On our website for the design and construction of houses there is a detailed description of Lloyd Wright, an American architect of the 20th century. He created a style, otherwise called the prairie style, whose influence on modern design is enormous. It is still considered a modern, comfortable and organic choice for a country house.

But in addition to creating architectural projects, Wright was closely involved in interior design. Moreover, pursuing the ideas of functionality and natural beauty in every detail, he himself made furniture for interior decoration.

These interiors are relevant to this day, worthy of continuing the traditions of Wrightian architecture.

As for the characteristic features of the prairie style?

• horizontally extended buildings
• combination of minimalist geometry with natural forms
• segmentation of individual sections of the building
• ethnic motifs of the wild west and oriental temples
• ...and much more, but you can get acquainted with the details in the main article about architecture

Form

The first thing that will catch your eye if you find yourself in such a house is the integrity of the space of the room with furniture.

Interior items are selected to emphasize the elongated squatness of this style - there are fewer vertical lines and they are shorter. However, this does not mean at all that such a house will have little space!

On the contrary, the prairie style means high ceilings, panoramic windows, large spaces and lots of light. In its desire for functional space, the prairie style is somewhat reminiscent of a loft. But if the loft was a historical necessity, then Wright's interiors were a historical innovation.

The interior design also adopted the angularity and segmentation of the exterior architecture. Square (or simply angular) lamps can create a special atmosphere - they simultaneously evoke associations with paper lanterns from the everyday life of Asian cultures and emphasize the strict geometry of the style.

A common design solution is the simplest possible single-color cabinets, a different color from the walls - every detail plays to create a feeling of integrity from many angular segments. By the way, it is for this reason that in the prairie style, instead of the standard division into rooms using walls, you can find borders from decoration: the kitchen has painted walls, and the dining room is finished with stonework.

Colors

In terms of color solutions, the prairie style is based on minimalism - neutral, calm and restrained. Of course, a few bright spots will not spoil and will even enliven the picture, but the main “filler” will be calm and natural shades: white, gray, sand, brown.

What’s interesting is that despite all the emphasized naturalness, Wright’s interiors are rarely painted green. You are also unlikely to find elaborate patterns or randomness of colors.

The prairie style favors combinations, but only those that are neutrally perceived by the eye, and at the same time emphasize the characteristic features: angularity, segmentation, naturalness, simplicity.

Convenience

With this, thanks to the parent of style - minimalism - there will be no problems. The interior will have everything you need and a little more: just in case and so as not to leave a void. Like all relatives of minimalist styles, Wright's style puts convenience and functionality first or one of the first places.

Such interiors “remember” that a house is a home not only for the eyes, but also for the body. However, Raitevsky style, due to its originality, unusualness and harmony, perfectly fulfills all these functions: both convenience and aesthetics.

This also dictates the choice of furniture. It is simple, geometric and extremely comfortable. Square bedside tables with neat handles, tightly knit and reliable wood, squat and stable beds. The entire interior will breathe reliability, but will not lose its lightness.

Accessories

There is nothing superfluous and yet there is something. The borderline state of the prairie style - between strict geometry, natural simplicity and ethnic details, allows it to accept almost everything.

A Wright-style house combines the seemingly incongruous: luxury and minimalism. When designing a house, customers often ask, on the one hand, for it to be “rich”, and on the other hand, modern functionality and simplicity are important. In this case, Wright's house design is what you need.

Wright's style takes its name from the American architect of the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Frank Lloyd Wright. Wright himself called his architecture “Prairie Style.” He was inspired by the Great Plains of the United States. He believed that architecture should not stand out from the surrounding landscape, but, on the contrary, organically fit into the lines of nature. To get a general idea of ​​the “Prairie Style,” just look at the famous “Waterfall House,” designed by Wright for the Kaufman family. Today it is a house-museum, open to the public in the state of Pennsylvania, USA.

As a big fan of Japanese culture, Wright brings a lot to his projects from Japan. This is the interweaving of rectangular symbolism when designing interior spaces, the use of different levels, and the removal of consoles.

