Renovated Cottage Under Two Hours From Manhattan Asks $295K

In Outside the City, Curbed uncovers exceptional properties within a reasonable distance of NYC that will tempt even the staunchest city-dwellers.

Location: Washington Depot, Connecticut
Distance from Grand Central: 87 miles (1 hour 45 minute drive)
Specs: 1 bedroom (plus a loft), 1 bath, 1,200 square feet, 0.3 acres
Price: $295,000

Built in 1946, this renovated cottage sits on a lush hillside just across the road from the Shepaug River in pastoral Washington Depot, Connecticut, the inspiration for the fictional town of Stars Hollow on Gilmore Girls. While the Litchfield County village is ever-so-slightly too out-of-the-way to commute from, it makes for an idyllic getaway — there are weekly farmers’ markets, sprawling gardens, waterfall hikes at nearby Kent Falls State Park, and regional gems like Arethusa Farm, a 300-acre dairy farm with a restaurant, cafe, and ice cream shop.

The simple Cape Cod-style house at 44 Bee Brook Road has been updated throughout with neutral walls, blinds, and wood floors. The living room — big enough for a six-person dining set — leads to the crisp black-and-white kitchen on the left and a bedroom with vaulted ceilings and a sliding glass door on the right (it opens onto a bluestone patio behind white picket fencing). The living room also features a set of steep stairs which lead up to a surprisingly spacious loft that could serve as a small office, guest bedroom, or storage. Outside, the landscaped garden is filled with native New England flora like ostrich ferns, columbine, and mountain mint, a pollinator plant favored by butterflies.