Peaceful and characterful 1-bedroom apartment that's part of a Victorian house from 1830. We call it the Folk Art Studio because it has a primitive, imperfect, colorful feel, but is also very comfortable and quite modern. Fully stocked kitchen, bath with tub, washer-dryer, work space, good wifi, lovely living room, round dining table, and private garden access. It's on a quiet country road that offers historic houses and fantastic access to the Berkshires. Our location is in New York, right on the border of the Berkshires hills, in the perfect position to fan out for destinations north and south. You're just 20 minutes away from Tanglewood, Kripalu Yoga Center and Jiminy Peak Ski. Note that we're in the New York side of the Berkshires, and that location is what makes us such a good value. We are an excellent hub for visiting the Berkshires in Massachusetts, as well as the towns of the Hudson Valley. We ask for a minimum 5-day visit. There is also a monthly discount. The Folk Art Studio is a great place for a productive long stay. From the Victorian front porch, the Folk Art Studio opens into a lovely living room. It has three windows and hardwood floors. There is a comfortable sofa that turns into a queen-size sofa bed, as well as armchairs and a dining room table. You'll find dishware, glassware, and amenities for setting up a really nice dinner. The kitchen is like a jewel box-- small but fully equipped. There is no dishwasher but you'll find most everything else you may need-- knives, kitchen utensils, toaster, blender, microwave, deep farm sink, quality pots and pans, lovely dishware. There's a washer/dryer in the kitchen, as well as a good-size refrigerator. The 4-top gas stove is nice to use with its continuous grates, four burners, and ample cookware. You'll also find oils, vinegars, salt, pepper and spices, as well as an array of coffees and teas. Also various ways to prepare them, such as teapot, coffee maker, French Press and coffee grinder. Down the hallway is the small bathroom. It has the same Saltillo floor tile as the kitchen, a sink with a big mirror, tub with shower, window, and ample thirsty towels. There's a good array of shampoos, conditioners and soaps available at the shower rack. The bedroom has a queen size bed with nightstands on each side, each with its own lamps and surface electrical outlets. The bed is equipped with quality linens and a good array of pillows, duvet, blanket, and coverlet. We use sheets with high thread counts and wash them in Seventh Generation natural detergent. Pillows and comforters are down-alternative. We use protective covers for pillows, and encase the bed's mattress too. The bedroom has two large windows, each of which has pull-down cordless shades, as do all the windows in the Folk Art Studio. There's a large closet with many hangers, as well a Bentwood rocking chair to relax in. There's also a workspace with an ample vintage table, two lamps, and excellent wifi. Something to make sure you consider about the Folk Art Studio-- there's no tv! And also, it's a house of low 19th-century door frames. The front door is low and the entrance is narrow. Joe is 6'2" and has to bow his head a little to get through the bedroom doorway, for example. Once inside, the bedroom has a vaulted ceiling. But all the other ceilings are eight feet. The place doesn't feel cramped because of the light and the dimensions of the rooms. Relax at the front porch table or patio chairs. If you walk around the side of the building, you'll come to the private screened garden that you can see from your bedroom window. That is for your use only, and it has a table and chairs for working or relaxing too. Cell service is the area is very good, with the exception of Mobile/Sprint/Consumer Wireless. Some guests have reported difficulties with these. Even in midsummer, this area offers generally comfortable evening temperatures. But for the occasional night when it's hot, you'll find window air conditioning. And don't forget that your time at the Folk Art Studio comes with membership beach access to lovely Queechy Lake in the summertime. It is such a refreshing place to take a dip after a day of work or exploring. We're based across the street. The Folk Art Studio in on a lovely country road with some vintage houses on it , old trees, and nice gardens. It's about 2 miles from the center of New Lebanon town. Tanglewood is about 20 minutes away, and so is the Kripalu Yoga Center. There is a swift, scenic route to get to both of those from here, through pasture and forest, and ending with a wonderful view of the Stockbridge