[4] The style was an experiment by Wright in modular housing;[5] he sought to develop an inexpensive and simple method of construction that would enable ordinary people to build their own homes with stacked blocks.

While the design was in most ways a departure from Wright's prior work, it was consistent with his lifelong love of natural materials and his belief that buildings should complement their surroundings.

Aside from the free-spirited oil heiress Aline Barnsdall, with whom he fought constantly, his motley clients included a jewelry salesman, a rare-book dealing widow and a failed doctor.

In 1965, the Los Angeles Times columnist Art Seidenbaum wrote: "Environmentally, the place is fascinating because it still looks modern in a neighborhood that is gracious but aging.

"[6] In 1969, Millard House was ranked as one of the 12 most significant landmarks in the Los Angeles area by a panel of ten distinguished citizens and architecture experts.

[10] In 1980, The New York Times noted that the Millard House was known around the world and ranked it among the few buildings in Los Angeles that "have become classic works of the 20th Century.

"[11] The house appears as the Secarus IV home of the Albino, an alien villain in the Star Trek: Deep Space Nine episode "Blood Oath", which aired on American television on March 27, 1994.

The house appears as Arnold Weber's family home in the second and third seasons of HBO's science fiction series Westworld.