Margaret Bruton, Frank Lloyd Wright, and the Walker House

Walker House, Carmel, CA, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright
Photo by Bob Aronson [CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)]

The stunning Walker House, designed by Frank Lloyd Wright, sits on Scenic Drive in Carmel, California. This was the home of Della Brooks Walker, widow of Clinton Walker, heir to a lumber fortune. On June 3, 1945, Mrs. Walker wrote a letter to Frank Lloyd Wright, describing her oceanfront property on Carmel Beach:

"I own a rocky point of land in Carmel, Calif. extending into the Pacific Ocean... I am a woman living alone ‒ I wish protection from the wind and privacy from the road and a house as enduring as the rocks but as transparent and charming as the waves and as delicate as a seashore. You are the only man who can do this - will you help me?" 

The 78-year-old Wright agreed to design a home for Mrs. Walker. The house, which he called the "cabin on the rocks,” was completed in 1952. Like all of Wright's designs, the Walker house blends seamlessly into its natural surroundings and resembles the prow of a boat surging into the surf. As requested by Mrs. Walker, its low profile and stone foundation harmonize with the setting and compliment Carmel's white sand beach. Wright’s design features repeating patterns of triangles and hexagons; the hexagonal living room, topped with a hexagonal roof, is one of the home's most notable features.

Walker House, Carmel, CA
Photograph courtesy of Janet Eastman
www.oregonlive.com/hg/2015/09/carmel_frank_lloyd_wright.html

I was surprised to learn that among the interesting pieces of furniture in the Walker House is a coffee table by Margaret Bruton. The mosaic table in shades of green, gold, and black is made from six separate triangular tables that fit together to form a hexagon. Margaret must have been aware of the hexagonal shape of the living room and created her table to harmonize with Wright’s design.  

Margaret Bruton coffee table in the Walker House in Carmel, CA
Photograph courtesy of Janet Eastman
www.oregonlive.com/hg/2015/09/carmel_frank_lloyd_wright.html

There is no evidence that Frank Lloyd Wright knew of the Brutons, but Mrs. Walker, who studied at the Pratt Institute and was an artist herself, would have known about the famous sisters.  It is likely that she commissioned Margaret to create a table for her home.  

The Walker house is open to the public one day a year, during the Carmel Heritage Society’s annual house and garden tour.