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How to Rent a Frank Lloyd Wright House for Your Vacation

Locations in this article:  Austin, TX Madison, WI

The Palmer Home – Ann Arbor, Michigan

“What is architecture anyway? Is it the vast collection of the various buildings which have been built to please the varying tastes of the various lords of mankind? I think not. No, I know that architecture is life; or at least it is life itself taking form and therefore it is the truest record of life as it was lived in the world yesterday, as it is lived today or ever will be livedSo, architecture I know to be a Great Spirit.”

-Frank Lloyd Wright

Despite the long life of the Palmer Home, its spirit is well preserved. The Palmers lived there for more than 50 years until Jeffery Schox and his wife Katherine bought the house in 2009. The original owner, Billy Palmer, was a professor of economics at the University of Michigan and Mary Palmer was a music student. She personally contacted Wright by letter and he accepted their request to design their home. They ended up being the only owners of the home until Billy past away in the year 2000. Mary Palmer passed away in early 2012. She lived to be 94 and was a very popular lady in the Ann Arbor community.

You now get a chance to live in the home as it was intended to be. The Palmers modified nothing from the original home and remained true to the Frank Lloyd Wright vision. The entire house, the furniture and the beds are not rectangles. They are parallelograms and trapezoids. FLW used the equilateral triangle design piece throughout the home, meaning there are no ninety-degree angles in the home other than windows and doors. Infinity frameless windows are throughout the home.

One feature of the house is a two-piece cast ceramic block with abstract designs that mimic a bird in flight. It’s the symbol of the home. All of the windows on the western exposure are ceramic block windows that cast varying light patterns throughout the day.

Credit: Juliana Cerra

Many Wright homes have had work done to their overhangs and roofs over the years yet this one is still as stalwart as its first day standing. The home also has a fully equipped kitchen. A six burner, double oven commercial type Thermador stove still functions. The current managers acquired Russel Wright vintage plates and dinnerware.

There is a two-night minimum stay. Rates are $350 per night Sunday through Thursday and $500 on the weekends. Special events like Michigan home football games, The Ann Arbor Art Fair and graduations cost a premium of $650. As you might expect there is no smoking and no pets. Guests can book through their website, where the reservations tab sends visitors to Homeaway. Also you can book through VRBO with the house number 246204.

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