In 1948, Katie and Maynard Buehler bought an acre of land on a quiet, leafy lot in Orinda for $1,850. On a lark, Katie, who had seen pictures of Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Usonian homes in magazines, decided to write a letter to the famed architect. She hoped that while he was in San Francisco overseeing the design and construction of the circular building on Maiden Lane, he could survey the property and perhaps agree to design a home for them.

Wright did agree, and soon after the correspondence, he arrived in San Francisco and booked the penthouse floor at the St. Francis Hotel.

“I told Maynard that we’d probably get the bill for that, and sure enough, we did,” Katie says.

Dealing with Wright’s infamously domineering character was just part of the journey for the Buehlers. But they knew that going in, and after all was said and done, the couple was thrilled to move into their custom-designed home in November of 1949. As with his other homes, Wright also designed many of the furnishings in the Buehlers’ house—such as the octagonal sofas and the dining room table and chairs—and the pieces’ classic style absolutely sings in their environment.

Upon entering the home, the living room’s slanted ceiling is the first striking feature one notices. It starts out quite low, then soars to 14 and a half feet tall when it meets the wall of windows overlooking the vast backyard. Wright had the ceiling gold-leafed to better reflect the lushness of the trees in the garden.

“He really wanted to bring the outdoors in,” Katie says, pointing to the fauna-filled planter boxes built behind the L-shaped couches that go around the perimeter of the living room. Wright strategically placed the couches along the wall in order to yield the best views of the outdoors from both the living room and through the dining room.

Wright even went so far as to deliberately design the dining room chairs with low backs so the outdoor view would not be disrupted from the living room.

“As you can imagine, it hurts to sit in these chairs after a while, but Wright said it was a small price to pay for that view,” Katie says.

Indeed, the immaculately landscaped backyard is vividly seen through the floor-to-ceiling windows of the dining room. The table itself is a series of mahogany triangles that fit together to complete a rectangular table. Adding to the drama of the room is the gold-leafed, coffered ceiling and gold-rimmed china set with matching silverware and champagne flutes that are flawlessly placed on the dining table, as if at any moment guests will arrive.

In Good Hands

Though a fire ripped through the house 10 years ago, started by a malfunctioning heating coil in one of the bedrooms, that quintessential Frank Lloyd Wright impression is intact. The Buehlers called on Wright’s original apprentice when building the house, Walter Olds, and Alward Construction, both based in Berkeley, who brought the home back to its original glory.

“For a number of reasons, this was probably the most challenging job my company has done,” Alward says. 

Wright houses are notoriously problematic when it comes to meeting seismic and building codes. This was no exception. Wright’s Usonian solid wood construction design left no room for insulation, plumbing, wiring, seismic panels, air conditioning or heating. Alward addressed that by keeping walls Usonian thin where the thickness could be seen, such as doorways and window openings, but built thicker walls to code where the thickness could not be observed.

Finding old-growth redwood siding and redwood plywood was another challenge, as was matching the color of the concrete. Maynard Buehler’s engineering background came in handy when he built a special tool to recreate the original scoring in the concrete.

“The main asset we had in rebuilding the house was having the original architect,” Alward says, referring to Olds, “and having the original owners who essentially built the 1949 house themselves.”

Alward also had the benefit of working with reputable carpenters and craftspeople.

“It took a dedication to the integrity of the house to make sure that everyone was on board,” he says. “The concrete workers, structural steel people, electricians, plumbers, gold leaf installer, cabinet maker all did their part to make this the beautiful house it is.”

After the fire, the Buehlers took advantage of the reconstruction to make the house more functional for them since their children had long since moved out. After the remodel, one of the child’s bedrooms became a study, while another was combined with the Buehlers’ bedroom to make a dressing room.

“That fact that there was a reconfiguration of some of the rooms was typical of Wright houses in that they were designed so that the function and arrangement of separate rooms could change as the family changed,” Alward says.

Over the years, the Buehlers bought much of the surrounding property, in order to have some control over their immediate environment. “We bought the house next door because we wanted nice neighbors who care about their garden,” Katie says.

It’s apparent that Katie is very proud of her garden, and spends much of her time during the warmer months ambling along the property, appreciating the colors and textures of the Japanese maple trees, listening to the creek that runs along three sides of the house, checking in on all of the three freestanding structures—one adult “playhouse,” a replica of a Japanese teahouse, a gazebo.

“After all these years of living here, I don’t want to take it for granted,” she says. “It’s just such a nice place to walk about and think good thoughts.”