The Pope-Leighey House

 My friend Stephanie who moved to Vienna, VA 7 years ago called and asked if I wanted to go to see one of Frank Lloyd Wright's designed homes with her.  Steph and I were in charge of the women's group at our church for several years together in Utah so I was anxious to get to spend some time with her.  Turns out she had read the same book Loving Frank that my Utah book group had read and had become interested in his work.  I have always seen photos of his homes and "frankly" (hee hee) have never been that impressed, but the book does shine a light on why he designed the way he did, though it didn't make him out to be a very good person.

 I wish we could have taken photos inside because it really was amazing how he did so much with such a small space.  The house was only 1200 sq ft.  That's the size of our new apartment so it gave me hope that with good use of space it can look good!  He did design the house to be open to nature and used the placement of the sun to add to the design of the house. He was incredibly picky and homeowners could not make changes once they had moved in.  He would drop in occasionally to check and make sure they hadn't.  This particular home had windows all around but the lady of the house liked to sleep in so she had made curtains.  The tour guide said when Wright came to visit and saw them, he turned right around and walked out. I had a lot more respect for his talent after seeing the Pope-Leighey house and would be interested in seeing more and doing some more research on him.

He designed this little herb garden just outside the kitchen so you could just lift the window and snip fresh herbs for cooking.  I love that!

Steph and I headed to Old Town Alexandria for lunch at Chadwick's which has been a favorite since Tom was here in 2001.  Then we went back to Fort Myer (where I had met up with her) and she showed me around the base a bit.  Had a great afternoon with an old friend!