When we set out to find the 70 best Airbnbs within three hours of New York, we asked dozens of people with great taste to tell us about houses they have actually stayed in and would wholeheartedly recommend to a friend. This refurbished late-1800s barn in Tivoli came up a whopping five times, and a few weeks ago, it hit the market for $1.875 million. The Barn at Tivoli, as it is known (and which, incidentally, has a 4.92 rating from 263 reviews as well as over 14,000 followers on its Instagram account), is the handiwork of a designer and artist duo and is heavy on exposed beams and wide-planked floors. One of the recommenders, event planner Lilli Sherman, told us she was particularly taken with the woodburning stove, calling it “a real treat.” In its current iteration, the two-and-a-half-floor barn sleeps up to five people, though there aren’t exactly real bedrooms; instead, there are several “partially private sleeping nooks” upstairs that are separated by curtains. (One could imagine easily putting up some walls and properly separating them.)
The main difference between booking a stay at the Barn versus buying the Barn (other than the almost $2 million it will cost) is buying it will also get you the neighboring cottage where the owners have been living while running the rental. This 1,400-square-foot house has two proper bedrooms as well as “an edible permaculture forest and kitchen garden with many varieties of fruit and nut trees, berry bushes, flowers, herbs, and veggies.” Meaning you’d be guaranteed a steady stream of rental income from the Instagram-famous barn and could live comfortably next door while nibbling on berries and nuts.
The nearly five-acre property — which also includes a pond, multiple firepits, a yoga deck, and a pebble beach by the creek — is about a two-hour drive from the city and a three-minute walk from the village. According to listing agent Annabel Taylor of Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty, the owners are selling to dive into a “new venture” about 30 miles north in Columbia County.