Wright did not accept the dominant style of architecture at that time, Historicism, with its elements of pretentious luxurious decoration. He preferred minimalism in everything. For his time, Wright was an innovator, his ideas were often called crazy. But it was he who planted the seeds of the future development of suburban architecture, or, as he called it, “garden villages.” And now, in the 21st century, his projects are successful and are being used in the modern world. Moreover, today’s projects do not look “poor” at all, subject to the principle of minimalism.

Prairie style

Distinctive features of this direction are:

• Minimum vertical lines. The rooms inside are spacious and spacious, flowing into one another. Partitions and walls are used minimally.
• Low-rise. Houses are usually built one-story, sometimes two floors. Such construction is common in the suburbs of the United States. Wright himself believed that “it is necessary to get out of the urban cesspool,” and it was low-rise buildings in the suburbs that were the future.
• Abundance of light in the rooms. Windows are often designed as panoramic or strip windows. There are a lot of glass surfaces used in this direction. Wright designed houses that had windows on both sides of the room. He often used glass in the ceilings, and entire walls were transparent. In general, light sources here can be found in the most unexpected places.
• Extending the roof beyond the foundation line. The predominance of horizontal lines in architecture.

• Asymmetrical composition. The building seems to unfold in all directions, allowing for the possibility of extensions.
• Availability, or even more than one. This type of home often uses a combination of indoor and outdoor spaces.
• The color scheme of the building and interior is calm and restrained. Shades are used that are close to those found in nature and the surrounding landscape. White color is practically not used, or in minimal quantities. The architect himself said that “white is a mockery of nature and violence against man.”

Exterior decoration of Wright's house

The prairie style, or, as it is also called, “organic architecture,” suggests unity with nature. The house should, as it were, merge with nature, not protrude or stick out from it. Therefore, natural materials, or materials that are close in texture to nature, are used in home decoration.

Natural stone, or “wild stone”, as well as facing tiles “like stone” are often used in façade decoration. It is possible to use red facing bricks and marble.

Advice. Marble and granite are expensive natural materials. You can consider a more budget option - facing tiles, colors reminiscent of natural surfaces. In addition to saving money, there is also a large palette of colors.

The architect liked to use “textile blocks” - sand mixed with concrete. The surface of such blocks actually resembled fabric in its texture. As a rule, tiles are chosen for the roof, and almost never corrugated sheets.

Houses in this style of architecture require terraces, recreation areas, ponds and gardens nearby. Wood, glass, and stone are often used in decoration here.

Wright's style: an inside look

Wright's style involves the play of planes and verticals in space. The rooms inside often flow from one level to another, all rooms are permeable and flow into one another. Therefore, in general, there is no place for contrasting design in interior decoration, for example, one room is pink, the other is blue. This style presupposes unity of color and compatibility of shades throughout the decoration of the house.

As mentioned above, white is almost never used here. White window frames, traditional for us, are also inappropriate in this interior. Frames made of wood with a natural color are often used.

In general, the interior is decorated in warm colors: sand, red-brown, gray and brown.
To imagine the interior decoration of the rooms of a house in the Wright style and the furniture, it is enough to recall the children's game “with blocks”.

Wright himself was personally involved in the interior of the houses he designed and often used stone in the interior decoration of the walls, and only occasionally it could be supplemented with wooden panels. He preferred simple, strictly geometric furniture. This decoration was largely borrowed from the East. Therefore, the Japanese style of interior design looks quite organic here.

Advice. Since today there are few people who want to live in rooms decorated with stone, a win-win option for such an interior is “fabric-like” wallpaper in beige and sand shades.

Wright style homes are organic, cohesive and functional. All this will undoubtedly find recognition among fans of modern architectural styles with their minimalism, geometric shape and simplicity of decoration.

House project: video

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The main idea of ​​the “Wright” style in architecture is maximum harmony with nature. Such buildings fit organically into the surrounding landscape, become a natural addition to the landscape and combine simplicity, comfort and functionality. This is an ideal option for suburban construction, and therefore Wright-style houses are becoming more and more popular every year.

