Friday Front Porch Feature: Live/Work Potential in West Stockbridge

WEST STOCKBRIDGE, Mass. — Are you looking for a residential building with lots of opportunity? Then this is the home for you.

Our Friday Front Porch is a weekly feature spotlighting attractive homes for sale in Berkshire County. This week, we are showcasing 4 Main St.

This 1890 house has three bedrooms and three bathrooms. It's selling for $635,000 and is 2,476 square feet on just under an acre. It comes with a trash compactor, washer, refrigerator, dryer, and a dishwasher. Custom built-ins, a cast-iron wood stove, storage, and heat pumps.

The house is a commercially zoned, mixed-use property with versatile one-bedroom accessory apartment. It overlooks the Williams River through two private balconies.

It's right on Main Street but does have two off-street parking spots, and is in walking distance of shops, restaurants and public parks. 

We spoke to Conor Meehan from Stonehouse Properties LLC, which is listing the property.

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

Meehan: It's rare to find a property that blends commercial zoning, a versatile accessory apartment, and a beautifully designed main residence — all in a highly walkable village location on the riverfront. The combination of income potential, live/work flexibility, and scenic serenity truly sets it apart.

Do you know any unique stories about this home or its history?

Meehan: Before it was reimagined as a residence, the building once served as the town barber shop. Locals would gather here not only for a haircut but to trade stories, share news, and keep up on the latest small-town happenings. That sense of community and connection is still very much alive in the walls of this home.

What kind of buyer do you see this home being perfect for?

Meehan: This property is perfect for creatives, entrepreneurs, or anyone looking to merge lifestyle with livelihood. It could serve as a home and studio/storefront, or simply a peaceful retreat with reliable income from the accessory apartment.

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

Meehan: Picture starting your day with coffee on your private deck, overlooking the Williams River. Your workday might be just downstairs, in a bright, flexible space that inspires productivity and creativity. The convenience of living and working under one roof means more time to enjoy the things you love.

Stroll out the door, through town, greeted by familiar faces on your way to the local farmers market, coffee shop, restaurants, galleries and antique shops. Then return home to the comfort of your private riverside retreat. It's a lifestyle that blends productivity with the ease and connection of small-town New England living.

Are there any recent renovations or standout design features?

Meehan: The home was thoughtfully designed with custom built-ins, a cast-iron wood stove, and soaring ceilings with skylights that flood the space with natural light. Heat pumps provide efficient year-round comfort, providing heat and AC, while generous storage and flexible layouts make it as practical as it is beautiful.

Have you heard any memorable reactions or feedback from visitors?

Meehan: Visitors often remark on the "wow factor" of the contemporary design hiding inside of the historic brick exterior, with the soaring ceilings and sky-lit interiors, as well as the feeling of calm that comes from being right on the river. Many are surprised to find such a peaceful retreat right in the center of town.

What is the neighborhood like?

Meehan: West Stockbridge offers the best of both worlds: a vibrant, walkable village with galleries, restaurants and performance spaces, yet it retains the relaxed charm of a small, historic Berkshire town. Within minutes, you can be hiking, skiing, or enjoying world-class music at Tanglewood. It's a town that offers natural beauty, culture and a real sense of community.  

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

*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.

Sheffield Craftsman Offering Workshops on Windsor Chairs

By Breanna SteeleiBerkshires Staff
10:30AM / Sunday, March 29, 2026

Andrew Jack uses hand tools in his wood working shop. 

SHEFFIELD, Mass. — A new workshop is bringing woodworking classes and handmade items.

Andrew Jack specializes in Windsor chairs and has been making them for almost 20 years.

He recently opened a workshop at 292 South Main St. as a space for people to see his work and learn how to do it.

"This is sort of the next, or latest iteration of a business that I've kind of been limping along for a little while," he said. "I make Windsor chairs from scratch, and this is an effort to have a little bit more of a public-facing space, where people can see the chairs, talk about options, talking about commissions.

"I also am using it as a space to teach workshops, which for the last 10 years or so I've been trying to do out of my own personal workshop at home."

Jack graduated in 2008 from State University of New York at Purchase, and later met woodworker Curtis Buchanan, who inspired him.

"Right after I finished there, I was feeling a little lost. I wasn't sure how to make the next steps and afford a workspace. And the machine tooling that I was used to using in school." he said, "Right after I graduated, I crossed paths with a guy named Curtis Buchanan, and he was demonstrating making really refined Windsor chairs with not much more than some some flea market tools, and I saw that as a great, low overhead way to keep working with wood."

Jack moved into his workshop last month with help from his wife. He is renting the space from the owners of Magic Flute, who he says have been wonderful to work with.

"My wife actually noticed the 'for rent' sign out by the road, and she made the initial call to just see if we get some more information," he said. "It wasn't on my radar, because it felt like kind of a big leap, and sometimes that's how it's been in my life, where I just need other people to believe in me more than I do to, you know, really pull the trigger."

Jack does commissions and while most of his work is Windsor chairs, he also builds desks and tables, and does spoon carving. 

Windsor chairs are different because of the way their backs are attached into the seat instead of being a continuous leg and back frame.

"A lot of the designs that I make are on the traditional side, but I do some contemporary stuff as well. And so usually the legs are turned on a lathe and they have sort of a fancy baluster look to them, or they could be much more simple," he said. "But the solid seat that separates the undercarriage from the backrest and the arms and stuff is sort of one of the defining characteristics of a Windsor."

He hopes to help people learn the craft and says it's rewarding to see the finished product. In the future, he also hopes to host other instructors and add more designs for the workshop.

"The prime impact for the workshops is to give close instruction to people that are interested in working wood with hand tools or developing a new skill. Or seeing what's possible with proper guidance," Jack said. "Chairs are often considered some of the more difficult or complex woodworking endeavors, and maybe less so Windsor chairs, but there is a lot that goes into them, and being able to kind of demystify that, or guide people through the process is quite rewarding."

People can sign up for classes on his website; some classes are over a couple and others a couple of weekends.

"I offer a three-day class for, a much, much more simple, like perch, kind of stool, where most of the parts are kind of pre-made, and students can focus on the joinery that goes into it and the carving of the seat, again, all with hand tools. And then students will leave with their own chair," he said.

"The longer classes run similarly, although there's quite a bit more labor that goes into those. So I provide all the turned parts, legs and stretchers and posts and things, but students will do all the joinery and all the seat carving the assembly. And they'll split and shave and shape their own spindles, and any of the bent parts that go into the chair."

His gallery is open Wednesday through Sunday 10 a.m to 2 p.m., and Monday and Tuesday by appointment.