To Choose Between Brothers...

I went the distance for these two. Both designed by Frank Lloyd Wright and still residing so close to each other after all these years, I was drawn to both. Coming from the same father, they are both so different just like true siblings. One lives for the spotlight - Falling Water - and one is much shyer - Kentuck Knob.

I met the younger Kentuck Knob first and was impressed by his exterior detailing. There is carpentry just below the cantilevered roof line that alludes to the heritage of Pennsylvania by resembling Native American tribal designs. He's built from materials that would be found naturally in that area, sandstone and tidewater red cypress, so he blends in nicely with the surrounding landscape. He rests on the hill and as you walk along below it almost feels as though you're walking on the outside of a fort. The overhang above the veranda has octagonal cutouts that allow light to move about the porch and interior while the day progresses. His natural elegance and calm demeanor made him very easy to be around.

His interior centers around the round, stainless steel kitchen which is rumored to be the first ever. The idea came from the dairy farm - that the stainless steel is naturally antimicrobial and therefore easy to clean. Also, the staple FLW style of narrow, low-ceiling hallways opening into not so spacious rooms to give the illusion of space was well practiced. Overall I was drawn to him while touring his facilities (thank you, CAKE) and enjoyed our pleasant experience together.

Falling Water on the other hand was flashier and a bit more boisterous. Made to entertain, he had large common areas and space for live-in help. I like a man that knows the essentials of entertaining guests, so this was an immediate turn-off. He had an extensive collection of sculpture and art on the grounds, so that was definitely a redeeming quality. I was pleasantly surprised when I entered the living room area and found a stairway that led directly into the water - very clever. Overall he was a very well rounded site; weaving the interior and exterior together in a seamless fashion.

He was much larger than his younger brother and more grandiose with the number of bedrooms and the guest house in the back. He obviously had been much more successful in making friends and networking because there were a lot of people there. What interested me the most was his daring sense of defiance. The fact that he cantilevered out above the water and defied the traditional limits of engineering. His father had instilled in him the sense of adventure, where as Kentuck Knob had played it a little safer, nestling himself into the hill.

Overall I enjoyed hanging out with both of them, but I feel more drawn to the peaceful, less gregarious of the two. There is something to be said about someone that relaxes into their surroundings as opposed to trying to make it more than it is. The acceptance that Kentuck Knob had of his limitations was refreshing to see - he was comfortable with what he had. Falling Water obviously enjoyed his surroundings, but his triumph over the limitations seems so stressed. There were future predictions that he would fail, so he always has to be on guard. It's important to try new things and be adventurous, but it's also important to be greatful and respectful of what you have. There were so many positive qualities in both, so I decided not to choose either - I'd always be thinking "what if" about the other!