Design and Decor Lessons from Frank Lloyd Wright’s Meyer May House

Trying to discuss and convey the influence, importance, and the style of an architect like Frank Lloyd Wright is the work of biographers, not bloggers. There’s no possible way to do any justice at all to the man in a few short paragraphs. But after a trip to the Meyer May House in Grand Rapids, Michigan, I find myself wanting to give it a try.

The Meyer May House, located at 450 Madison Ave SE in Grand Rapids, was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright for Meyer May and his family in 1908 and construction was completed the following year.

In 1985, a major restoration was begun and by 1987 the home had been meticulously restored to Wright’s original vision. Today, it’s open to the public for free tours and is truly a great experience. Knowledgeable guides lead you through the home, pointing out every detail that Wright incorporated into his design. When the tour ends, you’re left with a better understanding of the architect’s brilliance.

If you’re not familiar, Frank Lloyd Wright’s architectural style was all about horizontal lines, simplicity, and a desire to integrate the home with the environment. His designs are marked by simplicity in design and decoration (yes, he was involved in everything that went into the home). The structures were noted for pronounced horizontal lines and flat or low hip roofs. This style came to be known as Prairie Style Architecture and the Meyer May House is a perfect example.

Recently we toured it and were struck by the foresight and thought and the beautiful design work that went into the project. And while there are literally hundreds of “lessons” or ideas to take from the home, here are a few concepts we came away with that can be applied in any of our homes!

LESSON 1: It’s OK to Buck the Trends!

So often, we want to be “trending”. We want to be right in line with what other people are doing. It’s more comfortable there sometimes. But, Wright completely ignored trends and worries about “what was popular” when he designed his homes. In fact, almost everything about the Meyer May House bucks the trends. It’s completely unique in the neighborhood. The houses around it (many of which were already standing when construction began in 1908) are all ornate, “boxy” homes. Traditional homes. The kind of homes everyone built.

And then there’s the Meyer May House with a style and flair all its own. It’s long horizontal lines, low, flat roofs and modern feel must have seemed strange in that neighborhood all those years ago. Not to mention the way it’s set on a lower grade than the street so that it actually seems to rise from the earth organically! Look for the front door all you want, but you’ll never see it from the street. It’s tucked away along the side of the home. There’s a beautiful veranda that can be seen from the street, but oddly enough, there’s no approach! A line of hedges seals that front porch off from uninvited guests.

The exterior is definitely unique in that neighborhood, but even more interesting (in our opinion) is the interior. Wright designed this home specifically for the Meyer May family. The ceilings are low (Meyer May was 5′ 8.5″ tall) and the furniture (designed by Wright as well) is made for people of that height. The windows are set lower than you might think. In fact, everything about the house is designed specifically for the Meyer May family. We even noticed on our tour that taller people felt much less comfortable there than those of us closer to Meyer May’s “near perfect” height! And that’s perfectly fine! Taller people don’t feel at home there because, in Wright’s estimation, they shouldn’t: it was not their home. This home belonged to Meyer May and his family. And as such, it was built for them specifically–not for anyone else. The main priority was comfort for the family who lived there.

And that’s a great decorating point! So often we choose colors based on trends. We wonder what’s popular, what’s “in”, what’s cool. We worry what other people will say about colors we select. We’ve all been there. We’ve all picked a color for a room and shared it with someone in the family (or a decorating-savvy friend) only to watch that friend wrinkle her nose and make a face of complete distaste. “You can’t use that color! You’ll be stuck in the 70’s forever if you do!” In the end, we often decorate our home to match tastes other than our own!

Taking advice and second guessing our original thoughts isn’t a bad plan. Just remember that the home you’re decorating is your home! Just as Frank Lloyd Wright didn’t think twice about designing a room with low ceilings, neither should you worry too much about choosing colors you love just because they’re not current or popular. If you love them, that’s what matters. It’s not about what designers say or decorators recommend. It’s not about what’s currently trending or popular. It’s not about Benjamin Moore’s Color of the Year. All of that is interesting and helpful, but in the end, it’s all about what colors you like!

So, design and decorate your home first and foremost with you and your family in mind. That’s the first point. We’ll get to the next one tomorrow!

EP68: Drywall Tips, Brilliance of Mr. Wright, Whole House Generators 101!

This week we talk to the Wall Doctor and get tips to make our your next drywall project go more smoothly. If you’ve ever hung your own drywall, you know there are little things that can make the project frustrating. Today, you can listen to an expert spill the beans on everything he does to make sure every project goes well!

We’re also in the studio with Brad Krause from Service Professor to talk about power generators. Sure, we all know about the portable options, but are you aware that there are systems that are permanent? That can be installed at your home and which will automatically kick on within 10 seconds of a power failure?

On top of all of that, we talk about an amazing opportunity right here in Grand Rapids! The Meyer May House is a home designed by none other than Frank Lloyd Wright. It was completely restored in 1985 and is now open for free tours! It’s a remarkable opportunity to take a peek into the mind of one of America’s finest, most brilliant architects!

Listen here: 

SHOW NOTES

Segments 2 & 3: The Meyer May House

We promised pictures of our visit and here they are!

Lesson Three In Furniture Refinishing: There’s Always a Fix!

Now, the last post may have left you wondering whether our chemical stripping had ACTUALLY led to success. Were the very sweaty hands in heavy rubber gloves really worth it? Was it really worth the extra expense of buying a stripper?

