Designer Eliza Gran Goes Back to Her Roots
Written by August James | Photographed by Marta X. Perez | Art Directed by Michelle Adams
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A creative family returns to the East Coast, designing a soulful home with vintage finds.
“My husband made the table the record player sits on, and the red and white painting hanging above it is by an artist he worked with named Judith Linhares,” says Gran.
Most empty nesters downsize. But once her third and final child went off to college, Eliza Gran and her husband decided to buy an 1820’s home in Hudson, NY—and not a compact pied-à-terre. A five bedroom, four bathroom home boasting six fireplaces that had been recently renovated.
“I’m originally from Brooklyn, as a kid I spent every summer in Hudson, so it seemed like a natural choice when we wanted a change,” says Gran. “We wanted a place that’s walking distance from everything. But prior to its renovation this house was the worst one on the block. It had been chopped up, abandoned and then someone came along and spent two years fixing it up and salvaging everything they could—the original doors, window frames, door knobs, and flooring.”
This new home feels like the East Coast cousin to her previous home in L.A., showcasing some familiar elements: stunning displays of Gran’s curated collections that always manage to feel both expertly styled and often-used, along with crisp white walls and bold moments of color and pattern. But the honeyed wide-plank wood floors, ornate window molding and fireplaces with Shaker-style mantels offer a more bucolic feel that’s unique to the upstate New York area.
The living room serves as a true family room with a cozy wide-wale corduroy couch and plenty to do, thanks to a fully-stocked bookshelf that’s topped with framed artwork, and a nearby record player with an enviable collection of vinyl. The marble coffee table feels completely modern, but is a treasured vintage piece, having graced her grandmother’s living room Gran’s entire childhood.
“I have a love-hate attitude with stuff. I always say, I’m not a maximalist. I’m not a minimalist. I’m a devoted mediumalist,” says Gran. “I’m not going to live in an all-white room, but the thought of having eighteen different frames with eighteen pillows, or painting every room a different color. It’s a lot. My dad always said people get sick of color eventually. I’m always removing and editing.”
I have a love-hate attitude with stuff. I always say, I’m not a maximalist. I’m not a minimalist. I’m a devoted mediumalist.
The dining room is home to her most treasured possession: a dining table designed by her father, NYC architect Warren Gran. It was his table in his first apartment and it was the family dining table growing up in her brownstone home in Brooklyn. “The top is made of this hard-to-find type of wood but it’s sort of like butcher block and the base was fabricated by a metal worker friend of my father’s,” says Gran. The rattan chairs surrounding it play up the other natural wood tones in the room, while the orbed Noguchi-esque lantern is an homage to a similar version her parents always had hanging in the house.
The mantel displays a mixture of family and vintage pieces, including a mirror which belonged to Gran’s parents. The two sconces on either side are vintage and were made in India. A painted plate and the black ceramic pig are both from Spain.
A bookshelf makes for an unusual but dazzling accent wall in a dining room. Gran is an avid collector of all types of books and she loves displaying them in her dining space. “The books aren’t organized but we have a lot of art books. My dad’s architecture books. Biographies. Books about designers. Fiction. It requires constant editing and upkeep,” says Gran.
“I found this vintage vanity for a hundred bucks on Craigslist,” says Gran. “All of the drawers are handy to hold cloth napkins and other little things we need but don’t want displayed.” The vanity is a darker wood tone than the wood pieces throughout the rest of the room, but because of the darker knots in the floor it all ends up working together.
An old house quirk? Lots of weird little rooms that had a purpose hundreds of years ago but now feel oddly sized. This room was originally a birthing area. A small space, it’s bigger than a closet, but now houses Gran’s massive ceramics collection, letting her storage function as an aesthetic moment too.
Gran made a bold move in the kitchen—she removed all the upper cabinets and it opened up the entire room. To recoup the storage that was lost, she found an antique jelly cabinet that became much-needed space for the family’s plates, cups, and glasses. She topped the cabinet with two vintage concert posters, a handmade yellow ceramic lamp and additional plates. Her kitchen island also has history. It used to be her ceramics table that she topped with a piece of butcher block she salvaged from a restaurant in Brooklyn.
I love having lots of flowers, and piles of fruit and beautiful vegetables out on all the counters. Eggplants, melons, artichokes…they all look good.
“Everything on my dresser is vintage. I use baskets that were my mom’s to keep it all organized. But I love having things like my perfume and jewelry that I use every day out,” says Gran.
In the couple’s bedroom, every surface tells a story. A vintage wood dresser topped with a clay candelabra that Gran found in Sayulita, Mexico, and a framed Obama printed she snagged on Ebay for a steal because of a slight imperfection. Even a simple IKEA bed that she’s had for fifteen years feels special when she drapes it with a block print Indian quilt and artfully mismatched bedding.
“I hate beds that are too matchy matchy. I hate white sheets. Everyone these days wants their bed to feel like a hotel bed?” says Gran. “I want it to feel custom.”
“I loved this lesser-known Block Shop Textile print, it’s just so beautiful. This table also has one of my favorite red Mexican candles,” says Gran. “I like to use them to add texture. The table itself is another thrifted find.”
Gran converted another oddly shaped room into a giant linen closet with long skinny shelves. To keep it feeling interesting, she uses colorful paper tape to hang pictures of her family and their dog.
The thrifted touches don't stop at the kid’s spaces. Her daughter’s room deftly combines old and new. A vintage white wicker writing desk is paired with a painting they fell in love with, while a turquoise Jenny Lind bed and an industrial-style IKEA lamp help balance the more traditional pieces of furniture. The sofa was another rehabilitated find, Gran had it reupholstered in a plaid fabric and her daughter loved it so much that it became a staple in her room.
“One of the greatest joys of my life is that my kids are as addicted to vintage as I am,” says Gran. “They love thrift shopping. They love finding stuff. It’s the best.”