Suburban Ranch Style — 1932 to 1980
Suburban Ranch Characteristics
- Single story, though basements are common
- Asymmetrical, often rambling façade
- Situated on larger than average lots common in their suburban settings
- Usually set parallel to the street
- Roof pitch is low. May be gabled, hipped, or a combination.
- Wide eaves
- Garage is typically attached and prominent. Early ranches may have a detached garage.
- Low, horizontal profile
- Shape may vary from simple I-shape to one with wings (L-, U-, or H-shaped)
- Window styles vary depending on when built and sub-type but are often wood or aluminum
- Open floor plan with easy access to outdoor areas such as terraces and patios
- Natural materials are favored
- Minimal ornamentation, though exceptions like the Storybook style occur
Is your house a suburban ranch?
Arguably one of the most long-lived and quintessential home styles of the mid century was the ranch. For our purposes here, we've classified the Suburban Ranch as a single-story style. (That said, we acknowledge the presence of basements in many ranch-style homes as basements were considered essential for housing heating systems and laundry areas as well as storing preserved food and other household goods.)
The parent styles of the Ranch include the Spanish Colonial architecture of early California and the Craftsman-style bungalow of the early 20th century. In the warm all-season climate of Southern California, outdoor living was as much or more a part of life as indoor living. Easy access to outdoor rooms was a natural, logical extension of living indoors.
With the advent of the Arts & Crafts movement late in the 19th century and its emphasis on natural materials and honest design, the bungalow style embodied the egalitarian idea of home as a place to raise happy families and build equity at the same time. Other movements, like the Prairie School which incorporated the philosophy of the Arts & Crafts "Simplicity" movement as well as the Japanese design aesthetic (as seen in the work of Frank Lloyd Wright and others) was also influential in the development of the Ranch style.
Though modern designers published plans and buit some early Ranch style homes before World War II, the Colonial and Minimal Traditional styles remained prominent through the 1930s to about 1950, when the Ranch started to make more headway.
As with any architectural movement, started by visionary designers like Cliff May, who designed the first modern Ranch in 1932, combined with a post-War public eager to experiment with evolving home styles. Focusing on his design principles of livability, flexibility, and unpretentiousness, May and his peers found a ready market in developers and home buyers after WWII.
Open floor plans with flexible interior spaces lent themselves to a more informal American lifestyle. Bedrooms could be used as dens, and family rooms were designed to change as the needs of the family changed. Dining rooms, much discussed for decades as to their functionality and necessity, were often incorporated informally at one end of the living room and adjacent to the kitchen.
The characteristics that made Ranches easy to live in, also made them easy to build. As a result, many of the tract homes of the 1950s were Ranches. Produced in huge numbers, millions of Americans can now claim the experience of growing up in one. The sheer volume, however, lead to the inevitable cutting of corners; later '70s ranches often lack the craftsmanship of the houses built during the 40s, 50s, and even the 1960s.
Though the Suburban Ranch has been considered "low" design and too common to be taken seriously by many architects, it's popularity is now resurgent for a number of reasons. First, they remain as functional as ever and still family friendly. They lend themselves well to updates including universal design. Because they are most often single-story with open floor plans and built low to the ground, refining them for optimum accessibility by the retiring Boomer generation, as well as those with handicaps, has made them a great housing option in many areas.
They appeal too to a new generation of home buyers for their mid-century aesthetic and remodeling ease as many vintage materials remain relatively affordable and in good supply.
For the sake of our discussion, we make a distinction between the "California Ranch" and the Suburban Ranch where modern styling exceeds ranch characteristics. Many are defined as a California Ranch, but are much show many more characteristics of modern 1940s and 50s contemporary style, which is how it was defined at the time. We also view the Split-Level and Raised Ranch as derivative styles in their own right.
© 2008 — Mid Century Home Style