Video: "Nothing is Trivial"

[DavidC]

Nothing Is Trivial - (7:08)


David

[SDR]

Another pleasant and uplifting interlude. Previously unseen drawings and early photos are always a treat; Steve Sikora's observations and a fresh recounting of the history of his house are likewise gratefully received !

S

[Roderick Grant]

Considering the impact it had on the future of middle class housing, the Willey House deserves to stand shoulder to shoulder with Taliesin, Fallingwater, S. C. Johnson and all the rest of the masterpieces. This is a minor opus only in square footage.

[SDR]

The open kitchen alone is enough to put it on the short list of important American residential architecture ? And there are so many other unusual features and "moments" in the building. I was a bit surprised to see, on the plot plan revealed in the video, that there was a street at the foot of the garden, diagonally placed relative to the other three lot lines . . .

S

[Reidy]

Freeman (and maybe Glasner) had an open kitchen before Willey.

[SDR]

Glasner, no. Freeman, sorta ? Note the door(s) separating the kitchen from the living room. I haven't seen a photo clearly showing what's going on there. RG ?

[Roderick Grant]

At Freeman, the small octagon was a table serving dinner for Sam in the living room and Harriet in the kitchen. There were shutters that closed when the table was not in use. The arrangement was not to Freemans' liking, and soon after completion, RMS replaced most of the cabinetry with a more closed design, and cut the dinner table down to coffee table size.