Before closing up his Oak Park studio in Chicago and heading to Europe in late 1909, Frank Lloyd Wright put together blueprints for what would then be his only Prairie-style residence in California: the Emily and George C. Stewart summer cottage, located in Montecito, CA, about a half mile from the Pacific Ocean in Santa Barbara. The design for the vacation home-to-be came at the request of wife Emily, who had seen articles about Wright’s Prairie-style homes in magazines. Completed in 1910, this almost 5,000 sq. ft. “summer cottage” would be Wright’s only Prairie-style residence, and one of 24 residences in the state.
(This page may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure about affiliate links.)
Tours
This home is privately owned and not available for tours.
Please respect the owners’ privacy and do not trespass on the property.
Location
196 Hot Springs Rd, Montecito, CA
Some 80+ years later – after four other owners, some ill-thought-out remodeling and a bit of disregard for necessary maintenance – the 6 bedroom, 3.1 baths, 4,691 sq. ft. home sold in late August of 1993 to author T.C. Boyle and his wife, Karen for $995,000, although the home is now estimated to be worth $6.4M. Boyle, of course, is the author of The Women, a novel about Frank Lloyd Wright, his three wives and Mistress, Mamah Borthwick Cheney.
Not exactly a typical Wright Prairie-style home, the architect used less brick and stucco for this California house; the exterior is shiplapped redwood siding and boasts 365 windows – all original. Public rooms include redwood-framed casement windows that allow an abundance of natural light to enter.
The Boyles have dedicated themselves to restoring the home to its “original historic character”, no small task when one considers the fact that the foundation was replace with concrete (instead of the original that was on piers) and the house was “earthquake-retrofitted.”
There is so much more, but you should really see it for yourself… if you could. Unfortunately, because it is privately owned, tours are not available.
Places to Stay near Santa Barbara
- Choice Hotels
- Hammonds Beach Haven
- Montecito Inn – historic boutique inn with 10 minute walk to beach
Resources, Links & Products
Browse these resources for more information about this FLW Building, it’s history and information about the region.
- Butterfly Wood: Frank Lloyd Wright's Prairie House West (Amazon book)
- Pacific Coast Architecture database (PCAD)
- On the Pacific website
- "At Home with T.C. Boyle" by Mark Anthony Wilson, April | May 2018 Western Art & Architecture
- "The Wildlife of T.C. Boyle's Santa Barbara" by T.C. Boyle, Smithsonian Magazine
- View all books by T.C. Boyle on Amazon