Budget Breakdown: The Foundation Is Also the Floor at This Shedlike $1.1M Hudson Valley Retreat

A New York City couple had been going up to the Hudson Valley for several years when they finally decided to build a weekend retreat there. The prospect of maintaining a piece of land in the country had always deterred them—having to plow snow or perform other upkeep in the face of bad weather. On one trip up, however, they looked at a four-and-a-half acre site in Claverack, a few miles outside the city of Hudson, and envisioned themselves growing a garden and pursuing other hobbies they couldn’t back in New York. The parcel also had nice views of the valley with the Catskills in the distance.