What is a Ranch House? Discover Varieties Across the US (2024)

Ranch homes have left an enduring mark on the tapestry of American architecture. During the mid-20th century, ranch homes revolutionized suburban living in California with their cost-effective and casual layout.

Drawing inspiration from 19th-century Spanish Colonial design, ranch homes feature low-slung roofs, spacious floor plans, and seamless indoor-outdoor transitions. Naturally, the style's affordable simplicity made for easy adaptation, leading ranches to spread across the U.S.

Today, ranch houses remain popular, but they can differ quite a bit in each region. Below, the team from Prevu Real Estate will break down what defines these homes and where to buy them.

What makes a Ranch house?

After WWII, ranch-style houses boomed in popularity in California when the rising need for housing was answered with improved building materials and simple design.

Inspired by Spanish Colonial homes of the 19th century, these houses were built close to the ground. Rooflines on these homes typically extend wide and low with overhanging eaves to shade the windows from the California sun. Early ranches traditionally had one story to promote natural cooling. In turn, their long footprints were used to increase square footage by extending outward rather than up.

Ranch style homes are often U or L-shaped, creating an enclosed back patio with glass doors seamlessly connecting the indoor and outdoor spaces. Large windows are commonly used to flood the interior with natural light. In essence, ranch houses achieved casual elegance through a minimalist layout and practical use of space.

What are the key features of a Ranch?

Ranch houses are characterized by their squat design and low-pitched roofs. From the outside, this elongated aesthetic echoes the clean lines of Modernism while creating an open floor plan inside.

Past the front entrance, you'll frequently find spacious kitchens with attached living areas and dining rooms. Cathedral ceilings and rustic wooden beams are another interior staple of ranch-style homes, fostering a spacious ambiance. For privacy, the bedrooms are usually grouped on the opposite side of the house from the living space.

Oversized windows and sliding doors are standard features of the style that maximize natural light and blend indoor living areas with outdoor porches or decks. Additionally, these homes generally feature attached garages and wide front porches to provide protection from the elements.

What is the history of the Ranch style house?

Cliff May is considered to be the father of the Ranch. May drew inspiration from both the Colonial Revival movement of the early 1900s and the Prairie School architecture led by Frank Lloyd Wright.

Cliff May first built hacienda houses in San Diego In the 1920s. Later, when May relocated to Los Angeles in the 1930s, he streamlined his style for private clients. There, he blended aspects of adobe ranch houses and modern architecture to build casual and cost-effective homes.

Ranch homes surged in popularity during the post-war World War II housing boom of the 1950s and 60s due to their inexpensive and straightforward construction. As the house style spread across America, stucco siding and clay tiles were traded for vinyl, steel, glass, and brick, depending on the region.

What are the different varieties of Ranch homes?

The California Ranch, also called a Rambler, is the original iteration of the style. Yet, various adaptations emerged as the style migrated across the U.S.

Texas Ranch homes, for example, generally retain a single-story design while embracing rustic building materials and larger footprints, along with dormer windows and gabled roofs.

As the style spread, Midwestern Ranch homes adopted suburban tract-home elements such as gabled roofs, asphalt shingles, and brick facades.

As ranches were introduced into cooler climates, additional floors became more tenable, leading to split-level ranch and raised ranch versions.

Split-level homes will frequently situate the garage to one side and living areas on the opposite side. These levels are connected by a staircase that ascends to the bedrooms while descending to the living room.

Raised ranches typically have a broad upper level atop a narrower lower level, creating what is known as a 'capping' effect. This usually means the living area is on the upper floor while a garage is directly beneath it. Depending on the property, the lower level of this style is often below ground level.

The Mid-Century Modern Ranch is another common variant of the style, which emphasizes clean lines, expansive windows and steel beams. Mid-Century Ranches favor an open concept that maintains a visual connection to the surrounding landscape through panoramic windows or sliding glass doors.

Where can you find Ranch houses?

Ranch homes were born in California, borrowing design elements from Spanish Colonial and Native American architecture. There, the low profile and horizontal emphasis naturally combated the heat in Los Angeles and San Diego. Later, the style spread northward to San Francisco and Sacramento, where you’ll find a mixture of Suburban Ranch and Storybook Ranch houses.

Similarly, the style worked well in the heat of the Southwestern United States. While their southwestern flare is unique, you'll still find ranch homes throughout major cities in Arizona, Utah, New Mexico, and Texas.

During the early 20th Century in Chicago, Frank Llyod Wright paved the way for the ranch in the Midwest. As a result, these homes became popular throughout Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio, and Michigan during the mid-20th century housing boom.

Due to the home's simple adaptability and affordable design, new renditions emerged on the East Coast. It's common to find various styles of ranch houses in neighborhoods throughout New York, Philadelphia, Maryland, and Virginia.