Bowl. In the winter, ski trails at Jiminy Peak or Bousquet are less than a half hour away, and Butternut is just a little farther. Hiking trails and conservancies abound. In the springtime, it's great to see the leafy woods and blowsy gardens emerge. It's locavore and farmer's market heaven in the summer and fall. Another summertime treat hidden nearby is Queechy Lake, with lifeguard and sandy shore, one of the cleanest and most delicious lakes in New York state. Our guests have rights to use the private beach there-- we provide towels and chairs! There's also a nice local park in town, with two newly refurbished tennis courts. Check out our online guidebook for a full listing of the places we love most around here for visit or a meal. There are seven fine art museums, eight theater companies, three Shaker villages and two orchestral venues within an hour's radius. We're a good jumping -off point for visiting the Berkshire towns-- it takes about 20 minutes to get to Lenox, Pittsfield and West Stockbridge in Massachusetts, for example. You're also only about twenty minutes from several other historic towns and villages of New York, such as Old Chatham, Canaan, and Spencertown. Vermont is 45 minutes away. New Lebanon, at the top of Columbia County in New York, is a pretty funky town, not a Norman Rockwell town. Many people drive right through it to go north for antiquing or skiing, to take the scenic pass into Massachusetts, or to pick up the nearby NY Thruway. Our town is so small that there's only one stoplight, and that's a blinking one. There is no night life to speak of, no sidewalks, and no supermarket. A new addition in town, though, is a great, well-equipped farmer's market store, open Wednesday to Sunday. And there certainly are excellent supermarkets and gourmet stores in nearby Pittsfield, Mass. This edge of the Berkshires is perfect for exploring the region. You are positioned to get easily to almost all of the places you'd like to see-- more easily, we find, than you can from some of the Berkshire towns themselves. Whatever New Lebanon lacks in picket fences and boutique stores, it offers in glorious hillside views and authentic rural atmosphere. The town has a remarkable allotment of Shaker history. Visit the Mount Lebanon Shaker Museum with its variety of Shaker buildings, or take the self-guided walk by the ruins of the massive Great Stone Barn. This spot was recognized by the World Monuments Fund as one of the 100 most significant endangered places in the world, and it's five minutes away. Lebanon Springs, on the other side of town, was famous in the 19th century for its warm water spa. It was frequented by all the luminaries of the time, such as Charles Dickens, Mark Twain and the Marquis de Lafayette. The warm spring continues to course down the hillside, but in obscurity now. There is plenty to enjoy in New Lebanon. Stop at Blueberry Hill Market Cafe for coffee and something delicious for breakfast and lunch. Try the great food at K Shack, hidden behind the library with its tables under the trees. M&M's is good for a local dinner of burgers, wings and some craft beer, or get a reservation at Mario's for a celebratory farm-to-table dinner. Trek along the beaver dams at Hand Hollow Conservation Area, about seven minutes away. Go to the antique auction in town at Meissner's most Saturdays at 5, where we've found astonishing values. This is a pretty rural area, so a car is key. We're on a country road with heritage cows grazing up the hill, but Albany, the capital of New York state, is just a half-hour away. We are 3 hours due north of New York City by car, 2 1/2 hours west of Boston, and 45 minutes south of Bennington, Vermont. The Albany International Airport is an easy trip at 40 minutes away and the Amtrak station about 35 minutes. Car rental at either the airport or the train station is thankfully easy to arrange. Your apartment at the Folk Art Studio is the only guest space in the house, so there will be no other people staying there. We use the other part of the house as a base of supply for our airbnb business. This means that you may hear occasional footprints or sounds. It's so hard to soundproof houses that are as old as this one! But we would typically be at the house only during the day. Nobody spends the night there. Any business access and parking happens at the back of the house, via a long curved driveway. Your access and parking is at the front, so you will not have to encounter anyone during your time there. Our storage room is above your living room, and the your bedroom has nothing above it.