 ticket price.
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