A visit to Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater had long been on the top of my weekend-getaway wish list. So this fall, my husband, Peter, and I escaped the DC area for an awe-inspiring weekend in southwestern Pennsylvania’s Allegheny Mountains. Boy, are we glad that we did! It’s practically impossible to visit, or revisit, this architectural marvel and not be swept away by its magic and romance.
For starters, the setting is spectacular: a lush, wooded site with a waterfall cascading into a trickling stream below. The sounds of water provide a soothing soundtrack for your tour of the house and grounds. But it’s Wright’s brilliant design that takes your breath away — and has inspired so many through the years. The house appears to rise organically from the ground.
In the world of design, we hear a lot of buzz today about “bringing the outdoors in.” Wright was the granddaddy of this trend, but went far beyond that with Fallingwater. A proponent of “organic architecture,” he believed that a well-designed house should be “integral to site; integral to environment; and integral to the life of its inhabitants.”
Here’s Fallingwater’s backstory: In 1935 Wright received a commission from the Kaufmanns, a Pittsburgh family and owners of Kaufmann’s Department Store (now part of Macy’s), to design a weekend house near the waterfall where the family loved to picnic. Wright’s clients expected a house with a great view of the falls. What they got instead was a structure perched on a rock ledge and cantilevered over the cascade — and so fully integrated into its natural surroundings that it’s hard to separate the two.
From the construction materials (rough local sandstone, reinforced concrete, glass and steel) to the custom furnishings, everything was chosen to celebrate nature, whatever the season. The leaves had just started to turn when we were there, and the air was crisp and cold (the perfect ingredients for a romantic stay in the mountains). But every season is beautiful and romantic at Fallingwater, as these professional shots illustrate:
It’s hard to pick a favorite season! Wright’s design includes six reinforced-concrete terraces for enjoying the seasonal glory. In fact, almost half of Fallingwater is terraced or outdoor-living space. But the indoor living spaces are amazing, too. Wright custom-designed the furniture for the house. He repeated the cantilever theme inside, with built-in seating that is at one with the house. As big and open as the house is, Wright created lots of cozy spots for relaxing or curling up with a book.
The kitchen, like most areas in the house, offers a vista to the great outdoors. Rather than using vast expanses of glass, Wright chose to frame Fallingwater’s windows with steel sashes. The windows serve as decorative screens that capture the ever-changing landscape beyond.
The Kaufmann family wanted a place to commune with nature and to retreat from their everyday lives in the city. Fallingwater served those needs until the family gave it to the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy in 1963, so it could be preserved and enjoyed for years to come.
On our visit, I picked up a copy of a book, Fallingwater: Frank Lloyd Wright’s Romance with Nature, by Lynda Waggoner, the site’s curator and administrator. In it, Waggoner quotes Edgar Kauffman, Jr., whose father commissioned the house:
“It has served well as a house, yet has always been more than that, a work of art beyond any ordinary measure of excellence. Itself an ever-flowing source of exhilaration, it is set on the waterfall of Bear Run, sprouting nature’s endless energy and grace.”
Most of us will never own a house set on a waterfall (or any getaway place, for that matter), but there are numerous ways to connect to nature and incorporate Wright’s principles into our everyday lives and interior design. One of the easiest is through paint. PPG Architectural Coatings has created a Fallingwater paint palette, featuring colors used at the house and drawn from its natural surroundings.
I’m a firm believer in the power of paint! Plan a visit to Fallingwater soon and see firsthand the inspiration behind these colors — and get a little inspiration of your own.
One final note: Days and hours of operation vary by month (the house is closed to guided tours in January and February), so be sure to check Fallingwater’s website when planning your trip. You won’t be disappointed!
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