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Who owns the Frank Lloyd Wright home seen on 'Southern Charm'? Whitney Sudler-Smith said his friend was the one who restored it, but who is it? And can anyone rent the plantation home?

Published on August 19, 2022

The cast of Southern Charm experienced a unique getaway when Whitney Sudler-Smith hosted them at the Frank Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation – a historic spot typically not for rent to the public.

“This is a Frank Lloyd Wright House,” Sudler-Smith explained to his friends. “And Frank Lloyd Wright is probably America’s greatest architect. He built this in 1941. Basically, you see the style here, called organic architecture.”

“In 1986, it was about to be bulldozed,” Sudler-Smith continued. “And my friend saved it and restored it to its natural splendor.”

The cast marveled at the design and uniqueness of the home. Meanwhile, “This house is perfectly set up for Whitney’s aesthetic,” Austen Kroll explained in a confessional. “’70s porno house.”

Who owns Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation?

Porno house or not, this property is a classic, located in Yemassee, SC. Sudler-Smith referred to a “friend” who purchased the house in the mid-1980s. That friend was Hollywood producer Joel Silver, via Welcome to Beaufort. Silver believed the property is valued at about $5 million. And he spent years restoring it, adding exotic animals to the property, which included a hippopotamus at one time, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Silver will sometimes vacation at the Frank Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation. This is probably why the property isn’t for rent to the public. He painstakingly restored the home, tapping into the talents of Wright’s grandson Eric Lloyd Wright. Mixed in with the classic decor, Silver included some remnants from Hollywood in the media room.

Can the public visit the Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation?

While Silver doesn’t typically open his home up for rentals (unless you are Sudler-Smith and friends), he allows public tours. But don’t just show up for a tour. The Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation is only open to the public twice a year. And it is managed by the Beaufort County Open Land Trust.

According to South Carolina Low Country: “Every two years the Beaufort Open Land Trust schedules tours for one weekend.” Tours were held in November 2018. Tickets went for $175 each.

The home was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1976. The Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation is only one of two buildings of Wright’s in South Carolina.

Can you stay at a Frank Lloyd Wright home?

Southern Charm fans inspired by the Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation getaway can stay at one of the famous architect’s properties in other states. Nightly rental prices range from about $250 at the Elam House in southern Minnesota, to close to $800 a night at his property in Hawaii, Curbed reports.

Curbed identified 12 Frank Lloyd Wright homes available to rent throughout the United States. The majority of the homes are concentrated in the Midwest. And while each Wright property has signature Frank Lloyd Wright features, the Lloyd Wright Auldbrass Plantation is a unique gem in South Carolina.

The Southern Charm cast was nestled in individual rooms and bungalows. And the plantation boasts about 4,000 acres with a combination of five plantations total.

Southern Charm is on Bravo every Thursday night at 9 pm.

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