Suggestions for staying outside of Florence

Pistoia is lovely and interesting. Half an hour by train to Florence.

I'll second the Pistoia emotion - enjoyed a very nice stay at the Battistero Residenza d'Epoca. Central location with 10-12 minute walk to and from the train station.

Adding to the list below

"One of the most beloved sculptures in Pistoia is the “La Visitazione” by Luca della Robbia, in the Church of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas"

http://www.travelingintuscany.com/engels/pistoia/ospedaledelceppo.htm

http://www.itinerarioliberty.it/pagine_pdf/pagine_pdf_eng/in_toscana_eng/cassarisparmiopistoia_eng.pdf

Here's what I posted about Pistoia previously:

Pistoia is a 1/2 hour scenic train ride from Florence, very few tourists, good restaurants, and with nice 12 - 14th century buildings, many of them green and white striped. Everything is very walkable. Known for its chocolate and its surrounding plant nurseries (once a year they turn the center of town into a garden --- I'm a gardener, so I wish we could have seen that.)

Our favorite thing in Pistoia was the Cappella del Tau, next to the Museo Marino Marini —- it's a tiny 14th-century chapel, frescoed by the School of Giotto. We were told it was discovered by someone renovating his bathroom. It has the kind of slightly goofy late medieval/early Renaissance paintings we enjoy, such as Adam and Eve about to eat the apple even though God is lurking in a creepy way in the shrubs behind them. No one else came into the chapel the whole time we were there.

The white and green striped St. Zeno Baptistery is plain brick inside so you can see its structure, which I found very beautiful.
Cathedral of St. Zeno and its bell tower, which you can climb.
Museo Capitolare
Palazzo del Comune
Church of Sant’Andrea
stripey San Giovanni Fuorcivitas
And the "living room" of Pistoia, the Piazza della Sala. It was market day the day we visited.

Pistoia is great, but it's a small city (the provincial capital of the Province of Pistoia), therefore not exactly a small town like Fiesole (or Montespertoli).

For something smaller, but easy commute to Florence, you may want to consider Montelupo Fiorentino, a town famous for its ceramics (much like Deruta in Umbria). It's only 15-20 min by train from Florence.

Not many hotels in town, but this is the best.
http://granducatohotel.it/

"a town famous for its ceramics"

Hey, I've been there - purchased a very nice piece of pottery from ND Dolfi.

Thank you everyone. I appreciate your help. I will look into both Pistoia and Montelupo Fiorentino.