Wright for Real People: A Family Restores Frank Lloyd Wright’s Famed First House

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Built in 1934 for Malcolm and Nancy WIlley, this Minneapolis home was restored in 2007 using cypress, plaster and regional brick.
Built in 1934 for Malcolm and Nancy WIlley, this Minneapolis home was restored in 2007 using cypress, plaster and regional brick.
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Homeowners Steve Sikora and Lynette Erickson-Sikora listen to granddaughter Paige Norris on guitar.
Homeowners Steve Sikora and Lynette Erickson-Sikora listen to granddaughter Paige Norris on guitar.
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A statute graces the garden.
A statute graces the garden.
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Steve went to the local brickyard in Menomonie, Wisconsin to find exact matches for the home's original brick.
Steve went to the local brickyard in Menomonie, Wisconsin to find exact matches for the home's original brick.
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Steve and Lynette rebuilt a raised threshold, giving them both an indoor-outdoor continuum and a seal against the great outdoors.
Steve and Lynette rebuilt a raised threshold, giving them both an indoor-outdoor continuum and a seal against the great outdoors.
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The original Usonian home's floorplans.
The original Usonian home's floorplans.
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The master bedroom's corner windows swing out, spacially expanding the room.
The master bedroom's corner windows swing out, spacially expanding the room.
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The fully functional vintage appliances demonstrate the relative simplicity of 1930s life.
The fully functional vintage appliances demonstrate the relative simplicity of 1930s life.
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The restored bathroom features plaster walls and a built-in vanity.
The restored bathroom features plaster walls and a built-in vanity.
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A plate-glass window separates the kitchen from the living/dining room. The moveable dining table integrates with the built-in cabinetry; its placement defines the dining area.
A plate-glass window separates the kitchen from the living/dining room. The moveable dining table integrates with the built-in cabinetry; its placement defines the dining area.
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The study with built-in desk, shelving and sleeping couch opens to the south side of the yard.
The study with built-in desk, shelving and sleeping couch opens to the south side of the yard.
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A wall of French doors in the living room opens to join the house to the garden, creating an airy, parklike pavilion.
A wall of French doors in the living room opens to join the house to the garden, creating an airy, parklike pavilion.
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The uncontained fireplace feels like an indoor bonfire.
The uncontained fireplace feels like an indoor bonfire.

Restoring an architectural treasure is a formidable task, and Steve Sikora and Lynette Erickson-Sikora knew the challenges they would face when they bought Frank Lloyd Wright’s dilapidated 1934 Malcolm Willey House in Minneapolis in 2002. The task of restoring the famed architect’s first small home was made all the more daunting because the iconic house had been unoccupied for seven years, victim to Minnesota weather and bands of partying teenagers. Previous remodels had left scars, including a kitchen filled with pumpkin-colored plastic laminate and coppertone appliances.

Determined to bring the Willey house back to its former glory, Steve and Lynette spent nearly six years painstakingly rebuilding this first small, affordable Wright home, a prototype for his later Usonian houses. In the process, they came to deeply understand Wright’s genius, including his use of natural, indigenous materials and the coalescing of design, function and materials into a
seamless whole.

Wright’s alchemy makes the 1,350-square-foot home feel both secure and spacious. A compressed entryway, one of his signature devices, leads into a large, open living space with kite windows and skylights. The kitchen–small but functional–communicates with the living space via a glass wall and a Dutch door that can be shut for privacy. A wall of French doors–a pioneering feature at the time–opens onto a brick terrace and into the yard. Open in summer, it completely erases any indoor-outdoor distinction; even when shut, its expanse is enough to soothe Minnesota cabin fever. Southern exposure brings passive solar heat in winter; a shed roof shelters the space when the sun is high in summer. The shade provided by four mature burr oaks also cools the house.

Whatever it takes

  • Published on May 29, 2009
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