There’s no easy cure for the case of cabin fever many Chicagoans are feeling as we stay inside and social distance amid the coronavirus outbreak.
Still, AirBnB hosts are advertising their places as cozy alternatives to holing up at home. (Some are doing so more elegantly than others: “Escape coronavirus! We have toilet paper!” reads one rental posting in Meeker, Colorado).
Here are four within a two-hour drive of Chicago.
A historic Lustron house near Starved Rock
For $140 a night, you can stay a few miles from Starved Rock State Park in a vintage Lustron. The rare dwellings made entirely of steel were developed after World War II to address a housing shortage; by 1950, they were no longer being built. This blue steel example has an interior appropriately fitted with mid-century modern furniture and decor.
An A-frame cottage in Pure Michigan
This handsome cottage 60 miles east of Chicago ($149 a night) sits within spitting distance of Grand Mere State Park and the shores of Lake Michigan. Fun fact: some of the wood used in its construction was reclaimed from a roller coaster at the now-defunct Silver Beach Amusement Park nearby.
A decked-out barn in Indiana
It doesn’t get much more rustic than this $125-a-night barn on a 25-acre hobby farm outside Valparaiso. Here, you won’t have to fight for space with any animals on a bale of hay: the property is equipped for humans with a regular bedroom, bathroom, and even a bar.
A modern home near Miller Beach
For $225 a night, you can stay at this chic townhouse near Lake Michigan a few miles east of Gary, Indiana. A fit for larger families, the property boasts two bedrooms, four baths, a deck, and close proximity to the Indiana Dunes.