Photography: Tim Street-Porter
La Miniatura
Family Home by Annie Kelly Art + Design in Pasadena, CA
In 1923 Frank Lloyd Wright designed "La Miniatura" for Alice Millard. Here, he used perforated concrete blocks, called textile blocks, to construct a villa in Pasadena for his Chicago client. He was not asked to furnish the house, as Millard was an antiques dealer who planned on using her own furniture. As a result, there were no Frank Lloyd Wright furnishings available to buy back, so with the client's limited budget, we had to improvise.
As the perforated blocks had an almost Middle-Eastern quality, I decided to use furniture from that region, as well as the Arts and Crafts furniture still popular in 1923.
The project involved a certain amount of restoration for which we received many local awards.
