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2 Frank Lloyd Wright homes for sale together in MI for $4.5M-DFP

Written by Tom Taubenheim | November 15, 2023 2:05:00 PM Z

Neighboring Frank Lloyd Wright homes, the Eppstein House and the Pratt House, are for sale in Kalamazoo County with a reported asking price of $4.5 million.

The original Wright-designed furniture in the homes, however, is extra.

"I refer to it as a piece of artwork that you can live in," Fred Taber of Jaqua Realtors told the Free Press, adding that "it's better than a painting" because you don't just hang it on a wall and look at it, you can go inside, walk around, sleep in it and "stay there."

Wright, an American architect, who designed more than 1,000 structures during his lifetime, aimed to create spaces that were in harmony with their natural surroundings, a philosophy he called organic architecture, but it is rare, if not unique, to have two of them next to each other.

He also was well known for having exacting standards and designing everything, including the furnishings, which, are now collectable, and at action can garner significant sums, which is why the homes listing agent said aren't included in the deal.

The homes, at 11090 and 11036 Hawthorne Dr., have reportedly been on the market for weeks, but recently gained social media attention after WZZM-TV aired a segment on the home, showing what it looked like inside, and interviewing the homes' current owners, Tony and Marika Hillebrandt.

"I think by coincidence, I found it on the internet," Tony Hillebrandt told the Grand Rapids station. Marika Hillebrandt addied, "We looked at each other and behind the real estate agent's back we pinched each other. We had no idea a normal person could own a Frank Lloyd Wright property."

Taber said that the Hillebrandts invested about $1 million to restore the homes and are renting them for from $400-nearly $600 a night. The houses, like many other Wright designed homes, are referred to by the names of their original owners. Read more here