The organic architecture style was created in the early 20th century by the innovative American architect Frank Lloyd Wright. He was opposed to complex and bulky structures and monotony of buildings, and therefore actively involved the natural landscape in his projects. The flat steppes of America inspired him to create squat houses, as if trying to merge with the horizon, and this direction became known as the prairie style.

During his life, Wright created more than a thousand projects, including not only residential buildings, but also churches, schools, museums, office buildings and skyscrapers. He used various styles and their elements, but the main emphasis, of course, was on organic architecture. Over time, the popularity of “prairie houses” grew noticeably, and the style began to be called after its creator.

Distinctive features

Wright-style mansions and cottages are very diverse, but they all have common characteristic features:

• horizontal orientation of buildings;
• angularity and squatness;
• visual division of the facade into many sections;
• open plan;
• finishing with natural materials in various combinations.

The houses look very laconic and cozy, no elaborate details or complex elements, everything is simple and functional.

Architecture style

Initially, the layout of such houses was T-shaped or in the form of a cross: rectangular elements intersected at right angles, forming a non-standard, but very convenient and reliable structure. Modern projects are predominantly rectangular and L-shaped, which saves building space.

The houses are low, even if there are second and third floors, and the impression of earthiness is further enhanced by the horizontal orientation of the buildings. The angularity of the buildings is given by numerous rectangular projections - bay windows, multi-level extensions, square columns. There is no basement or high foundation, but the house itself is most often built on a hill. The roofs are 3- and 4-slope, with a slight slope, sometimes almost flat. A characteristic feature of the roof design is very wide overhangs, borrowed from oriental architecture.

Materials for construction and finishing

Brick, ceramic blocks, and natural stone are widely used for the construction of walls. For floors - wooden beams and concrete. But frame structures are not typical for Wright’s style, as are completely wooden houses. Eclecticism is welcomed in the decoration: a combination of concrete and glass with natural wood and roughly processed stone. There are many options for combining stone and smoothly plastered walls.

The most common option for exterior finishing is facing the facade with decorative brick or torn stone, divided into sections by horizontal strips of concrete. Concrete also frames the boundaries of protrusions, parapets and canopies, and sometimes windows. Wood is used for lining eaves overhangs, finishing terraces and extensions, and erecting partitions. The most popular roofing materials are natural and soft tiles, and less commonly, corrugated sheets.

Price for decorative stone

Decorative rock

Window

The windows in such houses are adjacent to the roof itself and can be located along the perimeter of the building as a continuous strip. As a rule, they have a square or rectangular shape, a small number of lintels, and no shutters. Window openings are always framed with concrete strips or thick boards. Expensive projects require panoramic windows on both sides of the main entrance.

Layout

The layout of houses necessarily includes the presence of a wide open terrace, and sometimes more than one. The interior spaces are also quite spacious despite the low ceilings, and the smooth transition from one room to another creates a sense of continuity of space. The doorways are wide and strictly rectangular in shape. Arched structures are uncharacteristic for this style.

Wright's houses: color palette
facades and interiors

Color spectrum

The color design of houses in the Wright style includes predominantly neutral and warm natural colors: beige, sand, all shades of gray and brown. White is used infrequently and is always combined with other shades. The roof should be darker than the walls, and the lining of the eaves should be light (usually white or beige). Design elements for corners and openings are matched to the color of the roof.

Kenneth Laurent House

Wright style façade decoration

Designing and constructing a Wright-style building yourself is very difficult if you do not have an architectural background. But with the help of properly selected finishing, you can transform standard housing and make it look like prairie houses. To make the facade appear squat, at the level of the window openings along the perimeter of the house, you need to mount a wide cornice made of concrete or. The same cornice must be installed along the upper edge of the walls.

For cladding, wild stone tiles or torn bricks are suitable - this finish looks great, and it’s not difficult to do it yourself.

