The ranch-style home, with its simple design and practicality, has been a popular choice in the United States for decades. And that’s not changing any time soon. Ranch-style homes are becoming even more popular as people across the country search for affordable housing solutions. From coast to coast, you’ll find ranch-style homes both new and old dotting residential communities — but what exactly is this type of house?
The ranch-style home is one of the most popular styles across America. Its popularity stems from its simplicity, wide appeal, and affordability.
The style is so popular that you will find them in nearly every single neighborhood in every state. The first ranch-style homes date back to the early 1900s and have origins from Western American design, as well as Spanish Revival influences.
Read on to learn about the origins of the ranch-style home, why it’s so great today, and how to spot them out in your neighborhood or while looking at prospective home listings online.
Identifying A Ranch-Style Home
Ranch-style homes are usually easier to identify than other styles of homes. They are usually built low to the ground with a low pitch roof line and without dormers.
Ranch homes usually have medium to large roofs overhand and have a sheltered, off-center front entry. Ranch-style homes usually sprawl the width of the lot and often have attached garages. They have a large picture window and an asymmetrical design.
Ranch-style Home Design Subtypes
Since ranch-style homes have been around for so long, it’s no surprise that there are a lot of variations on the theme. Here are some of the most common subtypes of ranch-style homes.
Side-Gabled Roof
A gabled roof is a set of sloping roofs in which all the slopes are parallel to each other. These roofs are designed to use the same amount of roofing materials. This allows for consistent roof planes and minimizes the transitions between surfaces.
Gabled roofs have two slopes on each side that meet at a ridge that runs down the center of this style of home, making it easy to identify gabled ranch homes off in your neighborhood.
Hipped Roof
The shape of a hipped roof is similar to that of a pyramid. Roofs on houses can have two triangular sides and two trapezoidal ones. They are almost always at the same pitch or slope, which gives them a symmetrical appearance
Hipped roofs are very similar to gabled roofs, except they lack the central ridge running the length of the home. This allows for more roof variations and styles while still maintaining a simple, identifiable design.
About 10% of all ranch-style homes have hipped roofs. They are often found in smaller ranch homes and rural areas.
Cross-Hipped Roof
Cross-hipped ranch homes have a hipped-style home with a single extension. These are usually one-story structures with a roof ridge parallel to the front wall and a single hipped addition. Some houses with an attached garage include a second extension.
You can also find cross-gabled roofs with hipped extensions and vice versa. Very large extended ranches have a combination of rooflines with different heights and types.
About 40% of one-story ranch houses have a cross-hipped roof; you can find examples across the country.
Cross Gabled Roof
Cross Gabled roof ranches are similar to the cross-hipped roofs but with gabled ends. The gabled ends are usually small and set at a right angle to the gabled main roofline. Just like the cross-hipped roof, this style of home is common throughout America. It can also feature two extensions.
About 40% of all ranch homes have a cross-gabled end with a gable roof and are often one-story structures that can be found across both urban and rural areas in many different price ranges.
Split-Level
A split-level home is a style of a ranch house in which the main living areas are on two or three levels with an open space between them. Split-level homes often have high ceilings and large windows that let in plenty of light. They often have open floor plans with modern amenities.
About 30% of ranch homes are split-level and can be found throughout the country in many different sizes, styles, price ranges, and age groups. These types of ranch homes offer a more unique design that you don’t see as much today but still maintain an easy to identify look.
Identifying Details of Ranch Homes
Front Windows
More than 50% of all ranch-style homes have at least one picture window and some examples have more. The large windows let light flood into the home and reward occupants with large open views of the outside.
The large picture window is generally closer to the center as opposed to the front entryway. This allows the home to have a more open floor plan and a wider entryway. From the curb, a large picture window is often the first thing you see when approaching a ranch-style home.
Front Entryway
The front entry is almost always sheltered by the main roof of the house and is found off to one side. The simplest form of the ranch house has a recessed front entrance with an additional shelter provided by the ranch ranches overhang, which is usually bigger than other ranch homes.
The overhanging roof also provides more inches of protection. Often, the door is set into the L formed by the cross-hipped or cross-gabled roof, yielding additional overhangs for shade.
Most ranch homes have a very small front porch area or none at all. Ranch homes are characterized by a backyard gathering space that extends into the outdoors, giving little importance to the front seating areas.
Open Layout
The ranch-style home facilitates the open layout design that is more popular today than ever. The entryway also often leads to the main living area and kitchen area.
Many houses also have an open kitchen to living room design with few walls or dividers. This layout is a huge benefit to the ranch house, as it allows for easy socializing and entertaining. Having an open floor plan makes it easier to cook, clean, eat and spend time together as a family, which is why this style of home has been so popular in recent years.
