The birth of the ranch house.

[dhermann1]

For years I was a Victorian snob. A house HAD to be pre 20th century to have any value in my eyes. Over the last few years I did a lot of house hunting (with no results till just this week) and I slowly came to appreciate the ranch. The original California ranches of the late 30's and early 40's had a distinctive rustic style to them, with overhanging eaves and strong vertical redwood elements. They were designed by architects who had an "idea" for the houses they built. The post war era saw a huge building boom, and the simple Cape Cod and simple California ranch were mass produced like Fords. They were built cheap and cheesy, and it's these crummy little places we think of when we think of "ranch". But the style can be extremely comfortable to live in, and if done right, have plenty of modern elegance. I think Joie deVive's little place will prove to be nice example of what a ranch style house can really be.

 

[Lincsong]

I really can't believe the shoddy workmanship of some of the cheaper ones that were made in the late '40s and '50s with the cement floor and flat room; hot in the summer and cold in the winter.:rage:

 

[postercollect]

I like 'em

A ranch style house is all I considered when buying my home. I've always liked them, having grown up in a small wartime house. I loved every visit to the relatives' ranch style homes back then. Now, well, I'm open to change.

 

[reetpleat]

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/

Those blue pannels are sweet. Almost modern looking, like cement board.

I used to not like the ranch, because I was considering ranch just the long single story with no character.

But I looked at a book from the fifties and finally got it. I didn't realize the name came from the idea of a house that was like a hacienda, with long low structures around a courtyard. And the best of the era had ls or even u's which gave them soe style and interest. The original designs were great in California. But then the hacks got ahold of the idea like everything else, and knocked out a bunch of cheap ugly stuff.

Not that the ranch replaced the craftsman. The cape cod had already done that and is kind of in between.

I love craftsmen, but I can see how by the thirties, the simple clean lines of the cape cod, then the ranch seemed interesting and better. Being a real estate agent, after five years of looking at fixed up craftsmen, I, along with many clients, got bored and started to like the mid century.

 

[Snookie]

Ranch houses are perfect for the West -- not only do we have the space to spread out, but with arid climates you want a house that can be long and lean and release heat. I'm always blown away when I visit relatives in Chicago -- those dinky looking houses are huge, because they pile 3 and 4 stories on in order to hold in heat.

 

[Miss Brill]

I have a small, circa 1986 brick ranch. It is one level, 3 beds, 1 bath, a living room, and a eat-in kitchen. Sometimes I get very bored with it, and think about selling it, but I never do

 

[Lincsong]

I see some nice new ranch subdivisions way out in Lodi or Fresno area. I've been looking at some homes in Florida since I may be transferred there later next year and I see a good variety of single level ranches along with Mediterreanen designs.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

Although I grew up in a cramped NYC apartment I've always loved the 50's ranch because my grandmother lived in one; my fondest memories are spending time in her house and yard. Also, as some mentioned, single level living is good for those with bad knees which I have. I also want a house in which I can grow old.

 

[J.J. Gittes]

I live in a Ranch house from 1953, bought from the original owner. The interior was really horrendous when we got it, it had yellow shag all over *yucky* and it was just gross and outdated, nothing left really of its mid-fifties glory. Its 3318 sq Feet, 4 bed room 4 bathrooms. We redid the interior and repainted the exterior. No major floor plan changes, other than knocking out some walls to open it up, mostly aesthetics.

 

[kools]

My ranch is also a 1953 model weighing in at about 2600 square feet. The finished basement just about doubles the usable space.

 

[Tophat Dan]

Ranch Nightmare

I am caretaking a ranch-style house that is from at least 1952 (there was a sticker on the toilet with a date I found when we had to replace said toilet).
It's a nice enough house now. One of the conditions of me living here though was that I had to fix er' up.
That is how I became acquainted with that unfortunate "benefit" of many 1950's houses: Cigarette Grunge! The previous owner smoked (not exaggerating) five packs a day for more than forty years. The walls were literally sticky to the touch and would turn your hands brown if you rubbed them on it. I think I went through ten of those little cartons of trisodium phosphate and about a million mop heads before we could even paint.

