More Frank Lloyd Wright Houses and a Pumpkin Pie

On a Sisters’ trip to put finishing touches on the celebration of Jill’s special birthday, Carolyn and I met Jill at her home in DC and drove to Pennsylvania where we could visit three more Frank Lloyd  Wright (FLW) houses in one easy trip. We also intended to enjoy the glorious fall foliage, and, of course, find a pie.

People: Sisters who know how to celebrate each other’s birthday!

Places: Three FLW houses in Pennsylvania: Kentuck Knob, Fallingwater, and Duncan House. Each time I visit a FLW-designed house, I wonder how livable the house would actually be. As noted in a previous blog (October, 2022) about FLW’s own house, Taliesin, in Wisconsin, I reported that the kitchen was so teeny tiny that it would be impossible to roll out a crust for a pie. On this trip, I paid particular attention to the kitchens in the three homes we visited.

At Kentuk Knob, the house (and kitchen) were designed on a hexagonal grid. We learned that the wife, who was working with FLW on the design, persuaded him to enlarge the kitchen space, but in spite of having a skylight to create an illusion of space, it was unlikely anyone was making pies here.

Fallingwater, the iconic FLW design, was built as a summer home for the Kaufmann’s, owners of a department store in Pittsburg. Here, the kitchen is bigger (they likely had a chef) and gives the appearance of being larger because of the windows overlooking the falling water.

The Duncan House is an example of FLW’s Esonian houses which are smaller, more affordable and designed for functionality! We decided to test the theory of livability by staying in the house for one night. There were three large bedrooms, a large “open concept” living /dining area, and, eureka! a very large kitchen where we prepared and ate our breakfast. Note the kitchen island and the space on the counter that accommodates a blender, a Mixmaster and yes, a pie plate!

Pies: On our way to Fallingwater, we saw a sign for The Country Pie Shop. We made a quick U-turn and purchased a pumpkin pie to take with us. None of us really love pumpkin pie, but it was the season after all. The pie was made on site and tasted best when we brought it back to Jill’s house and added a big scoop of vanilla ice cream.