Wright's first home and studio was in Oak Park, a Chicago suburb. The buildings were close together in order to fit onto the long narrow site. Wright used his house to experiment with his new ideas about architecture. He made the space feel more open by creating wide doorways, rooms that lead into each other, and built-in furniture. He used skylights and recessed lighting to create a more dramatic atmosphere. The studio was attached to the house by a hallway. It featured a drafting room with a balcony around the top that opened up the space for his draftsmen and designers. He also built an intimate library shaped like an octagon where he would show his clients the designs he had made for them. He lived in Oak Park with his first wife, Catherine, for about twenty years. During this time, he and the architects working with him pioneered the Prairie style of architecture. This was a revolutionary style developed not from architecture of the past, but influenced by the flat Midwestern landscape and its colors. Wright designed many houses in the Prairie style in the early part of his career. In 1909, he left Oak Park and closed the architectural studio.