It was my pleasure to visit the Eustis Estate Museum for the first time during their Open House last year. Their original furniture shall not be touched, as evidenced by the ropes gently blocking one's way. Other furniture, you could not only touch but even sit up on, as they were replications. It wasn't the largest estate I've visited - the top floor was also off limits - but it was amazing to realize that this place was a relatively recent acquisition by Historic New England portfolio. read more

Lovely estate that is decorated for the Christmas season. It is basically a mini version of a Newport mansion. One of the staff members was awesome and let us sit in front of the couch to take a picture with the Christmas tree. (They rent out the space for filming & photoshoots. There are bathrooms available for visitor use.) It offers both guided and self guided tours. There are two floors open for visitors and a large front porch where they have rocking chairs in the summer to see the view. There are also walking trails that go through the estate. It will look spectacular with the fall leaves. read more

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Outstanding historic home tour with unique accents and architecture. Another New England gem worth a visit. read more

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Came here for free on Smithsonian Magazine's Museum Day. Plenty of parking, friendly staff, things to see, and unique to this museum: plenty of places to sit. The chairs and sofas in pretty much every room is available for you to sit/relax in, and it makes the tour feel super calming and inviting. I am far from a connoisseur of the arts, but even I was able to appreciate the museum. They have a parlor with heated floor tiles. Things like heated car seats, etc are considered novel ideas in this day and age, and here's a home from the 1800s, way ahead of the curve. The original person that built this place was an engineer, so if you look hard enough, you can see that in the ingenuity of the architecture. For example, the windows have multiple sliding panels making them adjustable/suitable for various weather. How cool is that? I'd say an hour is enough time to explore the museum, so definitely worth a visit. read more

I visited the Eustice Estate today with my mom and brother. When we arrived around 2:30pm and purchased tickets at the visitor center, the nice woman working explained to us that Historic New England conducted surveys to find out how to get more Millennials into these home museums. Turns out, the answer is to give visitors lots of options! At this home museum you will take a self-guided tour where you can either speak with a docent, use their app and/or use the iPads located throughout. AND you can sit on the furniture, which is kind of cool (it's all been recovered though). Or just walk through and look. It's up to you! Because we visited in December, the house was beautifully decorated in a Victorian fashion for Christmas. The downstairs was also decorated with period furniture, much which is actually original to the house. The house was owned by the Eustice family for four generations, and only in the last few years was sold to Historic New England. The first floor has been restored to the way it would have looked in the Gilded Age. The upstairs had one or two rooms decorated, and there was an exhibit about fashion throughout time in Boston set up in the other bedrooms. The third floor servants quarters are roped off. I would say if you want to take your sweet time and read through all of the interactive bits, you should give yourself an hour. I'd love to see this place in the summer! read more

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Wow! I've been to A LOT of house museums, but this place is jaw dropping. The polychrome exterior stonework is very unusual and delightful. The interior spaces and finishes are scrumptious, everywhere you turn there was something new to delight the eye. I have mixed emotions about the self-guided experience. While there were kiosks and tablets loaded with info in every room, and docents were avaible to answer questions, I did not take advantage of either. I was too busy taking photos (without flash of course). I would also have liked to spend more time exploring the grounds. Guess I will have to go back. High points for parking and restrooms. The range of merchandise available in the gift shop could be expanded. read more

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This is a particularly beautiful and interesting piece of architecture in a wonderful setting. Something of a hidden gem, as it's only been open to the public for a few years and hasn't really been discovered yet. The grounds are vast, great for a stroll and leading right into the forest of the Blue Hills Reservation. As of this writing there's a wonderful small exhibit of New England paintings that, in typical fashion, Historic New England has curated and presented so that you'll likely spend more time enjoying it than you'd expect. read more

Fantastic step back in time. The Eustis Estate is a well preserved Queen Anne Half Timbered house on 80 acres. Computers are available on each floor to 'Learn' about the family who hired Emerson to build this house in 1878. The richness of the finishes along with the intricate woodwork leaves you in awe of the craftsmanship. The location is stunning and the staff friendly and knowledgeable. Great way to spend an afternoon. read more