Touring

A quick peek at our new house....

.... April Fools!

 We DID get to pretend this was our house, though, for one night.
It turns out that playing house is still fun, even after you're a homeowner.  

Especially when you get to play house in an immaculate Victorian mini-mansion with a butler's pantry like this one:

 It was a splurge to book this place for just Nat and I, for just one little night-- but totally worth it!

 After a week of sick kids and a touch of cabin fever, Nat and I were so grateful to get away for the weekend (or at least 30 hours of it) for an architectural tour of Buffalo.

In addition to enjoying our wonderful home-for-a-night, we had dinner at a wonderful Greek restaurant (Acropolis), walked around a cute neighborhood in the chilly rain, and got coffee at a simply perfect coffee shop (The Spot).

Saturday morning, we continued to enjoy the drizzle at Forest Lawn Cemetery...

 (FLW design number 1, the Blue Sky Mausoleum)

 ... then warmed up (and hid rocks) at Betty's Diner for breakfast.

 Then, off to Greycliff!

 While the weather continued to be dismal, our tour was super fun.  We ended up with a private tour, with a very nice docent who showed us every inch of the place.  It turns out the house is undergoing extensive renovations after being rescued from a group of Hungarian priests who moved walls and divided spaces into tiny bedrooms for the boys' school they ran there.  (Yep.  Can't make this stuff up.)

A precursor to Fallingwater "glass corners".

 So, there were holes in the ceiling, exposed beams, and  unfinished walls. It felt rather like touring a foreclosed property, thinking about just what needs to be done to make it livable. It was an interesting property, grand design in some ways and very plain in others.  Designed to be  "simple lake cottage," the finishes were ordinary even as the proportions were sublime.   It was interesting to learn that the house was commissioned for Mrs. Martin, who did not like the family's FLW designed home in the city, and as such frequently asserted her own ideas and opinions, from lighting fixtures to the presence of window screens.  Hence the house felt *not quite* like a Wright home, lacking that absolute (controlled) alignment of elements present in most of his work...

 After a quick lunch at Tim Horton's (oh, Sour Cream Glazed donuts, how I have missed you!) we headed back into Buffalo for tour number two:  The DW Martin House Complex.

We rather liked the "Gardener's Cottage" (yes, this is a cottage) and personally feel something like this would look great on a lakefront plot in Aurora...

 Also on the property, a "mid size" prairie house built for Martin's sister, Delta Barton, the main house itself,  an extensive pergola walkway, and a divine conservatory.  The house, designed with plenty of collaboration between Mr. Martin and FLW, is apparently considered one of his masterpieces.  It was also apparently built with no budget.  Turn-of-the-century millionaire's were sure handy.

 We learned that the entire walkway and the conservatory had been demolished after the house was vacant for  number of years, when an architect bought the main house an then sold off the land to a builder who put two apartment buildings in that space.  A blessing in that it allowed the architect to save the main house, but!
The Martin House trust has spent 41 million dollars so far on the renovation, including rebuilding the walkway and conservatory according to exact plans, on the old footings, using bricks and roof tiles specially manufactured to match the old ones...

Historical restoration is mind boggling.

We weren't supposed to take pictures inside, but here is a sneak peek through one of the "Tree of Life" at glass windows (many of which were sold off and which are being restored, one by one...) into the living room, lined with a bank of more windows.  Nat loved these light fixtures, which were found throughout the home...

Inside, the house was sumptuous.  Rich brown tiny tiles on the floor unified the rooms and the outdoor porches.  Roman brick on the walls was given gilt mortar for shine.  A giant arched fireplace offset the square windows. Velvety green area rugs and soft yellow and rust upholstery added to the richness, along with dark wood trim, plants everywhere, and these wonderful massive columns hiding both the metal beamwork and the radiators, and acting as part-wall to divide the "unit rooms" he created.  Open floor plans, in 1908.  I found the house to be luscious, though Nat deemed it too dark for his taste, and we could both see why Mrs. Martin wanted an antidote for all that richness in her plain-finished lake house.  That said, I'd still take it. 

It was hard to leave our little getaway and come back to the real world, I'll tell you that.

At least the weather welcomed us home, with 50 degree sunshine and a chance to spend our last day of Spring break outdoors.

A morning walk and explore in our local treasure, Forest Hills.  Down by the falls this time.

 And indoors too-- our last family concert of the Season at Severance.  It was a super fun rendition of Peter and the Wolf, complete with a mime who captured the hearts of both the kids (even this big grown up boy!)

 Nice day to be out on Wade Oval...

... and a nice break with my family.  Now that I have fully adjusted to our "around home" break, and started (but not finished) 3 distinct painting projects.... we are all back to school.  I am trying to focus on enjoying my school year routine even as my heart looks forward to summer...