Preparatory stage

External walls should be properly prepared before finishing. Cladding requires a strong, reliable base with a flat surface, without vertical deviations. Having cleaned the walls of dirt and dust, carefully inspect them for defects: cracks, chips, fungal damage, peeling of the old coating. Anything that is loose or crumbles should be removed to a solid base, otherwise a high-quality finish will not work. The areas affected by the fungus also need to be cleaned with a scraper and then treated with any product containing chlorine.

Protrusions larger than 15 mm are knocked down using a chisel and hammer.

After this, a level or an even long strip is applied to the plane of the wall in several places to determine the degree of curvature of the surface. If there are many irregularities and differences in height are more than 15-20 mm, leveling with plaster should be carried out along the beacons.

Before leveling, the walls are primed and allowed to dry thoroughly.

Prices for deep penetration primer

Deep penetration primer

For plastering, you can use ordinary cement-sand mortar or a commercial cement-based mixture. It is a little more expensive, but much better in quality: it does not shrink, has increased resistance to moisture, and dries quickly. The plaster mixture is applied in 2-3 layers, each of which, after drying, is rubbed and sanded. Finally, the walls are again coated with a primer.

Installation of facade cornices

When constructing prairie houses, the horizontal delimitation of the facade is made with concrete strips during the process of laying the walls. In our case, you can use wide facade cornices made of polyurethane or fiber-reinforced concrete, which look no worse. You can purchase them at any hardware store.

Advice. In order for the cornices to match the finishing style, you should choose products of a simple rectangular shape, with the least pronounced relief. The optimal height of the cornices is 140-150 mm.

To install polyurethane cornices you will need:

If fiber-reinforced concrete cornices are chosen for finishing, you will additionally need dowel-nails for fastening, as well as drills and a drill.

Step 1. Determine the height of the cornice on the facade. If the house is two-story, the cornice is attached between the floors and along the upper edge of the facade. In one-story houses, the demarcation line can run at the level of the lower or upper edge of the window opening, or in the center of the window. If the walls are high, you can install two curtain rods.

Step 2. At the selected height, a horizontal line is drawn along the perimeter of the house. Along the marking line, the walls are primed to the height of the cornice. It is advisable to take soil with quartz filler.

Step 3. Prepare the glue: pour the dry ingredients into a container with water and stir with a mixer until smooth.

Take a polyurethane cornice, cover the back side with glue and form grooves with a notched trowel. The wall is also covered with an even layer of mortar, after which the cornice is applied to the surface. Check the location with a level, press it to the base along the entire length of the product. Excess glue around the edges is carefully removed with a narrow spatula.

Step 4. Take the next element, coat the back side and the end of the cornice with glue, apply it to the wall, tightly joining it with the previous one. The remaining elements are fastened in the same way, constantly monitoring the horizontal. When finishing corner joints, the ends of two adjacent cornices are cut at an angle of 45 degrees.

Step 5. When the glue has dried, sand the surface of the cornice with fine sandpaper, sweep away the dust, and seal the seams with sealant. Finally, the finish is primed and painted white.

Fiber-reinforced concrete cornices are much heavier than polyurethane ones, so glue alone is not enough. In this case, on the back side of the product, in its upper part, carefully drill holes for fasteners, going deep to half the thickness of the cornice. The distance between the holes is 40-50 cm, the outer holes are located 10-15 mm from the ends. The same holes are drilled in the wall, precisely observing the specified distance.

Dowel-nails are inserted into the holes in the wall, then an adhesive solution is applied to the wall and to the cornice, and the product is applied to the surface so that the fasteners fit exactly into the holes. Having leveled the horizontal line, press the cornice against the wall and remove excess mortar with a spatula. Finishing is carried out in the manner described above.

Facade cladding

Artificial stone is ideal for cladding; it is practically no different in appearance from natural stone, but has less weight and is easier to install. You can choose two types of stone that differ in texture and color, then the cladding will look even more impressive.

