Usonian Kitchens

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 2:26 pm

Does anyone here have images of Usonian Kitchens? Thank you.

jmcnally · Post by **jmcnally** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 3:41 pm

I have several kitchen photos from Muirhead (which was larger than a normal Usonian kitchen) on this page: http://www.flwright.us/FLW334i.htm

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sat Jan 07, 2017 8:11 pm

https://www.savewright.org/wright_chat/ ... &start=120

This 23 page thread documents my research, with the help of so many here at Wright Chat, when restoring the Lamberson workspace with Stafford Norris.
If you have specific questions, let me know. I obsessed over Usonian kitchens for months!

And here is another exhaustive thread on DRN's research and work on his Sweeton workspace:

https://www.savewright.org/wright_chat/ ... =workspace

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:07 pm

How close was the linoleum and/or Formica red color to the red concrete floors?

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 1:47 pm

The linoleum sample I was sent by Stafford (material used at Willey) for consideration and abuse testing was a very near match to the Sweeton floor color. It should be noted that the red tint of the Usonian concrete floors has some variability from house to house.

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 2:12 pm

Thank you very much DRN.

Is anyone aware of Cherokee red linoleum used originally bt FLW on counter tops and also on the floor of the kitchen in a Usonian house?

Audrey · Post by **Audrey** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 2:14 pm

A few photos of the original kitchen at the Goetsch-Winckler House can be found on our public Flickr and Facebook pages.
Commentary can be accessed by clicking through the photo albums. The links take you to these albums and more.

Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/16842551251495 ... tab=albums

Flickr:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/14960965@N08/albums

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 2:15 pm

DRN

What were your counter tops originally? What did you use to replace them?

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 2:55 pm

Wright specified red linoleum counter tops with a redwood edge strip...this was never installed. The Sweeton's instead installed heavily varnished luan plywood with a redwood edge, presumably using leftover material from the exterior soffits. The luan delaminated and rotted near the sink and was later replaced with butcher block, which by 2008 when we bought the house, had rotted as well.
We considered linoleum for our restovation, but our sample looked pretty beat after testing and normal (for us) wear and tear over the course of a month.

In the end, we opted for granite (gasps and shrieks are heard) and are quite pleased with its appearance, utility, and ease of care. If we were to do it again, we might choose soapstone if the graining is not too loud. We recognize our kitchen and bath are not textbook restorations and we are OK with that considering how we live, what we can afford, where the house is, and how it will likely be used in the future: as a middle class house in a middle/middle class neighborhood.

pharding · Post by **pharding** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 3:25 pm

Audrey and DRN: thank you. My office is working on the restoration of the Lloyd Lewis House. It is a great privilege to work on this house. I am in research mode right now for the kitchen while carpentry repairs are being made to address deferred maintenance and minor changes. Our work is being done with a very light hand to preserve as much of the original fabric including finishes as possible.

DRN · Post by **DRN** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 5:09 pm

Ah, that explains the question about the kitchen floor...a house with a kitchen on an upper level. The Suntop unit I was in had a wood floor which was interestingly structural...3x6's or 8's laid on their sides to achieve a shallow structural section depth. The Penfield house has a second floor bathroom that has Cherokee red 1x1 tiles laid over the wood floor as a finish.

Kudos...the Lewis restoration sounds like a great project... I hope you might be able to share some of your experiences with us.

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 6:21 pm

Congratulations, Paul! I look forward to seeing the results of your efforts...

Lloyd Lewis is quite early, from 1939. I'm fairly confident that the countertops would have been linoleum instead of Formica, even though the material was available already. The safest choice of color would be to match the floors. The cove (assuming the drawings show a backsplash?..) and edge detailing used at Willey work well with linoleum, and would be period correct for Lewis.

http://www.thewilleyhouse.com/

Completely original countertops and cabinets from Walter (Cedar Rock) with coved backsplash and wood edge (material does not sit on top of fascia, as at Willey.) Notice the color is more primary here, most likely due to the later date of completion. The top of backsplash is capped with a chrome channel:

Lamberson, 1948, Wright gave the owners the choice of linoleum or Formica, we went with Formica (he specified Surfglo Red) with his edge detailing (laminate rests on top of fascia) and chrome channel cap for backsplash when doing our restoration.

SDR · Post by **SDR** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 8:36 pm

Peter, is Cedar Rock linoleum or laminate ? Both materials can be coved as shown; the photo isn't large enough to tell which material is used. At a Massachusetts formica kitchen shop we used stainless cap and other profiles from "New York Metal Molding."

As reported recently in this thread http://savewright.org/wright_chat/viewtopic.php?t=9962 a Lewis drawing in Monograph 5 indicates linoleum for the kitchen counters.

I'm not sure why this topic is being spread out over multiple threads. I too look forward to the renewal of the lovely Lloyd Lewis residence. Futagawa photos published in Monograph 5 and elsewhere merely whet the appetite for more of this unique opus.

SDR

peterm · Post by **peterm** » Sun Jan 08, 2017 9:19 pm

Cedar Rock is linoleum with a coved backsplash:

Willey is also coved linoleum. Lamberson is laminate with a separate piece for the backsplash.

fishigan · Post by **fishigan** » Mon Jan 09, 2017 5:53 am

The Eppstein residence has cement counters that contain the same dye as the floors. They are not original though.