The mid-century house featured in this listing photo is an incredibly lush property.
Photo-Illustration: Curbed; Photo: Compass
Part of living in New York City is thinking about moving out of New York City. Each month, we’ll round up the best listings within commuting (ish) distance, places where entire houses go for the cost of a “junior one-bedroom” (or less) but you’ll have to fix your own toilet.
The weather is changing, so this month we have two houses with pools, plus a renovation project that’s inarguably beautiful but might also be a money pit.
Four-bedroom, four-bath; $3,350,000
The living room featured in this listing photo comes with vaulted ceilings that open up the space.
Photo: Compass
A mid-century house with all of the clean lines and charm that entails, along with a 2016 renovation that brought in central air and radiant heating. The living room is bright and airy with warm woods, vaulted ceilings, and sliding glass doors that let in ample light and lead out to a stone patio. A stone fireplace also anchors the main floor’s open floor plan. The kitchen retains mid-century design flourishes with its stainless-steel counters and sleek white cabinetry. The main house has three bedrooms and three bathrooms, each nicely sized. The place also comes with a guesthouse that includes an additional bed and bath, a swimming pond with a dock, “arboretum quality” grounds, an artist’s studio that comes with a sauna, and a front gate designed by Frank Lloyd Wright. It’s an incredibly lush property.
How do I get back to the city?
It’s about a two-and-a-half-hour drive.
What do I do if I live there?
Stop by the Martindale Chief Diner for a lazy breakfast. Paint in your artist’s studio.
Three-bedroom, one-bath; $525,000
This Gilded Age cottage featured in this listing photo once housed the chauffeur to the Astors and will need a lot of work.
Photo: Compass
This is either an incredible restoration project or a money pit — a fun gamble! The bones of this house, which was built in 1854, are undeniably beautiful, and it once served as the home for the chauffeur of John Jacob Astor IV. But the inside is, well, completely decrepit, and the property has been “long vacant.” (Kudos to the broker who described it as in “a state of poetic though significant deterioration.”) The property has three bedrooms and one bath, and lovely, lovely original details throughout: hardwoods and delicate molding; beautiful (if water-stained) wallpaper. If figuring out how to restore ancient stained glass and wooden built-ins to their original splendor is your idea of “fun,” this might be the perfect pickup for you. (And when you inevitably go over budget renovating it, at least be comforted that it’s otherwise impossible to get a house so close to town and the train station for this price point.) Also of note: The sale is contingent on the approval of the New York State Supreme Court or the attorney general. Let’s hope you haven’t committed any crimes recently? If anything, just click through to marvel at it.
How do I get back to the city?
It’s under a two-hour train ride from the Rhinecliff station.
What do I do if I live there?
A lot of renovating. Also, since you likely can’t spend money on anything but the house, an evening picnicking at the Rhinecliff Landing is your night out now.
Three-bedroom, three-bath; $2,499,000
This passive house is all electric but still full of soul, as shown in this listing photo.
Photo: Anatole House LLC
An all-electric modern house that isn’t completely soulless — no small thing. This three-bedroom, three-bath is solar-ready, has triple-pane European windows, and is clad in thermally modified Finnish Lunawood (which you’ll have to love the look of, because there is a lot of it). It’s definitely expensive for the area — median is about $430,000 — but there’s an argument to make about saving on energy costs in the long run. (Also the planet, etc.) Designed by New York City–based Amin Tadj Studio to what the listing describes as “near–Passive House standards,” the place comes with a Stuv wood-burning stove, Reform CPH custom cabinetry, and heated radiant floors. The rooms are open and airy throughout. There’s also a pool and stone walkways, but you’ll have to do a lot of landscaping to fill in the gaps since the grounds are otherwise pretty bare-bones and very much resemble a construction site. The house sits on 2.2 acres, so there’s a little bit of room to work with here.
How do I get back to the city?
It’s just over a two-hour drive.
What do I do if I live there?
Get the whipped butter and pita at Silvia.
Two-bedroom, two-bath; $975,000
The centerpiece of this Colonial is really the pool, featured in this listing photo, that comes with its own pool house.
Photo: Compass
The gunite pool and stone patio are the stars of the house, which also comes with a cabana, a pool house with a kitchenette and grill, and a hot tub around the corner. It’s very weekend-y. When you’re dried off, the main house is a nicely cozy renovated Colonial. The wide-plank floors and exposed rafters preserve some of the 1800s charm, along with gigantic fireplaces in the living room and the kitchen. The house is a nice size, though, not palatial — two bedrooms and two baths. The listing adds that there’s ample storage throughout and a “whole house generator.” The sunroom with French doors that open straight into a stone patio looks like an ideal place to hang out, plus a deck above adds to the outdoor space. Completely and absurdly anecdotally, New Paltz seems to be gaining some heat among Brooklyn parents looking to get out of the city. (According to my colleague who knows three people currently considering this move.)
How do I get back to the city?
It’s just over a two-hour drive.
What do I do if I live there?
Get into hiking and climbing and get your outdoor gear at Rock and Snow.
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