Starter Home $368/square foot

Hooked on Houses is hosting her "Hooked on Friday's" blog party: today I'm hooked on a harmonious little house for sale in Morningside, Atlanta. Here is related post.

Here is the deal:
Built in 1940, asking: $439,900 for 1,194 square feet, a bit more than 1/10 acre. Here is the listing. This 2br, 2 ba, is smaller than average with above average design.



My suburban friends can't imagine living in these relatively small homes with un-small prices. If you weren't raised in a place like this, I think you need to move here when you are young. This is a reminder to look at the listing. Check out the kitchen ceiling.



This is a handsome, well proportioned house that pleases the eye every time. We have all seen mansions with these proportions and details. It's a bit Greek revival with columns, shallow roof pitch, emphasized but simplified cornices. Tiny dentals above the entry porch. Beefy returns. These are serious details that didn't happen by accident. It might have come from a pattern book.



It looks nice in it's "for sale" trim. Nice urns, window boxes, informal, low-rise foundation plantings. We'll down grade it for the stick-on shutters but they look good.

What isn't so obvious are the oversize windows. I thing we can call it fenestration: windows sized and placed for aesthetics. The facade's elements are in harmony.

There is another thing.

We modern, design sophisticates think natural light was invented in 1985. If you look at the listing, you'll notice that the house is filled with natural light.



See all these windows on the side? Way more window than brick.

The cornice is continuous across the gable. The little window in the gable, deep overhang, and returns please the eye. There are many ways to do this wrong.

Do you notice the depth of the windows? I guess that's known as a deep reveal. From A Pattern Language No. 223: "...Make the window frame a deep, splayed edge..."

Here is a look across the next door neighbors yard, very lush and attractive and a bit more modern.



The Walk Score is 60 but my personal rating is higher. See Atlanta's neighborhood walk score rankings. With #8 Virginia-Highland about 4 blocks away, This is as good as it gets in a safe, low rise Atlanta neighborhood.

For you savvy Atlantans, it's a level 2 block walk to Alons, Providence Antiques, and Movies Worth Seeing.

Ready to call the agent?