![](https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj7LdEzTs4EkSWSYV17XOuJzZ8lBvwxT5No2LGEK1lomQfVYyselO1wMpljl4bnBRaEdGuPwLjqayGkzV2fjc-pNXYPjAE4oRQdZP4MZO3UkgRZYrhuBFdH6L828glnUhZ5PiP9NyxIvMOV/s400/P1050977-2012-03-20--1140-Spring-Valley-+Ln-Morningside-Teardown-Demo-from-Univer+sity-detail.jpg)
This defines post-war Morningside style. The house on the right was "done" with bump-outs and pop-tops about 1988.
The house on the left has been "done" too, I suspect a pop-top and big windows, probably very cool on the backside.
Here we go. It isn't exactly Morningside style, but it is a Virginia-Highland style, and certainly a familiar American style.
We wouldn't be surprised to see a house like this anywhere in the US, rural or urban.
My impression is that this house could have been here before there was a neighborhood. It's as if the neighborhood was built around it. A European style house can't quite do that however beautiful, however old.
It's a good bet for spec houses and for custom/semi custom house, a good bet for design/build firms.
You start with proven shapes and proportions, fit it to the lot, then tweak the size, materials, and detailing.
I particularly like how it sits on the lot. It's welcoming, you can get out of the rain, you don't have to hike up a hill. It's passes my grandma test: would you send granny to the mailbox?
Wherever you think about teardowns, this one is better than most.