Catskills Cottage on a Budget The New York Times

With a budget of $10,000, Christina Salway and John Moskowitz transformed an abandoned 700 square foot house in the Catskills into a weekend cottage with a touch of urban sophistication. The New York Times tells the story of the couple's first home purchase and their 8-month DIY renovation (they did hire a roofing contractor)...

Using salvaged materials to enclose what was once a garage and furnishing the home with the help of Craigslist, thrift stores and street finds, the 1920s cottage has emerged from the DIY process as a small and efficient weekend home.

Be certain to check out the full story and ALL the great pictures from The New York Times: A Second Home, a Starter Budget and the slide show.

(Images: Phil Mansfield for The New York Times)

Comments (15)

What a wonderful home!
Crazy, my wife and I (also from Williamsburg, Brooklyn) have also been looking in the Port Jervis area for a cottage just like this.
Absolutely love the interior design, the vintage appliances, and all the artwork.
Great work, really beautiful.
Is it equipped for year-round living?

I absolutely love this house. It has so much character and the design on a budget just blows me away! I love country style living and my fiance and I are in the process of remodeling our 2 story cottage too, in Hawaii. One thing about Hawaii is that vintage pieces are REALLY difficult to find. Things sold on Craigslist are not as sophisticated as the those on the mainland. I am going for a vintage-hawaiian look to the house but cannot find much around here. Plus, the cost of living here is so high that we may need to triple the $10,000 figure to achieve a similar result :)

Interested parties in the rural Catskills area should check out Medusa, NY. There are still great buys to be had.

It's amazing :)

http://www.rensselaerville.com

when did AT start posting NY Times stuff again?

Pixie asked the same question that occurred to me. Did the issues with the NYT get resolved?

Since when is Sparrow Bush anywhere NEAR the Catskills?? It's near Port Jervis, right near the NY/NJ/PA state lines.

The New York Times is WAY off on this one. Orange County (where I live) is NOT in the Catskills.

Hilarious.

Soothing green is making such a come back. Love this place!

Anna at D16 is so right -- where they live, well it ain't the catskills by any stretch. and, if I'm not mistaken, this is kind of a mess of a renovation. not because of its looks: it's gorgeous, though there are a few too many country living decoration cliches for my taste. but yes, that's a great green -- as baileyb said. but those walls of windows are a heating nightmare. a contractor would just shake his (or her) head. and how much did they insulate when they were doing all that drywalling?
cause in the real catskills, the bottom line is: sure, make it pretty. but you've got to make it warm.

don't mean to sound snarky. too much caffeine. but here are some cottages actually in the catskills:

http://www.clovecottages.com/cottages.html

LOL D16... yes absolutely right. That place isn't in the Catskills. The Catskill region lies approx from Ulster to Schoharie/Albany County to the north, then as far as Callicoon to the west, then as far east as Columbia cty.

Here's a cute cottage FYI for rental vacations that actually IS in the Catskills :)
www.vacationhomerentals.com/23478

it would actually be so much more interesting if the NYT found people who actually live up here and not only weekenders. forget calling it the catskills. just not the city. or, if they need to finesse it, they could call it NoBro (north of the bronx). How about D16 after all? So many great places beyond the moneypolitan area that aren't just decor-orated for Saturday Sunday.

that is a beautiful place. they have a great eye (well, hope they have four of them) for colours and texture. good luck to them, whether or not it's the Catskills …

My company, Red Cottage Inc., rents this cottage, as a previous poster mentions. It's a brand new addition to our group of cabins, cottages and estates, mostly in The Catskills, so it's available for all of July and then some. www.RedCottageInc.com , 845-985-7153.

All the best,
Jennifer

Any idea where I can find out their paint colors? They're perfect, and I NEED them!