Review: Taliesin West, a Frank Lloyd Wright Home

I recently felt the travel bug hit me like never before. In travel I always find inspiration and new ideas — and Frank Lloyd Wright’s desert home, Taliesin West, delivered on both.

For the past decade or so, I've been fortunate enough to leave the country once a year. In travel, I always find inspiration and new ideas, am able to view things in a new light, and meet interesting people who open up my thought process and perspective. I love looking at architecture, driving through different neighborhoods, and paying special attention to detail in hotels or homes — tile selections, beautiful textiles. I truly believe travel makes me better in many ways, but most importantly, as a designer.

With travel restricted this year, I took a couple of jaunts to the mountains for hiking. It was beautiful and relaxing, but I found myself craving a quick change of scenery. I've always been inspired by the work of the late Frank Lloyd Wright and have wanted to visit his homes, so I booked a trip to Scottsdale to tour Taliesin West, now part of the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. In Wright's words, the vision is "to make life more beautiful, the world a better one for living in, and to give reason, rhyme, and meaning to life." The foundation inspires people to discover an architecture for better living through meaningful connections to nature, the arts, and each other.

Upon purchasing a $20 ticket online, I was sent all the information I needed for a safe, self-guided tour. When I arrived, I was instructed to download an app and put my AirPods in to listen along as I walked the property. It was a beautiful 75-degree day in Scottsdale without a cloud in the sky. The home is set back from the main road and truly blends into the landscape — Wright's signature style, known as "organic architecture."

He aimed to ensure his work was inspired by and complementary to the landscape surrounding his homes — a continuous whole from architecture to landscape. The windows were evidence of that, seamlessly connecting the home to natural rocks in the area. Every room, even the music room, was built to include a fireplace, since it can get very cold in the desert in winter; they were constructed in stone and were often the focal point of the room. Wright positioned the home to include a natural breezeway: even on a warm day, it forced the air to create a cooling effect along the beautiful bougainvillea-lined pathway connecting the main living space to the entertaining portion of the home. He wanted water on the property to reinforce that cooling effect — his team thought it unlikely, but upon digging they hit a natural aquifer that is now one of the main water supplies there.

For the interior, Wright used a "compression and release" theory: small entryways and tight corners eventually release you into large open rooms with vaulted ceilings and windows. With this technique he controls the journey of his guests as they move through the spaces, much like walking in nature itself. The decor has a mid-century-modern feel, but on a closer look you discover the furniture is actually Asian-inspired — like his origami chairs constructed from single pieces of plywood — and there are many Asian mosaics throughout the property that reinforce the concept.

As I took the tour, I often rewound the audio and listened twice in each room, or wandered back through the tight compression-and-release doorways to look more closely. It was a pleasant surprise that you're allowed to sit on certain pieces of furniture. Staff were scattered throughout to make sure everyone stayed where they were supposed to and adhered to distancing guidelines. Afterward I visited the gift shop, full of unique trinkets, coffee-table books of Wright's work, and other treasures — I selected a coffee mug, a magnet for my fridge (I enjoy these keepsakes from my travels), and a set of notecards I'll use as holiday thank-you notes for my clients.

I left the property full of inspiration, exceedingly happy I took the trip, and fueled to provide my clients with great work. To quote Wright, "I believe a house is more a home by being a work of art." I highly recommend a visit to Taliesin West.