The birth of the ranch house.

Lincsong · Nov 25, 2007

Well, the 1940's saw the birth of the suburban ranch style house. This style was all the rage until about the early 1970's then fell out of favor. Who lives in a ranch style? Who likes it? and Are there any new tracts out in your neck of the woods????

Josephine · Nov 25, 2007

My mom lives in a 'ranch' house. Basically a one story. I've lived in them in 8 out of the 10 places I've lived. As long as the bedrooms are definitely separated from the main part of the house, they're ok. [huh] My mom likes them as she doesn't have to traverse the stairs (she has arthritis). I've only seen a few one story houses right around where I live. My house was built in the 50's, and in the neighborhoods built in the 70's there are a lot. I don't like them though, the windows are horizontal and mean. I'd feel like I was in a prison. I need nice big double hung windows!

LocktownDog · Nov 25, 2007

Always hated them. All my girlfriends seemed to have had them too. Blech.

I grew up in a 1700s uninsulated farmhouse in NJ. But at least it had character. Those ranch homes sure seemed like dull demon spawn. Just my opinion, of course.

Richard

Lincsong · Nov 25, 2007

The ranch houses came in all sizes too from 900 square feet on up. Single, two car and three car garages. What did the ranch houses back east look like????

Twitch · Nov 25, 2007

This is the stucco I live in. Bout all you could say is that the porch roof is rach house style the way it slants. My daughter's house up the street has a full width front porch ans the roof slants way down.

This is a typical tract house for miles around.[huh] If you do a Google image search you might find what you think represents a ranch house but the variety is staggering.

scotrace · Nov 25, 2007

I grew up in one. I remember my grandparents were thrilled to sell their really nifty 1930's steep roofed sort of French brick tudor cottage and move into an wide aluminum sided ranch in a "development" in the 60's.

They seem like a waste of land. You can create much more square footage on a smaller footprint with a multiple-storey structure.

Then there's the nefarious "Split Level Ranch." Often with that highly desirable touch, the "sunken living room!"

Still, I can see a home on all one level being pretty nice when my knees are shot.

Lincsong · Nov 25, 2007

I always figured a "split level" ranch was one that was built on the side of hill with the garage on below the living space.lol

MaryDeluxe · Nov 25, 2007

Atomic ranch

I'm not very into boring 70's square ranch houses. I like my ranch houses to have some interesting lines to them. Though I don't think I could ever live in one, I'm a big fan of Lustron Houses too!

Here's a nice one that I ran across last year!

A Lustron that has seen better days...but still all original!

For those who are really interested in atomic style design you can't beat
http://www.atomic-ranch.com/

Snookie · Nov 25, 2007

Here's our perfect little 1941 ranch house. We've lived here for almost 3 years, and of course there's some upgrades we'd like to to make, but it's really just about perfect.

It's got the best floorplan I've ever seen for a house its size (933 sq. ft.), and better than most that are larger. Our lot is wide, so the house can be wide - not long and narrow, like most are.

Original hardwood floors, doorknobs, and mailslot. And I just realized that the metal cabinets in the pantry are original, too -- although that's a upgrade I'd LOVE to make!

TM · Nov 26, 2007

Here's the definitive book on the subject:

http://www.amazon.com/Ranch-House-Alan-Hess/dp/B000W0838E/ref=pd_bbs_sr_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1196045749&sr=8-2

Tony

The Shirt · Nov 26, 2007

I love the 50's style ones. Atomic Ranch magazine is one of the things I cherish most on a rainy Saturday afternoon. I currently live in a 20's style 'bungalow' and sometimes feel a little claustrophobic. I'd like to spread out a bit in a ranch with its larger rooms, though I find it completely unnecessary to commit myself to the sprawling nature of today's McMansion. I think a smaller well-planned home beats multiple bland rooms lacking detail any day.

Lustron's are charming and an intriguing idea - but so tiny! I'd need to re-purpose an entire room as a closet. I'm a fan of newer manufactured/modular homes (no not the trailer park kind) and love that they are the rage again. I think it's a throwback to the idea of 50's suburbs in some fashion -Good/quality design for the masses.

Paisley · Nov 26, 2007

scotrace said:
I grew up in one. I remember my grandparents were thrilled to sell their really nifty 1930's steep roofed sort of French brick tudor cottage and move into an wide aluminum sided ranch in a "development" in the 60's.

They seem like a waste of land. You can create much more square footage on a smaller footprint with a multiple-storey structure.

Then there's the nefarious "Split Level Ranch." Often with that highly desirable touch, the "sunken living room!"

Still, I can see a home on all one level being pretty nice when my knees are shot.

My parents and I moved out of a practical, if kind of bland, little house in the 70s to a sprawling ranch house with a huge yard. You have to shout at the top of your lungs to be heard from room to room in that house. Now that my mother is almost 80, she cannot get into the sunken living room. I like my 2-bedroom bungalow, with all its warts, much better.

~*Red*~ · Nov 26, 2007

I grew up in a ranch house in the valley. I adore them as they are very nostalgic for me. I would love more than anything to have one of my own to raise my daughter in..but my ultimate dream is to have a nice little 30's bungalow near beach when she's old enough to move away. lol

Lincsong · Nov 27, 2007

It seems as though it's popularity rose with western movies and then faded as western's lost their popularity.[huh]

Viola · Nov 27, 2007

There's some around here, but not a whole lot of them. In the city, the rowhouse is king, and in the suburbs around here, they're scattered around, often just one or two on a block of multi-story homes.

Its kind of nice that way, you can appreciate the '40s-'50s style as its own statement, and they're not thundering across the landscape like siding-ed buffalo.

I could enjoy a ranch, I'd use it to stage collections (clothes weren't even what brought me to this board) and furnishings. Fiestaware and aluminum canisters in the kitchen, a '50s car in the driveway, and probably some Art Deco and some modern furniture mixed together in the house. It'd be fun.

One of these doors.

Wallpaper!

Lighting for over my dinette set.

Ryan · Nov 27, 2007

Hey Viola

thanks for the links. The lighting link shows something kind of like what I picked up not long ago for free. When I see a remodel job being done on an older home, I always stop and offer to help people get rid of stuff. Trim pieces, lumber, doors, old hardware and lastly was a dinning room light from the 30's. People ask me Why, because it's too cool to see being tossed. Who knows, maybe one day I might have enough to build a house.

Les Gillis · Nov 27, 2007

In my job I have people calling from all over looking for houses. It seems like when people from certain regions ask for a one story a percentage of them use the term "ranch" for any one story. The term ranch is like the "coke" vs. "pop" thing.

Les

Roger · Nov 27, 2007

I prefer a ranch on a big lot. Keeps the population down on the street. I can't stand living where the homes are 5-10 feet from each other.

panamag8or · Nov 29, 2007

I'm not sure what my house is. On a street of ranch-style houses, mine is different. Rather than sitting across the length of the lot, it goes deep into the lot. Also, it is raised 2 steps. That does make it easy to run cables and phone lines... just go under the house. It was built in 1960, and I guess it was supposed to be some progressive design. It's also built like a tank, as I found when trying to remove a bathroom sink.

Here's what it looks like, thanks to the county appraiser. The lot is pretty much the white space, and the garage is actually an open carport:

Lincsong · Nov 30, 2007

Just make sure there's no gators under that house first.

The birth of the ranch house.

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