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.

Lanesborough OKs Open Space Plan, Short-Term Rental Forms

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
02:43PM / Friday, June 26, 2026

LANESBOROUGH, Mass. — The Select Board on Monday set fees for short-term rentals and adopted an Open Space and Recreation Plan.

Town Administrator Gina Dario discussed the draft for STR registration and certificate of inspection since the new bylaws were passed at the annual town meeting.

The draft shows the process to file for inspection through Permit Eyes, the town's online permitting system that includes the state building code and safety requirements. Dario said members of the Planning Board and Zoning Board of Appeals and the building commissioner looked at other town models to come up with the best process for registration.

Inspections will be annually for non-owner occupied units and five years for owner-occupied. The inspection fee is a flat $50. The last suggestion discussed was the posting requirements for key information.

Dario said they looked at about four other communities on how they used non-sensitive information on owner contacts. Chair Deborah Maynard motioned to have the information posted both inside and out to help with law enforcement if needed.

"I'm going to make a motion that we put that relevant information not only on the inside of the short-term rental but on the outside, so if the police need to respond, ambulance needs to respond, fire especially needs to respond, all that information is there, nobody has to go searching for it," she said. "If push comes to shove, and it's a matter of minutes, that's going to make a big, a big difference in the outcome of the incident."

The board then heard a presentation from Berkshire Regional Planning Commission's community planner Andrew McKeever and Open Space and Recreation Committee Vice Chair Mark Hawthorne.

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