BELLEVUE, Iowa -- On a secluded bluff along U.S. 52, between St. Donatus and Bellevue, sits a cottage inspired by the design aesthetic of renowned architect Frank Lloyd Wright, and it's now available to rent.
The cottage was created by the O'Donnell family, of St. Donatus -- Joe, his wife, Kelly, and their three adult children, Joey, Ian and Makaela. After two and a half years of planning and construction, the cottage housed its first Airbnb guest recently.
"So much blood, sweat and effort went into it," Joe O'Donnell said. "It was one challenge after another. There's a reason no one makes Frank Lloyd Wright homes. They're so difficult to build."
The cottage is specifically modeled after Wright's 1950s Seth Peterson cottage, which is located on Mirror Lake near Reedsburg, Wis. Joe said he's been to a lot of buildings designed by Wright throughout the years, but it wasn't until Kelly stayed at the Seth Peterson cottage a few years ago that the couple decided to create their own version.
"What we thought would only take a year ended up taking two and a half years," Joe said.
Wright began designing the Seth Peterson cottage for Peterson and his fiance. Peterson, who shared a birthday with Wright, was a longtime fan of the architect. However, both men died before the cottage was complete, and others finished the structure years later. Joe said it was one of the last buildings Wright designed.
The O'Donnells' cottage is a bit bigger than the Mirror Lake one, Joe said, but it was designed to be a 1950s home with modern-day amenities.
The retro 1950s elements can be seen throughout the cottage, from the orange and aqua living room furniture to the all-red kitchen appliances.
But the cottage's magnum opus is the large windows that greet guests as they walk in, giving a gorgeous view of the surrounding valley.
The wall of windows proved to be the biggest design stressor. The corner windows aren't separated by a wooden frame, a technical challenge but an element highlighting Wright's style of connecting homes to their outdoor surroundings.
"The point of the windows was to walk in and feel like you're still outside," Kelly said. "It's key to have glass in the corners. ... Frank Lloyd Wright never wanted to disturb nature. He built nature into the structure."
Cedar wood and limestone also make up the floors, ceilings and walls of the home, reflecting the cedar trees and limestone formations steps away from the cottage.
Joe said he's "handy," but he couldn't build the cottage alone, and the family had a team of people helping construct and plan the home. But there were some elements, like the wooden chandeliers hanging in the kitchen skylight, that they made themselves.
"Four months, every night," Joe said, pointing at the chandeliers.
The cottage is built on land that the O'Donnells have owned for over 20 years, and the family has enjoyed hiking on the trail system they've been working on. Joe noted that lots of wildlife can be seen by watchful cottage guests looking out over the valley.
Airbnb guests have reserved the cottage for the next three weekends already. Joe said the hope is to have the rental "take off" and become a getaway spot year-round.
Joe noted that the cottage's emphasis on windows creates a beautiful, cozy winter moment as cottage occupants watch the snow fall.
"It's like a Frank Sinatra Christmas song," he said.