Backyard bonuses
Outdoor living areas are often a main focus of the ranch-style home. Outdoor patios are common and modern ranch homes have larger rear windows with sliding doors. Sliding rear glass doors or french doors are the detail of choice for accessing the backyard.
One of my favorite characteristics of the ranch-style home is how it gives plenty of privacy while still encouraging the use of outdoor space and functional outdoor living, sometimes with surprise features such as an interior courtyard.
Different Styles of Ranch Homes
Over the years, many acclaimed designers and architects have further developed the potential of ranch-style homes. Here are some of our favorite variations on the theme.
California Ranch
In the 1920s, architect Cliff May designed a new style of home that would be well-suited to California’s mild climate. He drew influences from Spanish, mission, and Pueblo architecture to create a design that is both simple and functional. The California ranch is, naturally, the most popular ranch-style home in California.
The California Style has a more compact design with living areas closer together and the kitchen, dining room, and living/family rooms sharing one large open space. These homes are typically built in warmer climates such as Arizona or Florida, where outdoor entertaining is an integral part of everyday life.
Suburban Ranch
The suburban ranch is a great starter home that can be found across the country. These homes were built en-masse at the height of their popularity.
Suburban ranch homes are normally built on concrete slabs because it requires the least amount of lot prep to begin construction. They use tract material and incorporate attached garages. Suburban ranch homes utilize a lot of the same features as the California Ranch, such as the low-to-the-ground framework and courtyards, but have a smaller, simpler design.
Suburban ranch homes are both modern and modest, yet the layout offers a great deal of privacy in smaller homes. These homes are often found on average-sized lots with higher fence lines to provide more privacy from neighbors.
Raised Ranch
A raised ranch is a ranch-style house set on a foundation to allow living space below the main level (e.g., a basement). This is the only style of the ranch that provides more living space than a standard one-story. This type of home can have up to two levels, including a finished lower level and a finished upper area. Raised ranches are also more private since the primary living area is higher than the eye level of residents and passersby.
This is typically the most common type of ranch home in older neighborhoods where lots are smaller and narrower. This style still works well in wider, larger lots with bigger yards that have space for outdoor living areas like patios or decks that can be accessed from multiple levels within the house itself.
Split-level Ranch
The design typically has a large living room, which comes off as being more spacious than most other styles owing to high ceilings and fewer walls. The kitchen area often extends into the living area so people can help prepare food while chatting to their families and friends in the living space. The house also has very large picture windows, which let in lots of natural light. The front door is usually recessed into one end just like a ranch home.
These homes are very popular because they provide a lot of open space, but it’s divided up into different rooms so the home isn’t overwhelming or cramped. Many split-level ranches have an attached garage to make for easy access and additional parking without having too many cars on the street.
Storybook Ranch
Jean Vandruff was inspired to build a ranch home with style; a twist on the classic American ranch. Jean Vandruff’s storybook ranches are also known as cinderella ranches. As the name suggests, the fanciful trim and rooflines are reminiscent of cottages often depicted in fairy tales. You can expect storybook ranches to come with decorative trim and an extravagant chimney.
Many of the world’s finest Storybook ranches are in southern California but there is a generous sprinkling in parts of the Southwestern United States.
Modern revival Ranch-style
A modern ranch-style home is a mix between the California Ranch and the Split Level. They are often sprawling ranches, with modern pallet colors and design. This is a bigger, more active version of your grandmother’s ranch.
This ranch-style home has recently seen a surge in popularity, mostly because its design works great for modern families with kids and pets. The house also has lots of open space but it isn’t overwhelming or cramped thanks to its design. This is a popular style of house in the United States, especially among millennials and boomers searching for a long-term home with an open layout.
The History of the American Ranch House
In the 1920s, ranch-style homes first appeared in the United States. The ‘Rambler House’ design became popular around the time when the automobile took off. Early city planning plotted uniform, small lots to minimize the walking distance from rail transportation. The new streetcar suburbs, on the other hand, allowed for a wide range of land use.
Clifford May is regarded as the father of modern-style ranch design. His new design placed a sprawling home on a lot horizontally maximizing the facade width. An attached garage was one of the new rambler home’s most distinctive features, adding to the contemporary vibe.
May’s first ranch-style homes were constructed in San Diego, Los Angeles, and Santa Barbara California. The American Ranch is a casual design influenced by early Spanish colonial influences in the United States Southwest. Many of the early homeowners referred to it as “traditional outside, modern inside”. The style experienced a major boom in the years following World War II due to the ease of construction. Many of May’s first homes still stand to this day.
The ranch-style house enjoyed second popularity in the aftermath of World War II. Returning Vets enjoyed the modern contemporary home that enjoyed modern amenities, large family rooms, and attached garages at affordable prices.
