Townhouse Styles

Townhouse - A townhouse is generally defined as a home built side-by-side with another townhouse where shared common walls are present and the owner owns title to the land beneath the unit. Common areas and the complex amenities, if any, are maintained with fees collected periodically from each owner. Some high-end townhouses, however, may be quite large and are detached from the ones next to them. A townhouse is a general term for either a freestanding or attached urban house.

What else is a common name for a townhouse?

• Rowhouse - A multi-story attached home, built in the same architectural style as the unit next to it, as part of a line-up of identical adjoining houses; often built by the same architect and developer.
• Brownstone - A townhouse or rowhouse whose exterior is covered with brown sandstone.
• Greystone - A townhouse or rowhouse whose facades are covered with light-colored limestone.
• Patio Home - Homes that share at least one side wall and have a back patio but not necessarily a back yard. The house sits on a small but individually owned plot of land (possibly with a zero setback on one side) with the goal of minimizing land costs and yard work. The intent is to allow for a home with some level of privacy while minimizing exterior maintenance.

Townhouse is a general term, row house a subset of that and brownstones and greystones a further subset of both. Town houses were often designed to be unique. But row houses strove for consistency.

Contact us if you have a style of townhouse that you have seen in Loudoun County but are not sure what style it is considered. It would be a pleasure to help.