How to Sell a Frank Lloyd Wright House
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In mid-September, Frank Lloyd Wright aficionados are expected by the busload in New Canaan, Conn., passing through a gate with the name “Tirranna” carved into the metalwork, to tour a 6,917-square-foot hemicycle house largely designed by America’s master architect.
They’ll examine the mahogany cabinetry, admire the mitered glass windows that erase the barrier between inside and outside, snap photos of the swimming pool that cantilevers out over the Noroton River, and wander the 15-acre grounds.
Although the house, one of Wright’s last grand works, is for sale at $7.2 million, it is unlikely that any of these visitors will be putting in offers. Rather, the visit to Tirranna will be a high point of the Frank Lloyd Wright Building Conservancy’s annual conference, which this year takes place in New York City and commemorates the 150th anniversary of the architect’s birth, a milestone being marked by numerous special events around the country, including a major retrospective at the Museum of Modern Art.
For Doug Milne, the Houlihan Lawrence associate broker who has the listing, inviting conference participants was in keeping with the support of the conservancy exhibited by Tirranna’s last owners, who have died, and also a good opportunity for exposure.
“Who knows? There may be some well-heeled people who could afford it, or it might trigger something. A lot of it is word of mouth,” said Mr. Milne, 65, noting that few people have seen the house since Ted and Vada Stanley bought it in 1992 and spent two and a half years restoring it.
