Home Buying

Home of the Week: Berkshires vacation home on private lake serves up tennis and pickleball

Four-bedroom contemporary has 3.5 baths, built-in bunk beds, a finished lower level, and an office with custom cabinetry (if you just can’t escape the job).

The home sits on a 1.19-acre lot.

By John R. Ellement, The Boston Globe

May 10, 2023

325 Lake Shore Drive, Sandisfield

$795,000

Style Contemporary

Year built 1981

Square feet 2,220

Bedrooms 4

Baths 3 full, 1 half

Fee $199 a month

Sewer/Water Private

Taxes $5,266 (2023)

Sandisfield is the largest town in Berkshire County size-wise but one of the smallest year-round population-wise.

It’s also where one can become “OWL-wise.”

That’s an acronym for Otis Wood Lands, a 250-plus-lot private development centered on an artificial lake of the same name.

Our Home of the Week is a contemporary that sits on a 1.19-acre lot on the southwestern end of the 24-acre lake. Entrance is via a crushed stone driveway, a paving stone walkway, and a raised platform. Inside, a short foyer directs one to the main living areas of the home, past a 144-square-foot office/den to the left that has built-in cabinetry, a custom desk, carpeting perfect for a rolling desk chair, and shiplap walls.

On the right, there is a half bath with a single vanity topped with granite, as well as butterfly wallpaper.

Just ahead lies a fully updated kitchen and dining and living areas — all part of an open floor plan that draws natural light from four skylights and a wall of windows and a slider to a deck and a screen porch. Track lighting stands ready to take over when the sun sets. The flooring is oak.

The 220-square-foot kitchen is shaped something like a C and offers stainless steel appliances, recessed lighting, floor-to-ceiling Shaker-style cabinetry in a medium wood tone, two windows, a ceramic tile backsplash, granite countertops, and a beadboard-clad peninsula with seating for at least two. Textured glass covers some of the upper cabinet doors, and a tall cabinet reveals a pantry with custom shelving.

The 247-square-foot screened-in porch off the dining area is fitted with modern skylights but gives off a rustic appearance in deference to the wooded surroundings.

A hallway a few steps up from the living area connects to the bedroom wing. On the right, a 150-square-foot guest bedroom features wall-to-wall carpeting and windows overlooking the backyard. Opposite that is a full bath that comes with a double-bowl laminate-topped vanity, tile flooring, and a shower behind a frosted-glass door. There’s a laundry room with a sink farther down the hall.

The rest of this level belongs to the primary suite. The 281-square-foot bedroom has wall-to-wall carpeting, track and recessed lighting, a sharply angled cathedral ceiling with a fan, five windows, and a walk-in closet with custom cabinetry. The bedroom also provides enough space to set up a sitting area.

The updated en-suite bath is 154 square feet and features a ceramic tile floor, a water closet, and a two-level vanity with a pair of sinks and a dressing table. The counters are granite with a stone backsplash. That stone also frames a jetted tub with a granite surround and a wood front that matches the raised-panel cabinetry. The room also offers a separate shower with a ceramic tile backsplash.

The home’s other two bedrooms — 120 square feet and 138 square feet — are on the second floor. Both have wall-to-wall carpeting and share a full bath with tile flooring, a shower/tub combination, and a single vanity with a laminate counter. One of the bedrooms offers two sets of bunk beds.

The lower level holds a 648-square-foot family room with wall-to-wall carpeting.

The monthly fee is for access to the private lake (no motorsports), an in-ground pool, a children’s play area, four tennis courts, pickleball courts, a ballfield, a fitness center, and hiking trails that connect to Otis State Forest. OWL has a lodge for community gatherings.

Jeff Wilkinson of Stone House Properties in Great Barrington has the listing. As of press time, an offer was pending on the property.

Follow John R. Ellement on Twitter @JREbosglobe. Send listings to [email protected]. Please note: We do not feature unfurnished homes unless they are new-builds and will not respond to submissions we won’t pursue. Subscribe to our newsletter at Boston.com/address-newsletter.