image description — This 5-year-old home has four bedrooms and is energy efficient.

Friday Front Porch Feature: An Attractive Energy-Efficient Home

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
05:47PM / Friday, August 08, 2025Print Story | Email Story

DALTON, Mass. — Are you looking for a house that's energy efficient and new? Then this Dalton home is the one for you.

Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing a young home at 224 East St.

This 2020 home has four bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms and a two-car garage. It is 2,318 square feet on 0.35 acres.

It comes with Energy Star-rated washer, stove, refrigerator, dishwasher, and dryer, central air and solar panels.

We spoke with Patricia Molina of Century 21 Northeast about this house.

What do you think makes this property stand out in the current market?

Newly built homes make up a small percentage of Berkshire County's housing market. This home stands out because it is new with quality systems, quality materials and quality craftsmanship.

What would you say to a buyer trying to imagine a life in this space?

Imagine coming home to this bright home where everything just flows. The kitchen has such a clean, modern feel and opens right up to the back deck and yard. The primary bedroom is a dream with a walk-in closet and your own private bathroom with double sinks. The biggest plus? The house is new. No need to worry about the "big ticket items" like replacing the roof, heating system, electrical, or any other major updates for years to come.

What was your first impression when you walked into the home?

It felt welcoming and cool, literally! Having central air is amazing. The open layout, natural lighting and the beautiful floors make the home feel bright and inviting. The kitchen island immediately grabbed my attention. I knew this was a great house as soon as I walked in.

What do the current owners love most about the home?

I would say it has to be the energy efficiency. While living here, they had multiple electronics running around the clock, and the solar panels helped curb the cost of all that energy use. I think they also loved how spacious the home is. Having a bathroom on each floor is so convenient and such a rare find these days.

Are there any standout design features or recent renovations?

Absolutely. It was just built in 2020, so everything is still very new. Beyond that, there are some fantastic design features: 1) energy efficient systems like the solar panels, underground propane tank for heating, central air, on demand hot water, high speed wiring 2) the modern kitchen and bathrooms 3) a radon mitigation system which was proactively installed 4) a partially (mostly) finished basement with the mechanicals separated from the finished area.

How would you describe the feel or atmosphere of the home?

It feels bright, clean, and modern. I really love the thoughtful touches. The home has a cozy and welcoming vibe. It's spacious, but still feels comfortable and homey.

What kind of lifestyle do you think this home naturally lends itself to?

It's such a versatile home. I think just about any lifestyle would thrive here. The amount of space throughout the home really suits a variety of needs. It will be a great home for anyone looking for comfort and functional modern home.

You can find out more about this house on its listing.

*Front Porch Feature brings you an exclusive to some of the houses listed on our real estate page every week. Here we take a bit of a deeper dive into a certain house for sale and ask questions so you don't have to.

Tags: front porch, Real Estate,

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

WWII Veteran Reflects on D-Day at VFW Post Induction

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
12:25PM / Saturday, June 06, 2026

The members in the picture are Bret Miller, Coast Guard, Desert Storm; Hank Morris, Army, Vietnam; Brad Havill, Navy, Global War on Terror; VFW Post 448 Vice Cmdr. Mark Pompi, Army, Global War on Terrorism, Afghanistan; Post Cmdr. Arnold Perras, Korea; Joe Difillipo, Army, Vietnam; Teri Billington, Navy, Desert Storm; and Carmen Ostrander, Air Force, Afghanistan.

PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Anthony Salatino Jr. says his memory is getting a little foggy about his time in the Army.

But he remembers how terrible D-Day was, and feeling lucky he wasn't among those in the initial invasion force 82 years ago.

"One of the most horrible things was in Normandy. We went shortly after D-Day. I got lucky, very lucky on D-Day. We went to a staging area the night before … and at the very end, somebody called, I was in headquarters, they called all the headquarters personnel at the center," the 103-year-old said. "We did not go. There's about 30 of us. The rest of the battalion was gone, and the reason for that was because there was another battalion coming from the States, and they had no headquarters.

"We stayed back, but we did go to Normandy shortly after that, and when we went to Normandy, it was all over."

Salatino was attending an induction ceremony on Thursday at the Lt. John N. Truden VFW Post 448. Joseph Texidor, who served in the Army for 17 years with tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, was sworn in as the post's newest member.

Salatino served in the Medical Corps and wanted to follow in the footsteps of his father, a World War I veteran wounded at Verdun. Salatino was in the Army for about three years.

"The whole memory is what I just told you, very, very alive to me," he said. "That is, I can never forget, never forget that."

D-Day on June 6, 1944, was the start of Operation Overlord, and the largest invading force to cross the English Channel since 1066. Their goal: to liberate Europe from Nazi Germany.

View Full Story