During the work you will need:

Prices for angle grinders (grinders)

Angle grinders (grinders)

Before starting work, experts recommend laying stones from 2-3 packages on the ground to see how the finish will look on the wall. This will help determine the optimal width of the seams between the elements and select the masonry pattern.

Advice. Before installation, you need to inspect the back side of the stones: if it is glossy or has traces of cement laitance, additional treatment with a wire brush is required.

Step 1.: pour the dry component into a container with water and stir with a mixer until smooth. Be sure to adhere to the proportions specified by the manufacturer, otherwise the quality of the masonry may decrease.

Prices for Ceresit glue

Ceresit glue

Step 2. The stones of the first row are laid face down and the back side is moistened with water. While the water is absorbed, the adhesive solution is applied with a spatula to the wall, starting from the bottom of the corner. The layer should be uniform and not too thick. A notched trowel is used to move over the applied layer, forming a relief.

Step 3. The solution is also applied to the back side of the stone and leveled with a spatula in a layer about 6 mm thick. Press it against the wall, level it and press it into the solution with zigzag movements. Additionally, you can trim the element with a rubber hammer.

Step 4. Fasten the next fragment, leaving a seam of the required width between the stones. If glue gets on the front surface, carefully wipe it off with a damp sponge.

Frank Lloyd Wright is one of those architects who managed to leave a bold mark on the history of world architecture. Building his work on the principles of organic architecture (integrity with nature), Frank created his own Prairie style, which after his death was named after him. Wright's house designs, which Frank began designing at the end of the last century in the USA, have become widespread and popular to this day throughout the world.

All Wright style house designs, naturally designed by the hand of the master himself, are the absence of much contrast between the object and the natural landscape. This is what lies at the core of organic architecture. A house should not look like a foreign object; it can be a house, but one that fits harmoniously into its surroundings.

Projects of houses and cottages from the iDomPK catalog contain both stylization in Wright's style and large cottages made while maintaining all the laws of this style. Each of our projects contains photos, layouts that can be redesigned according to your wishes, and ready-made working documentation for turnkey construction, consisting of architectural and structural sections.

Details and style features

Well, let's take a closer look at what makes Wright's house designs so good? What sets them apart from standard architectural solutions?

The first thing that catches your eye is its stockiness. Inspired by the steppe plains of the USA, Frank created a unique style of houses that strive to merge with the horizon. It was thanks to the squatness of his work that they were called the Prairie style (North American type of steppes). Also, he believed that the proportions of buildings should be determined by the human figure; it is thanks to this belief that projects of country cottages in the Wright style do not contain high ceilings and huge halls.

The second floor is always completed. The roof, as a rule, has 3 or 4 slopes. Sometimes it seems that the roof of such houses is flat. This effect is achieved due to the low ridge and very wide roof overhangs. Windows, of course, can be of any shape, but often they are elongated and/or square. The windows rest directly on the roof overhang itself. As a rule, there is no base, but if there is one, it means the house is on a slope and such a base is finished with natural stone.

The external shape of the house contains a large number of projections and there must be awnings. The columns are always brick. The roofing material should be darker than the facade. Suitable materials include soft roofing and iron (metal or seam tiles).

A distinctive feature of Wright-style house projects is a free plan - this is when the number of internal walls and partitions is reduced to a minimum. Frank did not like partitions and doors; he preferred a single space, moving through which you find yourself from one atmosphere to another.

Wright-style house designs are finished with only natural materials on the outside, but this is, of course, ideal. Nowadays, the facade can be finished with any materials, but in order to convey the spirit of that time and enhance the style, we recommend using 2-3 materials - facing brick (sometimes clinker tiles are suitable), artificial stone and wood. Decorative elements require their presence only at the discretion of the architect and/or common sense.

Designing houses and cottages in the Wright style

Designing Wright cottages is a very serious job that can take from 2 to 3 months. It is for this reason that there are not so many such cottage projects in our catalog. If you have chosen the option you like from our catalog, we are ready to modify it to suit your functional and aesthetic needs. If our assortment seems scarce to you, then you can order an individual house project. We are ready to cope with the task! Over 17 years, we have gained vast experience and formed an excellent team of qualified specialists - architects, designers, engineers.

