These Wisconsin rentals offer a chance to stay in a home designed by Frank Lloyd Wright

The designs of one of Wisconsin's most famous and influential architects, Frank Lloyd Wright, just strike a chord for some people.

His low-slung Prairie-style homes with simple lines that often blend into the landscape can get a heart a-fluttering in ways that can be almost unexplainable. It's one of those "if you know, you know" kind of reactionary feelings. And when many of us look at those Wright-designed homes, we naturally wonder, what would it be like to live there?

Wright designed homes to facilitate a "beautiful, richer, deeper, fuller life," said Mike Lilek, president and curator of Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Block in Milwaukee. Good design, the architect believed, could be powerful enough to calm a person's soul and encourage families and friends to gather and connect in deep ways.

Three homes in Wisconsin offer fans that deep Wright experience with overnight rentals. And people can soak in similar vibes at two more rental sites that were designed by architects who worked side-by-side with Wright.

Try out a three-bedroom American System-built home in Milwaukee

Prior to World War I, Wright designed a series of homes that would be "system-built," meaning that lumber and other building materials would be cut and fabricated in a mill or factory. These pre-cut and measured materials would then be shipped to house-building sites for quicker and easier construction. The homes are now known as American System-Built Homes.

Six of these homes were built on the 2700 block of West Burnham Street in Milwaukee by developer Arthur L. Richards between October 1915 and July 1916. All of the homes have been altered in the past century, but five are now owned by Frank Lloyd Wright's Burnham Block Inc., a nonprofit organization that is restoring and preserving the buildings. They are open for tours and the aim is that the buildings educate and inspire peoples' architectural interests.

The sixth home is privately owned by Joan and Steve Martinie and is available for overnight stays through the short-term rental website Vrbo (vrbo.com/434063). The three-bedroom, two-bathroom home can sleep nine people. The cost can vary, but averages $262 per night.

This Frank Lloyd Wright home in Two Rivers is an 'Amazing Vacation Rental'

Two Rivers' Still Bend/Bernard & Fern Schwartz House was featured in the first episode of season two of the Netflix series "The World's Most Amazing Vacation Rentals." That's a good news/bad news scenario for people who want to stay overnight in the Usonian home that was completed in 1940. The good news is the show underscored the appeal of the home. The bad news is you'll have to wait; demand is high, particularly for Friday and Saturday nights.

In the late 1930s, Wright participated in a Life magazine project in which the periodical commissioned designs for four typical American families with annual incomes ranging from $2,000 to $10,000, according to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Right around that time, Bernard Schwartz, a Two Rivers businessman, and his wife, Fern, were dreaming of owning a Wright-designed home. When they met the architect, they agreed he would use a modified version of the design he produced for Life.

Today the home is owned by brothers Gary and Michael Ditmer, who have restored the house and see to its care and legacy. They offer tours and educational programs, but to get the full experience, people can stay overnight. The rental costs vary, depending on the season and peak demand times, from $595 per night Sunday through Thursday in the winter to $995 per night on holidays. The rates are for up to six people staying in the four-bed, two-and-a-half bath home, and two more guests may join the group for $50 per person. Details are available at stillbend.com.

Snuggle up in a small cottage in Mirror Lake State Park

Wright was in his 90s when he created the Seth Peterson Cottage, his smallest residential design and last Wisconsin project. The 880-square-foot, one-bedroom, one-bathroom cabin was built for Peterson, who loved Wright's designs since he was child, according to the FLW Foundation. Peterson applied for a Taliesin Fellowship but was turned down, told there were no openings.

Peterson requested several times that Wright build him a home, but the elderly architect routinely turned him down. Still, Peterson persisted, sending Wright a $1,000 retainer, which Wright spent. Obligated, Wright created the cottage. In 1960, shortly before the home was completed, Peterson died by suicide at age 24. Six years later, the state of Wisconsin purchased the house in order to expand the adjacent Mirror Lake State Park. But care of the home languished. In 1989, area volunteers formed the Seth Peterson Cottage Conservancy, which signed a lease with the Department of Natural Resources in order to preserve, rehabilitate and operate the cottage as a rental.

In addition to overnight rentals, the cottage also is open for tours ($5 per person over age 12) from 1 to 4 p.m. the second Sunday of every month. Overnight rentals cost $325 per night, and with some exceptions, a two-night minimum stay is required. Right now the cabin is booked for about a year out and is taking reservations for 2025. Details are available at sethpeterson.org.

Two more lodging options designed by architects who worked side-by-side with Wright

In her book "Frank Lloyd Wright's Wisconsin," author Kristine Hansen profiles more than 40 individual Wright creations that are scattered across the state, plus buildings that were designed by architects who worked alongside Wright and used similar styles.

Here are two of those Wright-adjacent properties that welcome overnight guests:

The Stewart Inn, Wausau: Originally a posh home for a lumber baron, the Stewart Inn has been used as a bed and breakfast since the late 1980s. The home was designed and built by architect George Maher, who, along with Wright, embraced the Prairie Style architecture that valued nature, craftsmanship and simplicity. Maher and Wright worked together as draftsmen in the office of the influential Chicago architect Joseph L. Silsbee. Rooms cost $120 to $230 per night. Learn more at stewartinn.com.

Canoe Bay, Chetek: John Rattenbury was chosen to be part of the Taliesin West Fellowship in 1950, and he worked closely with Wright, according to the Frank Lloyd Wright Foundation. Owners Dan and Lisa Dobrowolski opened the adults-only luxury resort in 1993, and Rattenbury designed two of the signature cabins on the property, Hansen wrote in her book. Edgewood Villa is a 2,000-square-foot cabin and rents for $1,200 per night. The 900-square-foot Rattenbury Signature Cottage rents for $780 per night. More information: canoebay.com.

Contact Keith Uhlig at 715-845-0651 or kuhlig@gannett.com. Follow him at @UhligK on X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram or on Facebook.

This article originally appeared on Green Bay Press-Gazette: These 3 Wisconsin Frank Lloyd Wright sites offer overnight rentals