Of Course Wright's Son-in-Law's 'Cottage' Looks Like This | Pound Ridge Real Estate

This $449,900 "cottage" in Madison, Wisc. owes its very Wrightish look to the fact that it was designed by William Wesley Peters, who became Frank Lloyd Wright's first apprentice in 1932, and went on to assist in the construction of Falling Water and the Johnson Wax Administration Building, and was also responsible for the structural design of New York's Guggenheim Museum. Peters remained involved with Wright's Taliesin School throughout the bulk of his career, and even joined the family in 1935, when he married Wright's adopted daughter Svetlana. (After she and their son died in a car accident in 1946, Peters was briefly married to Joseph Stalin's daughter, also named Svetlana, in an ill-fated union arranged by Wright's third wife). According to the listing, Peters and some Taliesin students designed this three-bedroom in 1963 as a "thank you" to "two friends" who unsuccessfully fought to have Madison's Wright-designed Monona Terrace built. (It eventually was, but not until 1997.) Obviously there's a lot of Wright-related history here, but how high does the place rank among the many creations of Wright's proteges?

Only one way to settle this. (Photos.) >>

Built on an "old farm foundation" on a .66-acre lot, the 2,771-square-foot abode has all the built-in furniture and dark-grained wood trim one might expect from a Wright protege, plus a pretty pointed and dramatic roof. The listing photos show a carport outside in the same style, surrounded by "a park-like setting dominated by immense pines." Apparently, the place was "completely restored & refurbished in the early 2000s," and it looks to have been kept up pretty well since. Highlights include the colorful, Mondrian-esque molding in the bathroom, some great light fixtures, and again, those built-ins. The house last sold in 1998 for $175K, and the current $449,900 ask has been dropped a bit from its October 2013 price of $599,000.


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