ROCKFORD, Ill. (WTVO) —  A Frank Lloyd Wright designed chair has been returned to the Laurent House in Rockford. 

A fundraising campaign to “bring the chair home” was launched earlier this summer, and its goal was achieved in just two weeks.

“We would like to offer our heart-felt appreciation to all who contributed to our “Bring the Chair Home” fundraising campaign,” John Groh, president of the Laurent House Foundation Board, said. “This was a rare opportunity to return an historic piece of furniture to the museum’s collection.”

The chair was among the pieces of furniture Wright designed for the home of Ken and Phyllis Laurent; however, in 2011 faced with financial difficulty, the Laurents reluctantly auctioned six pieces of furniture including the Wright chair. Earlier this summer the current owner of the chair offered to sell it back to the Laurent House Foundation at his cost of $11,700 which the “Bring the Chair Home” campaign was able to achieve.    

With the acquisition of the chair, the original Wright-designed furniture collection at the Laurent House is nearly complete. Only a pair of ottomans remain missing. 

More information about the Laurent House, its historic and architectural significance and its previous owners, Ken and Phyllis Laurent, is available at the Foundation’s website, www.laurenthouse.com, by mail to 4646 Spring Brook Rd., Rockford, IL 61114, or by calling the Laurent House at 815-877-2952.