The Grant House is a Victorian home situated at 291 Prospect Street.  This home was constructed in 1895 and then occupied by William and Jenny Grant, and subsequently by his son, Walter, and his wife Doris.  Mrs. Grant died in 1987 and Walter continued to live there until his death in 1997.

This fine Victorian structure was purchased by the State in 1998 and has become part of the Eastern Connecticut State University campus.  The University’s plan for the home is to continue its pragmatic restoration for various uses and functions.

New England Design, Inc. of Mansfield, Connecticut, was retained by ECSU in September of 2000 to coordinate and select finishes for the Grant House and has established a renovation criteria for this grand residence.

The Victorian double entrance with a beige on white stripe wall covering opens into the front hallway with a similar colored Waterhouse Damask.  This wall covering, from 1880-1900, travels up the stairway and throughout the second floor hallway.  The neutral tones of these wall coverings play an important role in transmitting the tones of the rest of the home.  Light colors in the entry make it warm and inviting and accent the dark ornately-carved wooden stairway and balusters.  Coloration is featured through an artful diffusion of light from a stained glass window.

The front parlor will continue the white tones with the same stripe pattern as the vestibule.  This room features an antique upright piano, the focus of many happy, leisure hours.  The parlor furnishings will be reupholstered using fabrics and tapestries of the Victorian period.

Large wood siding panel pocket doors open into the sitting room where the walls are covered with Broad Meadows in white on off-white hues.  The wall covering is thought to be a pattern used by William Morris and dates back to 1890. This room features an intricately carved wood fireplace that should display a mirror or artwork over the mantel to help draw your attention and to reinforce the saying that “the hearth is the heart of the home”.  In this room, we are looking for four unique armchairs with sensuous curves.  When these armchair groupings are put together conversations may be more personalized and focused.

The dining room is more dramatic with a terra cotta wall covering with off-white and beige empire bee accents.  This room’s décor will be complemented by the dining room chairs reupholstered in a colorful silk stripe. 

The new guest powder room has been incorporated into the design making it ADA, (Americans with Disabilities Act), compliant.  Here wall covering is a leafy vine with a white background and a beige vine.

The Victorian kitchen has been renovated making it more functional by adding contemporary appliances.  It has an “L” shaped kitchen layout featuring wood cabinets.  This entailed moving the sink to a position under the window.  The Victorian wall covering features a trellis pattern with floral accents and has an off-white background with white and tan accents.  The floor covering has been replaced with a vinyl-speckled pattern, making it more practical and functional for today’s kitchen. An elevator provides access to the 2nd story.

The elaborately carved front stairway leads into a quiet little den.  This room features a wall covering that matches the main entrance vestibule.  This room is just right for two small chairs for a private reading area.

Directly across from the den there is the library whose wall covering is a striped design, lined up in

perfect formation, with a dove colored background.  This pattern has a more masculine feel since in Victorian Era this room was primarily reserved for the men of the home.  It will feature a period desk and some additional built-in bookcases to match the existing millwork.

Down the hall is the master bedroom which features an ornately carved fireplace with an attached wood carved mirror above the mantel.  The wall covering has a floral damask pattern with an off-white background and celery green accents.  This wall covering continues throughout the elevator hallway.  ECSU seeks a classic Victorian wooden double bed to accent cool white linens to give the room the feeling of precious heirloom linens.

The Victorian bathroom on this level has a summer rose wall covering with reds on whites.

The back bedroom features a classic Victorian wooden bed.  The wall covering is a pattern called flowers and fruit in a pale green background with an off-white accent that dates back to 1900.

The second floor also includes a gathering room where a terra cotta wall covering with a floral design similar to the dining room wall covering is featured. Plans are to use the same colorful stripe upholstery as the ones in the dining room, on these chairs.  In the event that there is a gathering in either of the two rooms, the chairs would be interchangeable.

Upgrades of the mechanical and electrical systems have been performed during the renovation period.