The undeniable answer is ABSOLUTELY YES!!

As we slowly scraped away the chemical stripper with a plastic putty knife (yes, that is important because we didn’t want to risk scraping the wood) we saw that the paint on the top wasn’t hiding problems but amazing potential.

The legs and some of the decorative work needed a few extra coats of chemical stripper to get all the old paint off–mostly because it refused to give up its seat in all the little nooks and crannies–but eventually we saw our little desk for all that it was. And we were thrilled!

Well, except for those back legs that were missing chunks because of rot…. And the drawers that were so broken that the slightest tug left you holding the front of the drawer while the rest of it fell to the ground in a clatter of old wood!

So, we’d discovered beauty beneath all the old paint. But we were also left with a number of problems that made us pause and consider our options. As we mentioned in the last post: furniture refinishing is ALL about rolling with the punches. It’s about being flexible. We had wanted to stain the entire desk, bringing out the beautiful wood we just “knew” was there. Turns out with the broken and rotted legs, staining was out of the question. We’d stain the top of the desk, but paint the rest. But that still left us with some problems: broken, crumbling drawers and the rotted legs.

Lesson Three: There’s Usually a Fix!

And that’s the next lesson: There’s usually a fix. Never forget that! And don’t zip by it tooquickly. Understand that even if you don’t know the answer to a problem, that doesn’t mean there isn’t an answer. At RepcoLite, we work with these types of projects all the time. We’ve helped with so many different situations, there’s a good chance we’ve seen what you’re working on. Also, there are many tools and products on the market of which homeowners are completely unaware.

So to go back to the desk example: those rotting legs needed repair. To help with that, we pulled a container of Min-Wax Epoxy Wood Filler from our shelves and mixed up a batch. It’s an incredibly tough wood filler that hardens chemically and, therefore, very quickly.

We mixed it up according to the directions and then built a sleeve out of cardboard to go around the legs that needed help. The sleeve helped us form the putty into the shape necessary and it held it long enough for it to harden and hold that particular form. Then we removed the cardboard and started sanding. It didn’t take long before the legs were once again solid and smooth. And best of all, the epoxy wood filler we used was durable and tough! These legs were basically better than new!

Then it was on to the drawers! And this was an easy fix. The dovetail joints holding the drawers together were already weakening. So all we did was carefully pull them apart the rest of the way, clean off any glue residue that remained, and then cut a new drawer bottom out of 1/4″ MDF. After that, it was just a quick matter of putting everything back together and regluing those joints! The end result, again, was better than new!

And that’s the big point here: you may tackle a project and run into a complication that leaves you frustrated or ready to give up. The rotted legs and the broken drawers didn’t do much for our attitudes regarding our desk, after all! But, before you call it quits on a particular project remember that there is usually a fix! You may need to ask some questions. You may need to learn about some new products. You may need to pick up a new repair skill. But the answers and the fixes are out there! Stop out at any RepcoLite or Port City Paints and ask. We’ll get you moving in the right direction.

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EP67: German Smear, WD-40, Roofing 101 with the Sheriff!

Today’s show highlights a project that we think has tremendous potential! So many of us have brick houses that look and feel a little dated. They’ve got that 70’s or 80’s brick and we just don’t know what to do to breathe new life into it. Well, if you’re an HGTV aficionado, you’ve probably heard of German Schmear (or Smear). It’s a great way to update that old brick. However, it’s a bit labor intensive. Well, we’ve got a contractor who just created the same look on a house with a much simpler method involving RepcoLite’s waterbased exterior stain! If you’re sick of the brick, we might have a project for you!

We also cover a number of unique uses for WD-4o. And then, in the last two segments, we sit down with Matt Williams from Sheriff-Goslin Roofing (a roofing company who has been around for 112 years) to discuss . . . of course . . . roofing. We talk about what signs will tell you when your roof needs replacement and we dig into lots of new roofing technology! Matt even gets a little “sciencey”!

Listen now:

SHOW NOTES

Segment 1: German Schmear

We promised pictures and examples on the show and we intend to deliver! Check out the gallery below. The first gallery is taken from the job we mentioned in the segment. The second gallery is a link to our Pinterest page for examples from around the web!

 

German Schmear from our Pinterest Page

Segments 3 & 4: Sheriff-Goslin Roofing

In this segment, we interview Matt Williams. He is the manager of the Lakeshore division. If you’d like to get in touch with Matt, you can reach him at 616-392-3373.

 

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EP65: Oak Cabinets, Paint Warranties, Safe Electrical Outlets

On today’s show we talk about painting Oak cabinets. It’s not a complicated project, but the big question always revolves around the open graining: what do you do about it so you can get a great look on your finished cabinets? We talk about that as well as the riveting topic of paint warranties. (And as boring as that may sound, it’s important to understand exactly what a warranty will cover. You’ll be surprised how little some warranties actually mean!) And finally, we wrap up the show with an interview with Brad Krause from Service Professor. Brad sits down with us and discusses a number of electrical safety concerns that are probably happening in your home right now!

Listen now:

SHOW NOTES

Segment 2

Here’s the “homemade air conditioner” we talked about at the beginning of the second segment. Yes, we know this could be a “fake” YouTube video. Yes, we know it might not work as well as it’s shown. But we still think it looks like a ton of fun to try!