One of Wright's most extensive designs was his estate for Avery Coonley, a successful Chicago businessman, and his wife, Queene Ferry Coonley.  In addition to the large house with servant's quarters, the estate also included a gardener's cottage, garage/stable, and extensive raised and sunken gardens.

The Coonley house was one of the first times that Wright used a zoned plan – the various functions of the house are separated in separate wings: servant/kitchen wing, living/dining wing and bedroom wing.  In plan, the house resembles a joining of two pinwheels which meet along the long corridor connecting the living and bedroom wings (see plan below).  The main living spaces were raised to the second floor (similar to the Tomek, Robie and Heurtley houses); this allowed Wright to use all the space underneath the roof as part of the living room, giving it a cave-like quality and decorate the sloping ceiling with elaborate wood trim and lighting.  

The Coonley house is situated near the Des Plaines river, near an area where the river changes direction to create a small peninsula.  The Coonley's owned all the land of the peninsula, and later commissioned other buildings by Wright, and also by William Drummond, an associate of Wright's at his Oak Park Studio.  Wright in 1912 designed a children's playhouse a short distance away; Drummond designed a teacher's residence "Thorncroft", directly north of the Coonley residence, and another cottage near the house.  Later Drummond designed a kindergarten for the Coonley's in nearby Brookfield.  The Coonley's large estate was landscaped by Jens Jensen.  Wright designed all the furnishings for the house, even the curtains and rugs.  The furniture was executed by George Niedeken of Milwaukee, who also created the mural by the living room fireplace.

In the 1950's the Coonley estate was subdivided. The living room and bedroom wings were divided and converted into separate residences; the gardener's cottage and garage/stables were sold and each converted into private residences.  The raised gardens were sold off and a modern house built on the property.

An excellent site about the Coonley house may be found here.

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