Day Nursery Introduction

Tall corner windows looking out onto balcony.

When Edith and W.E.C. Eustis moved into their new home, their twin sons Fred and Gus were just two years old. The family employed a nurse to help care for the children. The day nursery, connected to the principal bed chamber via the dressing room, features a huge corner window providing wonderful views toward the Blue Hills. The capacious balcony allowed for the children to get fresh air without having to go downstairs.

Black and white photograph of seated woman in black dress, standing woman in lighter colored coat and hat, small child in dress and hat, and young girl in dark coat and hat sitting on the balcony.

Pictured, left to right: Edith Eustis, John Jeffries (son of W.E.C.’s sister), unknown woman (possibly Emily Eustis Jeffries), and Mary Eustis.

The children slept in the night nursery until they were old enough to move into private rooms on the third floor. A dumbwaiter originating in the china closet ran directly to this room, bringing meals upstairs for the children before they were allowed in the dining room. A bathroom was installed nearby for convenience. The nurse’s room, one of four servant bedrooms on this floor, was connected to the night nursery by a private passageway (seen in the bottom left of the image below).

Detail of the builder's plans showing drawing of layout of rooms on the second floor including the nurseries and staff rooms.