How to Transform a Backyard Shed into a Luxury Airbnb Cottage

In just a moment you‚Äôll meet Maris LeBlanc and JR Amantea, the creators of The Little House of Essex — a chic cottage near the Connecticut River in the most quintessential of quintessential New England towns.

Maris has spent her career in real estate — mostly brokering luxury, waterfront homes along the Connecticut Shoreline. When she met her now husband, JR, he was living in New York working in finance, but his real passion lay in curating and managing classic and exotic cars. 

Maris encouraged JR to go all in on his passion and, soon after, he left New York, moved to Essex, Connecticut and started GT Motor Cars — a boutique vintage and exotic car dealership, and collection management company. 

And it was here in Essex where Maris and JR bought a beautiful, oversized  ranch-style home which included a shed-like structure behind it.  And while JR had hoped to transform  this shed-like structure into a bachelor‚Äôs pad, Maris had bigger ambitions...tune in to hear the wonderful story behind the building of The Little House of Essex. 

You can book your stay at The Little House of Essex here.