The ranch-style home was one of the most popular home styles throughout the early 19th century, catching popularity on the west coast as well as the center of the United States. The ranch-style is popular in the sunbelt and Midwest. By the 1980s, due to the rise in land prices nationwide and changing tastes.
Pros And Cons of A Ranch Home
Like everything in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to ranch-style homes.
Advantages of the Ranch Home Design
- Simple and easy to maintain exterior design choices.
- Single story homes that are ultimately the only ‘Forever Home’ design
- Spacious rooms with high ceilings
- Rooflines that are typically easy to add dormers and other unique roof design choices, making for aesthetically interesting homes
- Lot permitting, it is relatively easy to add to the original structure
- The attached garage avoids too many cars on the street and makes for easy access without clogging up your driveway with multiple vehicles
- Limited exterior design choices may leave you with a bland home. It’s easy to tell a ranch home apart.
Disadvantages of the Ranch Home Design
- Expensive to build: Often ranch-style homes are more expensive to build than two-story homes
- Wide and open floor plan means more material to construct the home (again, expensive)
- Lot Space can be an issue if you want a very large kitchen or other rooms — in today’s market, land costs are greater than ever before and a larger lot is needed for a huge ranch vs. a two-story home with the same square footage
- Expensive in harsher climates — a ranch with an open floor plan is hard to cool down and in colder climates, heating is expensive and inefficient due to large square footage compared to compact two-story homes
- Expensive to build from scratch on your land: Ranches are popular today but they aren’t always cheap due to their elaborate design
- Ranch homes are notorious for issues with insulation and longevity of exterior material – depending on where you live, y you may spend more money for maintenance over the years if materials aren’t chosen correctly for your climate zone
- Houses with less than 2,000 square feet are harder to sell because they feel cramped compared to homes around them that may be larger (although there is a market for smaller homes; many people are looking to downsize)
All in all, the ranch-style is an iconic house that has been around since the 1920s and will continue to be a popular choice for homeowners who want something different but comfortable. If you are interested in building or buying a ranch-style home, keep these points in mind.
Ranch House Lifestyle
Ranch homes are known for their easy-going lifestyle. The majority of their backyards are linked to the kitchen or dining area via a sliding glass door and flat patio, which they emphasize. This allows them to entertain easily and also gives the resident a much more open living environment.
Many ranch homes are decorated with an open floor plan in mind, which means that it is easy for families or friends to congregate together when there’s food on the stovetop or drinks pouring into cups. The layout of these houses tends to be very flexible, which means that it can be changed to fit the needs of a new family or individual.
Ranch homes are also known for being on the smaller side. In fact, many ranch homes have less than 2,000 square feet of living space in them. This is great news for someone who wants a home with more square footage but doesn’t like the idea of living in a two-story house with stairs.
Why Ranch Homes Are Gaining in Popularity
Recently the ranch-style home has seen a resurgence in popularity across the United States. According to an article by Trulia, the ranch-style home is the most popular home design in 34 states.
Ranch-style homes are gaining popularity because they offer a spacious and open home that is easy to maintain. Many of them are also a single story which is why they have become the only ‘forever home’ design. The majority of families looking for a new house today want one that can be easily maintained and provide enough room for everyone to live comfortably without feeling cramped. Ranch homes offer that, with less space than many other styles, but at a fraction of the cost.
Although the most popular home design across the United States continues to be the two-story single-family homes, don’t expect the ranch-style home to lose any popularity anytime soon. The second-largest generation ‘baby boomers’ still prefer to live in single-family homes and the ranch-style home fits them perfectly.
High Costs of Building a Ranch Home
Today, in 34 US states, the most popular home design is still the single-family ranch/single-story home, although this type of house may be more expensive to build than the average two-story house.
The main reason Ranch homes are more expensive to build is that they require a larger footprint than two-story homes. Their overall area is divided over a single floor, rather than many. Sprawling ranches have a larger foundation, roofing, and material expense, all of which drive up construction costs.
Modern ranch-style homes are often custom-built homes with unique designs. They are built with high-quality materials, so their resale value is generally higher than homes of other styles. Ranchettes are also frequently built in senior communities throughout the country, especially in areas with mild winters.
Conclusion
The ranch-style home has been around since the 1920s and continues to be a popular choice for homeowners who want something different but comfortable. If you are interested in building or buying a ranch-style home, keep these points in mind; lifestyle, high cost of construction, pros/cons, and whether they are the right fit for your family. The popularity of this type of house will not change anytime soon as it is perfect for those Baby Boomers looking to downsize from their two-story homes with stairs.
If you are in the Chicagoland area and are interested in finding out more about the ranch-style home.
Have Questions? Ask The Velasco Reynolds Team!
Give us a call to learn more about local areas, discuss selling a house, or tour available homes for sale.
