Wednesday, September 26, 2007

Meyer May House

Way back in April, (a long, long time ago, as the story goes...) Bill and I were fortunate enough to get a private tour of the Meyer May House, here in Grand Rapids. Frank Lloyd Wright designed this house for the May's who were known locally in the clothing industry. This house is in the style of what is now Wright's prominent Prairie Style House. Wright is known for his overall design. From the furniture, to the lighting, to the bedding and all details within the houses, he designed. You can see from my pictures some examples of these fine details.
This window is in the dining room, looking out over the garden. I loved the bright forsythia. This was one of Wright's ideas, to frame the outside world through his windows. Which are pieces of art in themselves.
You probably can't do this on the regular tour, but the are not as stingy as many home tours. They let you walk around the rooms. They are not afraid of "ruining the carpet".
This gives you an idea of the overall scale of the living room. The fireplace is opposite this wall of windows. Wright's other main idea is that the hearth is the "heart" of the home. Thus creating the style of house we know today; the open family room to kitchen plan. They weren't that advanced in Wright's days, but he was getting the idea. No fancy parlor to receive guests. The guests entered and sat in the same room the family used.
I must brag about this picture (although if you think like Bill, you'll tell me that this is not my doing, but Wright's, I just happened to snap the photo). The reflection of the window on the carpet both showcasing his designs. I snapped a couple of photos of the windows reflecting light on the wall, but I like this one the best because you can see a part of the window, the shadow and the floor.

By the time we finished inside, it had gotten cloudy outside. I wasn't able to get too many pictures of the outside of the house. Perhaps I'll go back and get those, and post them later. I was also using our tour guide's mother's camera! (this is explains why I am just now posting the pictures, I just got them from her)

By the way, tours are free. If you're ever in town and interested in seeing the house personally, I would be glad to take you to it.

2 comments:

  1. I've resorted to commenting on my own blogs... at least I know I'm interesting and worth commenting about...

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  2. I visited the Meyer May house over ten years ago now. It wasn't a private tour really, but there were only three of us. One thing I remember from being inside that home was a sense of "rightness." Nothing was jerry-rigged or off center. I thought it was a very peaceful place.

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