Jenny’s Folk Art Museum

Jenny's Folk Art Museum is a house from 1770, located in the historical district of Kinderhook Village, just a twenty minute drive north of Hudson. The house retains much character from a bygone era, with wide wooden floorboards, bumpy horsehair and plaster walls, and wavy glass window panes, and is crooked and "wabi sabi" as it can be. Jenny, an artist and avid collector herself, has filled the house with folk art, "outsider art", antique quilts, extraordinary art books, and her own creations. (Please make sure to read the description in it’s entirety so as to avoid any misunderstandings!) Despite the rustic charm of the place, Jenny's Folk Art Museum is well equipped with all the necessary modern amenities. Also, the post office, cafés, shops, galleries, restaurants, bank, library, farmer's market, and soon even a wine store are all just a two or three minutes' walk away! In the master bedroom suite there is one queen-sized bed, a private bathroom, and a sweet little gas stove to keep things toasty. There is also a single bed available in "Gustav's Room", as well a double bed in the other upstairs bedroom. All of the beds are complete with goose down comforters, wool blankets, quilts, and organic linens, as well as merino wool mattress covers. (The towels, bath mats, etc. are also organic, whenever possible, since Jenny lived on an organic farm in Norway for 23 years, and is devoted to all things sustainable and ecological. In addition there are wool slippers and bathrobes for guests.) The water in the showers is delightfully hot, and the water pressure is excellent. You will have the top two floors of the house to yourself, which includes three bedrooms, the living room, dining room, kitchen, two full bathrooms and one half bathroom, and various narrow, crooked staircases. (Please note: there is a separate basement area where the host, occasionally her boyfriend from Brooklyn, and her two kitties sometimes stay. Jenny may also be making art or writing her “memoir” in her studio in the shepherd’s hut to the rear of the property…. But she makes herself almost 100% invisible, if she is even there! [You may hear an occasional meow from the basement; and the kitties, who are teenagers, love to knock things over down there; but the tea cups and potted ferns have all been confiscated from their paws! However, they’ll happily flail books off the shelves….] More often than not Jenny is in Brooklyn or Connecticut, where her 87 year old father lives, or in Norway, where her four children reside…. However, if you would like access to the basement area and the laundry facilities, as well as be guaranteed of no crazy cat lady down below, I suggest you reserve the space on the “Jenny’s Folk Art Museum Extraordinaire” listing!) There is also a gas fireplace in the living room, and a kitchen overflowing with enough cookware to roast a Thanksgiving turkey and bake a few pies: perfect for any traveling chefs out there! The cabinets are not only stocked with organic coffee, tea, olive oil, apple cider vinegar, sea salt, pepper, herbs and spices (which guests may help themselves to), but also other organic foodstuffs; I only ask for a contribution to be placed in the donation jar in the dining room in exchange for the consumption of such. Also: there is a Berkey charcoal counter-top water filter and a reverse osmosis water filter jug in the lower cabinet to the right of the stove. (Because of Jenny's health concerns there is no microwave in the house, but instead a state-of-the-art toaster oven!.) For a small fee guests may leave their laundry and I will be happy to wash, dry, and fold it for them, if I’m around! In the living room there is an Apple computer, DVD player, and a DVD collection hidden inside an antique blue-grey cupboard, as well as myriad board games and playing cards; guests may knit, read, sew, or watch their favorite shows and movies beside the fireplace. The garden patio behind the house is complete with iron lawn furniture and a grill, while in the front of the house is a tiny porch with a bench and a small metal table snd chairs, where guests may sit with their morning coffee in the sunshine with a newspaper or one of the books from the shelves.... On the side of the house you’ll find a hammock to languish in, assuming that the weather is warm! I am available by phone, e-mail, or text for any questions you may have at all hours of the day, except perhaps when I’m sleeping! If I don’t get back to you immediately it will only be a short while that you will have to wait for a reply! Kinderhook has several restaurants and cafés in walking distance of the house, as well as many nearby organic and biodynamic farms and farm stands. Every Saturday, during the warmer months, there is a farmer's market in the town square. In addition there are several historical sites and buildings that are open to the public, and Jack Shainman's gallery "The School" has exhibitions throughout the year. Hudson, with its marvelous antique shops and restaurants, is only a twenty minute drive (or bus ride) away. Many other charming villages, such as Chatham and Valatie, are also just a few miles away. There is a public bus with a limited schedule that drives between Albany, Kinderhook, and Hudson. Taxis and Ubers are also an option, as well as a private driver-friend who can take my guests shopping or on sightseeing trips, depending upon his availability. In the near future I plan to have bicycles available for my guests' enjoyment.......... It’s very important that you read the instructions in the house manual for various appliances: but particularly for the gas fireplaces and stoves!!!