Hudson Valley Summer Houses | Pick of the Week

Posted by Amy Wallace on Tuesday, June 3rd, 2014 at 2:48pm

 

It feels like summer! In the depths of winter we dream of these types of days; filled with Hudson Valley adventures - riding your bike on a rail trail, boating the hudson, hiking the Catskills' peaks, easing your way into a crystal clear swimming hole - and nights with just enough chill in the air to require a cozy sweatshirt, a firepit, and a grown-up beverage. YAAAAAAYYYY!

Here's a little secret, as I daydream about this kind of thing while I load groceries into my car in a slush covered parking lot in February, the image of the house where I'm relaxing isn't really MY HOUSE. Don't get me wrong, I love my "ranchie-ranch", there are lots of things to recommend it, but daydreams are for ideals. In my summertime fantasies I imagine myself having an awesome bbq with friends in the Perfect Summer House. Think the house from "Dan In Real Life" or the one from "Anne of Greene Gables". It all depends on what kind of mood I'm in. 

 

                            

                             

Summer houses should be something special; special look, special vibe, special location. Here are my pick(s) of the week. It was impossible to choose a single pick. 

 

 

 

 

171 Belleview Road, Highland

This one is for when I'm in the "Dan in Real Life" mood. Although this house is far more refined than the house in that movie it has the same relaxed vibe and welcoming feeling.

 

What's so special?

  • The picture at the top of this post is taken from a canoe that's gliding along the 6 acre pond that comes with this home. Your own pond big enough for small craft. Now that's summer!
  • 122 acres. Privacy and plenty of space for anything you could think of. The kids in your life can spend all summer building forts. You could build your own woodworking barn or covered pavilion for your jam band. If you build it will come!
  • Windows. Just look at the windows.
  • The craftsmanship. Every detail of this house is considered and perfectly executed: perfect mix of materials on the exterior, perfect mix of colors and textures inside, perfect trim, perfect windows (I have to mention them again because they're so beautiful), perfect stone patio, perfect roof overhangs, perfect fenced in garden. It's perfect. The Perfect Summer House.
  • The location. Maybe you've never heard of Highland, NY. When people think about this neck of the Hudson Valley they seem to always think of New Paltz or Woodstock and Highland gets overlooked. Highland is where you'll find the Walkway Over The Hudson. This property is located almost directly across the Hudson River from The Culinary Institute of America (yum!). Here's the best part about owning a Summer House in Highland? It's easy to get to. If you'd like your home to be a place where friends from far and wide come to canoe on your lake, enjoy your woods, and help you cook meals in your stunner of a kitchen, you want it to be easy for them to get to. Highland couldn't be easier.

 

 

I know. You're wishing we were there right now lighting up the grill right? Here's the video. Warning: it's going to make that yen even stronger.

 

  

This is my pick for when I'm in that "Anne of Green Gables" mood.

What's so special? Watch the Video.

 

I love everything about this house. 

  • The views of the mountains and meadow.
  • The farmhouse style with room to breathe. Farmhouses are great, but they can be a little too "cozy" sometimes. This one has room, glorious room! The foyer is big enough to host a party! You won't find yourself shimmying in between your sofa and your coffee table to sit in front of the fire, and there's plenty of space for multi-generational pastimes to occur simultaneously without any stress.
  • The front porch!
  • The old beams are great and the recently wood-planked ceilings on the first floor make what would otherwise be an very traditional house feel just a little hip.
  • The kitchen's cool - what a great color - and the breakfast nook seems like the best place for a late night cup of tea with a cookie and a good magazine as a summer breeze drifts through the windows.
  • Speaking of windows - the windows! If you ask me the most important thing about a summer house is the windows. You want to be able to stick your head out and see what's going on from every room. How else are you going to know when you're needed for badminton? This house has windows, windows, windows. They're trimmed beautifully and they're everywhere they should be.
  • The romance. Oh, isn't this house romantic? Did you see the bedroom with all the windows? I love the rooms off the back with 3 walls of windows. I imagine great works of art being created there or at least some really epic games of monopoly being played on the floor on August afternoons during a thunderstorm. There are two of these rooms! Make one a music room and one an art studio.
  • There's an additional rental house, I don't think I need to explain myself on that one, ker-ching. 
  • It's just a few minutes outside of New Paltz. Read about how fun New Paltz is and you'll understand my glee. New Paltz was recently described in an article as a Seaside Beach Town without the sea. That's exactly what it feels like. Especially in the Summer.

 

 

 

 

152 Lily Lake Road, Highland

What's So Special?

      • It's another property in Highland - easy to get to for the droves of friends who are going to visit you at this house. 
      • A pool looking over a pond is great. What's even better? A koi pond, that looks over a pool, that looks over a pond. This is an amazing spot and the house has some serious amenities. It's completely beautiful. But it's also uniquely set-up for summer fun.
      • The setup. Okay. This may just be the first time I've ever looked at a Hudson Valley property and thought "That is a perfect share house". There's an outdoor bar, there's a great indoor kitchen and a great outdoor kitchen, the likes of which we don't see often in this area, and there's a 3rd kitchen in an apartment downstairs. This house can acommodate whatever size party you can throw at it. There are also 3 bathrooms so there are enough showers available should everyone get out of the pool en masse.  As a mom I also appreciate the gigantic laundry room. Fun generates laundry, but that's ok, because you can do that laundry in the fab laundry room!
      • The windows - here they are again. The crucial ingredient to a good summer house is here in plenty.

  

There are many, many other houses that are Perfect Summer Houses available in the Hudson Valley right now. If you've got an ideal that's a little different than mine (just like "home" means different things to different people so does "summer" - we embrace that!) contact one of our agents and they'll help you find your Perfect Summer House.

 

 

 

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Amy Wallace

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