But the house is now very nice, with fresh paint, newly re-finished white oak floors, and trim that has all been pried up, cleaned and stained. It's an unusual ranch house in that it has a full basement, doubly unusual for Michigan, as the water table around here is usually somewhere near your eyebrows.

Here's a pic. I just took it a few days ago, so everything looks all frowsy and dead. Looks much nicer in the summer.

http://photoshack.com/displayimage.php?pid=27157&fullsize=1

 

[J.J. Gittes]

The link is either wrong, or a joke. Its to a note addressed to a dead person...[huh]

 

[Tophat Dan]

Whoa!

That is most certainly the wrong link!
I'm going to fix that right now. Weird. I wonder how it happened.

- edit I have no idea how the wires got crossed, but the link in my post above is fixed now.
Here it is again so you don't have to scroll up:
http://photoshack.com/displayimage.php?pid=27157&fullsize=1



I sincerely apologize for the mix up.
Dan

 

[Viola]

Wow I don't remember this thread, and I apparently even posted in it ages ago, weird. [huh]

Well. Things have changed for me a lot since then. Now I don't just "kinda like" one story houses - I pretty much need one. I live in a three story house (plus basement, where the laundry room is...) and I've broken my foot rather badly in the intervening time and seem to be having ongoing issues from it. OH I WANT A RANCH. Or a bungalow.

I prefer the '40s-'50s single stories to the more somber and pragmatic '70s ones. Swooping assymetrical rooflines and lots of glass is cool. Makes me want a big Buick in the driveway, with a picket fence and a little lawn and flowerbeds out front and a patio, clothesline, and barbecue out back - living the American Dream Post-War style! Candy colour futuristic - by the year 1990 we'll all own Cadillacs that fly. lol

 

[Subvet642]

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!

That's beautiful! :eusa_clap I grew up in a ranch house that was built for the military as off base housing for either the Nike base or Hanscom AFB, and then sold off. Most of the houses in my old neighborhood have had 2nd stories put on them. I love my old house, but it's probably because of all the great times I had there and not quite the aethetics of it.

 

[fortworthgal]

I can't believe I haven't posted in this thread yet. I'm all about the 1950s ranch homes! We live in a 1958 ranch house, right at 2,000 square feet, in a 1950s neighborhood that's nothing but ranches, capes, colonials and mid-century moderns. Interestingly, there's a Lustron home (one of only 2 known in Texas) in the neighborhood adjacent to us.

When we were house shopping, I was looking for a tudor or a bungalow, but I'm really happy with our home. I love the layout, it is very comfortable, and since I'm really into 1950s decor and styles, the fit is perfect. We are the third owners. Our home was lightly remodeled by the second owners, plantation shutters added throughout, the original boomerang formica counters replaced with solid granite slab, new appliances, and new flooring installed throughout. I drool over my neighbor's original countertops! But, our home does retain many of the original features - laminate cabinets with black/chrome pulls, original tiled bathrooms (one blue, one apricot), NuTone radio/intercom system, and a few other things. We are in the process right now of redecorating everything to be more "original" to the house. Maybe one day we'll even go back to some original 1950s kitchen appliances.

Oh, and we do have the Weber kettle BBQ and the clothesline out back!

 

[Martinis at 8]

Here's a real ranch house from a real ranch. From recent Saltillo, MEX trip. Rode my motorcycle there from Houston.

 

[PrettySquareGal]

I will be living in a 1950's ranch in May and can hardly wait!

 

[PrettySquareGal]

The kitchen:

Do the cabinets look like Maple? Also, do these cabinets look 50's, or 60's? The ranch was built in 1950 but I am unsure if these are original. Once I'm moved in I will take pictures- this is from the MLS. The linoleum looks very 60's to me- it's a yellow pebbled look.

 

[Lincsong]

The kitchen:

Do the cabinets look like Maple? Also, do these cabinets look 50's, or 60's? The ranch was built in 1950 but I am unsure if these are original. Once I'm moved in I will take pictures- this is from the MLS. The linoleum looks very 60's to me- it's a yellow pebbled look.

I've seen those cabinets in both 1950s and 1960s homes. I would guess those are original. The linoleum looks late 60s-early 70s. Obviously the oven in recent.