Sleeping with Mr. Wright

Seth Peterson was only twenty-three when he asked Frank Lloyd Wright to design a cottage. A resident of southwest Wisconsin, home to Wright’s landmark summer home and studio, Taliesin, Peterson had aspired to a career in architecture. Having failed at attempts to study under Wright, he instead commissioned the aging architect to design a small home. Peterson bought a piece of property overlooking Mirror Lake near the Wisconsin Dells and began construction in 1959, months before Wright’s death at age ninety-one.

A year later, Peterson was dead by his own hand—a failed engagement, cost overruns on the cottage, and other mental health issues were to blame. A Milwaukee family bought the house, finished construction, and lived in it for several years. In 1966, they sold the cottage to the state of Wisconsin, which was creating Mirror Lake State Park and wanted the land. Rather than demolish it, though, the cottage sat unoccupied and rotting for the better part of two decades.

In 1986, Audrey Laatsch spied the structure while canoeing on Mirror Lake. The 1980s were a time of renewed interest in the forgotten Wright, and after some research, Latsch decided the cottage should be saved and began to raise funds and interest in doing so. The ultimate end was the $350,000 restoration of a home that cost a tenth of that to build.

The Peterson Cottage had deteriorated to the point that it essentially needed to be rebuilt. The sole surviving elements were its flagstone floors, massive sandstone fireplace, and hearth. Improvements included a radiant heat system, which Wright had designed but hadn’t been built, as well as an array of Wright-designed furniture. The costs of the reconstruction were so large, and the ongoing conservation costs so substantial, that the home was made available to paying overnight guests as a means of securing the permanent financial stability of the cottage.

If you ever wanted to spend a night or a week in a Frank Lloyd Wright dwelling, the Peterson Cottage is the option closest to the Twin Cities, and one of only a handful available in the country. At 880 square feet, it is also one of Wright’s smallest commissions. It is no architectural after-thought, though. Wright’s longtime aide William Wesley Peters described the structure as having “more architecture per square foot” than any Wright building.

The house is a late-era variant on Wright’s “usonian” design, intended to put his principles for modest sites and lifestyles into practice. As in many of Wright’s dwellings of the period, that goal was subverted by construction and design quirks that made the homes costly to build and own—with tragic consequences in this particular case.

Last spring, I spent a couple of nights at the Peterson Cottage in hopes of experiencing some of the magic—or lack thereof—of living in a Wright dwelling. The cottage sits on a stunning site at the edge of a steep ravine overlooking Mirror Lake. Windows on three sides offer forest and lake views. Though just minutes from the garish hubbub of Wisconsin Dells, the home feels isolated and private.

The cottage is immensely charming, especially to fans of architecture and design. Low, red sandstone walls transition to tall windows trimmed with Douglas fir. There is little, if any, plaster or wallboard in evidence. The entire space—even the ceiling—is made of stone, glass, and wood.

I visited during one of the last cold snaps of the season and was unable to use the massive stone porch overlooking the lake, or the canoe that comes with the cottage. But inside, with the fireplace roaring, it was cozy and bright. A twelve-foot-high ceiling at the windows slopes down to just under seven feet approaching the bedroom. At the windows, you are all but outdoors; in the bedroom, you are in a cocoon.

Built-ins are filled with games and books, several of which are about Wright and his area works. The compact kitchen features high-end appliances donated by Wisconsin companies such as Kohler and Sub-Zero. But this is no luxury dwelling. Wright’s simple furniture is not comfortable for lounging. The bathroom is tiny, though functional. The double bed is about all that will fit in the small bedroom, and it could use linens that better reflect the home’s design. Much of the upholstery was stained and worn, a byproduct of the heavy use of the cottage. A portable boom box is about the only modern amenity.

Most necessities are provided, including things such as paper towels and dish soap, which we were told to bring along, but were perhaps left by earlier guests. The house is not air conditioned, but it does contain a dishwasher and compact washer and dryer.

There’s a real sense of Wright’s inspiration as you spend time in the Peterson Cottage, enjoying the way the light plays across the space and appreciating the finer details of the design. And you come to understand why so many of his clients filled their homes with furnishings and bric-a-brac Wright disdained. The Peterson Cottage is spare, minimalist, and not always comfortable.

But if you luck into temperate days and can bring the outside in, or are able to hole up during winter storms, the Peterson Cottage becomes not just a unique artifact of perhaps America’s greatest residential architect, but a true manifestation of Wright’s principles of organic architecture and what it really means to build and live in harmony with your surroundings.

How to Stay

The Peterson Cottage is in many ways a victim of its own magnificence. It’s booked months in advance, and prime summer, weekend, or holiday dates can be taken a full year out. The two April nights I reserved in January were the last two consecutive nights open until September. I would have needed to wait until November to find a weekend. If you are passing through and can’t book a stay, the cottage is open for public tours the second Sunday of each month.

The cottage rents for $275 per night, except winter weeknights, which are  $225. Go to sethpeterson.org to learn more about the house and rental availability. The local company that handles guests and maintains the property does not function in a curatorial capacity, though the cottage is filled with materials pertaining to its history and renovation.

Getting There

The Seth Peterson Cottage is in Mirror Lake State Park near Lake Delton, Wisconsin. It is approximately 215 miles from the Twin Cities, 3.5 hours west on I–94.