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Project posted by Michael Schreiber

The Meier House

View 13 Photos
Location
Monona, Iowa
Year
1917
Structure
House (Single Residence)
Style
Traditional
The Meier House, an American System-Built Home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1917).
The Meier House, an American System-Built Home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright (1917).
South-facing view, showing the house's built-in flower box and original pebbledash stucco exterior.
South-facing view, showing the house's built-in flower box and original pebbledash stucco exterior.
We've stripped paint from the fireplace brick and all trim, repaired and painted windows, and painted all the walls.
We've stripped paint from the fireplace brick and all trim, repaired and painted windows, and painted all the walls.
The swinging doors leading from the living room to the dining room were a fortuitous discovery in the garage rafters.
The swinging doors leading from the living room to the dining room were a fortuitous discovery in the garage rafters.
The front entry, as it appeared when we bought the house, and after our restoration work
The front entry, as it appeared when we bought the house, and after our restoration work
The stairs, as they appeared when we bought the house, and after our restoration work
The stairs, as they appeared when we bought the house, and after our restoration work
On the left, the dining room as it looked when we bought the house in 2013. On the right, the dining room after our restoration work.
On the left, the dining room as it looked when we bought the house in 2013. On the right, the dining room after our restoration work.
Jason staining trim in the living room.
Jason staining trim in the living room.
Michael painted walls in the living room after all trim had been refinished.
Michael painted walls in the living room after all trim had been refinished.
Jason painting the underside of the window hood a subtle gray.
Jason painting the underside of the window hood a subtle gray.
An exterior view of the lighted zinc game windows at night.
An exterior view of the lighted zinc game windows at night.
When the Meier House is aglow, its classic Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie style elements are on full display.
When the Meier House is aglow, its classic Frank Lloyd Wright Prairie style elements are on full display.

Details

Bedrooms
3
Full Baths
1
Partial Baths
1

Credits

From Michael Schreiber

When we decided to buy a big house in a little town in northeastern Iowa, little did we realize we were about to uncover an astonishing, long-forgotten chapter in the story of one of the world’s greatest architects. Our home, the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Meier House in the farming community of Monona, is one of the few existing examples of Wright's remarkable American System-Built Homes project of the 1910s, a long overlooked early effort by Wright to provide affordable but architecturally distinctive housing to middle class homeowners. In our newly published book, THIS AMERICAN HOUSE, we chronicle the storied history of the Meier House, its unique place within Wright's oeuvre and American architectural history, and our efforts to steward this early 20th century Prairie style gem into the 21st century. One hundred years on, this remarkable house remains a distinctive family home, proving Frank Lloyd Wright right in his vision.