House Walk: Frank Lloyd Wright-Inspired Home

The Western Springs Historical Society's House Walk was Sunday, May 19, and this week we'll be featuring one of the homes each day. The event put the spotlight on local homes that are "historic or soon-to-be historic." Local businesses helped create the tablescapes and flowers throughout the homes, which were showcased by many volunteers. 

Today we feature the Medema house at 4524 Lawn Ave., with my thoughts and some from the Historical Society: 

This was the most interesting home on the tour because of the inspiration it drew from famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright. The day before this house walk, I did the Wright Plus house tour in Oak Park and learned a lot about him and the Prairie style.

Owners Mike and Meg Medema dreamed about building their Frank Lloyd Wright inspired home for eight years, but their challenge was designing a contemporary home that would blend with the village's traditional architecture. Eventually they settled on the Prairie style, with many of the home's exterior elements borrowed from Wright's Huertley House in Oak Park. 

Key elements of the home include a low-hiped roof with overhanging eaves, a cantilevered porch roof and horizontally grouped windows. One of the homeowners' favorite features is the use of horizontal lines, evoking the wide expanse of the open prairie. 

Wright's philosophy of "bringing the outside in" is exemplified by the use of natural elements throughout the Medema home. A vertically mounted slab of granite inside the front entrace gives the illusion of an indoor waterfall. At its base are basalt rocks handpicked by the couple's children while on vacation. Mike and Meg also used a variety of complimentary woods throughout their home, including Brazilian cherry, birch, oak, maple, mahogany and teak. 

The living room and kitchen are in an open floor plan, with lots of light coming from the full-length living room windows and a large fireplace. The floating stairs leading to the upper and lower levels have an open-air design with stainless steels supports. Stacked windows on the 8-foot landing maximize the light. 

In the basement, it's completely different. Instead of the rigid horizontals and geometric shapes that define the Prairie, there are curved walls that lead visitors through an array of recreational activities: the basement features a workout room, ping-pong area, craft room, bar area and movie theater.

See more homes from the house walk:

Complete Redesign of a Home Sold in the Family

Interior Designer's Home with Great Outdoor Areas

I also went to the Frank Lloyd Wright house tour in Oak Park. If you like this house and want to see more of its inspiration, check out these features on Oak Park Patch.