Before considering the architectural features of Wright's style, we will let Wikipedia () say a few words about the creator of this trend.

"Frank Lloyd Wright is an American innovative architect. He had a huge influence on the development of Western architecture in the first half of the 20th century. Created "organic architecture" and promoted open plan architecture"

But other? The rest will be told much better than biographical statements by the houses and projects of this architect.

sources of inspiration

It is worth mentioning that when talking about the architecture of Frank Wright, we are talking about a direction - the prairie style (of which Wright was the founder). It's called that for a reason. Its prototype was the large steppes of the Great Plains of the United States. From these natural lines the buildings took their common horizontal orientation and squatness - they seem to be trying to merge with the horizon line.

Another element that can be easily recognized in the architecture of such buildings is motifs of oriental temples: hinged floating roofs extending far beyond the main foundation.

Wright also learned a lot from minimalism, which was developing with all its might at the beginning of the twentieth century. But taking angular and functional forms as a basis, he carefully transferred them to naturalism, added natural outlines, and so the result was very comfortable and at the same time aesthetic interiors.

And, of course, one cannot fail to mention the main paradigm that Wright adhered to: natural organicity. He actively used the natural landscape in his buildings: both in combination with the building and by blurring the boundary between it and the building. A prime example of this is "The House Over the Waterfall"

But this is general. By what features can one accurately determine the prairie style?

Horizontal lines

As we have already said, horizontal orientation is the most striking property of Wright's styles. Buildings with more than two floors will still try to creep towards the ground.

Angularity

And if horizontal orientation can be called the mother of the prairie style, then the strict lines of minimalism are the father. This gives an amazing feature: despite the angularity of the forms, the buildings fit harmoniously into the natural space - as if the earth thought for a second and took on a geometrically correct shape.

Segmentation

The segmentation of such buildings results from the previous features. Horizontal lines and interfloor coverings divide the building into elongated segments. And in order not to lose visual support, Wright's houses are often equipped with columns. This vertical-horizontal division creates the feeling that the building was created from individual solid cubes.

Hinged flat roofs

An integral attribute of the prairie style. The roof here also works to create a horizontal silhouette and segments the building if there are two or more floors. Oh yes - there will most likely be a roof overhang between the floors. This gives the building a unique shape and has long balconies.

Natural finishes

Naturalness comes first. Therefore, along with glass and concrete, real stone and wood are used. However, with the advent of siding, which fits perfectly into the outlines of Wright’s style, they began to use it.

One of the most interesting features of prairie style finishing is the active mixing of materials. Moreover, it is often used to emphasize the geometric nature of the style. For example, laying stone in a square that occupies a kitchen or a separate segment.

Panoramic windows

Horizontal orientation, smooth walls and regular shapes allow (moreover, they allow!) to install tall and large windows. This works both for the architecture and the interior: the outside of the house, reflecting the surrounding space, gracefully fits into the natural beauty; the interior areas seem larger and receive a sufficient amount of light.

By the way: the use of round windows is also common, but what you are unlikely to see are the arched and protruding windows of classicism.

Unity with nature

The main condition of the class of organic styles is the ability to fit into nature. Regardless of their general outlines, they should not be perceived separately from the landscape in which they are located. Thanks to oriental motifs and finishing methods, the prairie style does this perfectly.

Conclusion

It is difficult to underestimate the influence of Wright's architecture on. Like modernity, it tries to combine modern achievements and nature, but if modernity packages convenience in the packaging of nature, it puts aesthetics and flow at the forefront; Prairie style takes the essentials of the environment and gives it functional and neutral forms.

It is this borderline position, the unification of such dissimilar things, that makes Wright's style so popular and adapted to human life. Here everyone will find calm aesthetics, convenience, harmony, and unobtrusive trends of various ethnic groups.