Junior League of Hartford Announces 2025 Designer Show House
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Rendering of 820 Prospect Avenue by Amy Archambault Studio. Courtesy image
A home on Prospect Avenue, just across the West Hartford town line in the West End of Hartford, has been chosen as the 16th Junior League of Hartford Designer Show House.
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The Junior League of Hartford is excited to announce its 2025 Designer Show House, a historic Tudor home in the West End of Hartford that, led by Show House Honorary Design Chair Matthew Patrick Smyth, and CTC&G (Connecticut Cottages & Gardens) Editorial Director DJ Carey, will be transformed into a stunning showcase by a group of premier designers.
Located at 820 Prospect Avenue in the historic West End of Hartford, Connecticut, the 2025 Show House will be open to the public from Friday, May 2 through Friday, May 23, 2025, along with a special “Bare Bones” preview event on March 8, 2025.
Matthew Patrick Smyth is an acclaimed interior designer whose traditional designs blend classic style with comfort to truly accommodate the real people who will live in the homes he designs. He has designed homes from New York City and Connecticut, to Paris and London. Smyth’s work has been featured in numerous publications, and he has written two design books – “Living Traditions: Interiors” and “Through a Designer’s Eye.” Smyth also has several licensed collections including rugs, fabrics, and wallcoverings.
“We are so thrilled to welcome Mr. Smyth as Honorary Design Chair of our 16th Designer Show House,” said Melanie Caiaze, Show House co-chair. “His elevated classic-meets-comfort style sets the perfect tone for this 1902 home inhabited by a young family.”
The 2025 Designer Show House is a 4,900 square foot Tudor home designed and built in 1902 by noted Hartford architect Edward T. Hapgood. The home is located in the famed Prospect Avenue Historic District, known for its beautiful estates, views from Prospect Hill, and location near Elizabeth Park.
The interior of the home features over 20 decorative spaces including seven bedrooms, formal living and dining rooms, five full and two half baths, two library/dens, and a spacious sunroom. The home maintains original details, including leaded glass doors and moldings throughout. The current owners, Annie Pascucci and her family, have generously donated the use of their home to support the Junior League of Hartford’s mission, and because of their love of architecture and the arts.
The 2025 Show House is the signature fundraising event for the Junior League of Hartford, having raised more than $1.7 million to date for its charitable projects and programs, which currently focuses on addressing the impact of systemic poverty on women and families in Greater Hartford. The proceeds from Show House allow for the Junior League to provide much needed resources, grants, and volunteer time to a multitude of Connecticut nonprofits. Funds are raised through the sale of tickets to tour the transformed home, special events, and sponsorships.
This highly anticipated event occurs every three years, and involves countless hours of volunteering from Junior League members, designers and supporters alike. Having begun in 1979, this year marks the 16th Show House by the Junior League of Hartford. The Junior League takes over a notable home in the Greater Hartford Area and selects interior designers, artists, and landscape architects to completely makeover the interior spaces and surrounding grounds, a process that takes months to accomplish.
A West Hartford Tudor on Brookside Boulevard served as the 2022 Show House.
The 16th Designer Show House is dedicated to the memory of Mary Lynn Gorman, who introduced the Show House to the Junior League of Hartford and co-chaired the first event in 1979. Mary Lynn passed away on Dec. 19, 2023. She volunteered for decades with the Junior League and other local nonprofits in addition to her 30 year career in public relations with the Hartford Whalers and Wolf Pack and raising four sons.
Tickets for house tours and special events are available online through on the Junior League of Hartford website at hartford.jl.org/ShowHouse. Presale tickets are $35 until May 2, 2025 and $50 at the door as of May 3, 2025.
The Show House will be open on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. and 5 to 8 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 11 a.m. to 5 pm. Show House is closed Monday and Tuesdays.
Guests are encouraged to hold onto their ticket for re-entry to the house at any time during normal house tour hours. Special ticket packages are also available for private group tours and special events.
For questions and more information about the 2025 Show House, visit jlhartford.org, follow along on Facebook @JuniorLeagueofHartfordInc. and Instagram @jlhartfordinc, or contact the Junior League of Hartford at [email protected].
Previous Show Houses may be seen here: https://hartford.jl.org/show-
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