Before & After: Greener Pastures in Greene County
Elizabeth Wilson | February 13, 2015
“It was rough, believe you me. But there was something about it. The tongue and groove walls, the semi-privateness, and the smell. It smelled like every lake cottage I had ever been in — old wood and a slight mustiness. “
There’s a reason we post fixer-uppers every month or so. Call us optimists, but certain properties catch our eye, and what we see when we peruse the blurry MLS photos is not the “TLC required,” but the potential within. So you can imagine our glee when we find renovations stories like Gail’s tale of the neglected-vacation-home-turned-beautiful-rental-swan in our inbox. So without further ado, we invite you to grab a cup of hot cocoa and dig in to the fixer-upper fairy tale of the week!
The owners of the Green Cottage in Palenville bought the property in 2004. At the time, the house was being occupied only once a year, and the lack of regular inhabitants was evident in the sparse décor as well as the laundry list of updates needed on everything from the exterior walls to the flooring. Gail, who works in the city as a self-described “pixel-pusher,” and her husband went to work on the house, and what emerged after the asphalt siding was removed is now the cutest little cottage in Greene County.
And here’s the best part – you can call the cutest little cottage in Greene County home by renting it through Airbnb! Pick dates for your getaway here!
Before:
“After removing the asphalt siding we discovered the original shiplap siding.”
“It always seemed odd to me that the porch was inaccessible from the inside. As for the chicken wire, we later came to the conclusion it was to keep leaves and snow away from the house.”
“Cat sheet was a nice touch.”
After:
The bright yellow walls in the kitchen are bold and welcoming. With their array of cookware displayed tastefully on the new shelving units, guests to the Green Cottage can navigate the kitchen with ease.
“After remodeling this room, I waffled for over a year about what to do with the old, gouged up, plank floor. New wood? Laminate? Cork? I finally just patched the bad parts with wood putty and painted it.”
“I found that corner cupboard in the garbage room of my New York City apartment building. I dragged it back to my apartment and then upstate. Totally. Free. And it fits like it was made for that corner.”
ALERT: This awesome retro trailer is part of the Green Cottage rental package! How cool is that? Check it out here: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/816925
The owner, on the renovation process: “It was rough, believe you me. But there was something about it. The tongue and groove walls, the semi-privateness, and the smell. It smelled like every lake cottage I had ever been in — old wood and a slight mustiness.”
What do Gail and her husband have in mind for the future of this inspired project? Well, it looks like a second bedroom and bath are on the horizon for Green Cottage. We’ll be checking in to their Airbnb profile regularly to see when we can add an additional two members to our group retreat to Greene County!
Read On, Reader...
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