Delbert W. Meier Residence Monona, Iowa

This home is one of the American System-Built Homes that Wright designed between 1915 and 1917. These two story homes have a remarkable resemblance to the “Fireproof House for $5000” design that Wright was building years earlier.

Meier House with the garage added

Monona, Iowa is a small farm town. To someone from the Washington, DC area, most towns in Iowa seem to be small farm towns. I love these places and if there were any hills or mountain biking trails nearby, I’d move to one instantly. I can honestly say that you’ll never find more warm, welcoming people in the United States as you will in a small town like this. I was inside the city limits of Monona, Iowa for a grand total of 20 minutes and I had 5 people wave to me, two of which welcomed me to the town as I drove by. Even though I grew up in a small town in Colorado, I’ve been in DC long enough that I’m not really used to that kind of treatment.

Close-up of the main house. The porch and breezeway were also not original.

The Meier Residence is built on a rectangular floor plan. According to the plans in Storrer, the kitchen and dining room are both square, taking up about half of the first floor and the rectangular living room takes up the other half of the first floor. The home appears to be beautifully maintained. The stucco is in great shape and the yard adds to the beauty of the home. The owners obviously care for this home quite well.

This shows the original portion of the house.

The porch to the right of the front door was originally open. It has been closed in and the covered portion of porch has been extended towards the garage. This creates a breezeway between the house and the garage.

Another view from the street.

This view shows the windows that open off the south side of the house. These would bring the winter sunshine into the living room and brighten the space up significantly.

About the author

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Brad Smith

Brad Smith is an experienced interior designer and the founder of OmniHomeIdeas.com. With a Master's degree in Interior Design from Pratt Institute and a passion for creating safe and healthy living spaces, Brad shares his expert insights and innovative design ideas with our readers. His work is driven by the belief that home is where every story begins.

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