Owners will let visitors stay in Wright homes

WILLOUGHBY HILLS, Ohio — If Fallingwater is Frank Lloyd Wright’s greatest work, then a house he designed in this Cleveland suburb is one of his most livable.

Owner Paul Penfield has opened up the Louis Penfield House to guests after spending four years restoring it to the architect’s original vision. It’s one of three Wright houses in the country that allows Wright enthusiasts to spend the night. (The other two are in Wisconsin.)

The 60-year-old Penfield lived in the house during his teenage years. His friends, who thought the place was a bit odd, nicknamed it “the steamboat house” because of it long, narrow design.

Entering the house through slender double doors takes one past a floating wooden staircase, its steps suspended by rods from the ceiling. The entryway is like a bottleneck from which the home’s spacious living area spills forth.

Floor-to-ceiling windows on two sides and a third half-wall of windows allow for a panoramic view of the wooded lot and give the feeling of being outside while indoors. The sound of trickling water from a fountain and the glow from built-in wooden light fixtures set a soothing mood.

“Here you really felt you were living with nature. That’s what Frank Lloyd Wright wanted,” said Marguerite Vonno, one of 300 people who have stayed at Penfield House since it opened for guests in 2003.

Ron Scherubel, executive director of The Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy, which advocates the preservation of the 400 remaining Wright structures, said he likes the idea of the houses being opened to guests.

“It spreads the word about how comfortable and beautiful Wright’s houses are,” Scherubel said.

The Seth Peterson Cottage in Lake Delton, Wis., was the first Wright home to open to guests, in 1992. Located in Mirror Lake State Park, the once boarded-up structure underwent a $350,000 renovation funded by donations.

“It’s a very good example of how Wright could make a small space seem big,” Scherubel said. It has a great room surrounded by windows that make “you feel like you’re right out in the woods.”

The roomy Bernard Schwartz House in Two Rivers, Wis., opened in June. Owners Terry Records and Jason Nordhougen teamed with Michael Ditmer, a Wright fan who does remodeling work, to renovate the four-bedroom house and share it with the public.