The ranch style house has been a crucial component of American design and lifestyle for more than a century. The single-story architecture, frequently constructed with wood siding or plain brick, with low-pitched roofs and deep overhangs, is a key feature of this architectural style.
The design gained popularity after World War II as troops looking for simple, reasonably priced homes to raise their families quickly started buying such homes.
Nowadays, a brand-new generation of homebuyers is appreciating the original ranch homes and finding the simple architecture appealing for its adaptability and resemblance to mid-century-style homes. It seems that the ranch house is here to stay, so let’s examine the top seven ideas for remodeling and maximizing the potential of your home.
Build a Patio or Porch
What is a ranch style house without a well-designed outdoor space? One of the hallmarks of these houses is that they blend in with outside activities. Consider creating a similar effect in front of the house, where sliding glass doors would lead to an entertaining outdoor living space. Add a brick or flagstone patio can to make the place more inviting and appealing.
Make the Front Door a Focal Point
The exterior of a ranch house is usually modern and simple, but you could create a chic vibe by making your front door a focal point. Replace the plain door with solid-wood frame-and-panel doors with tall vertical panels in the Prairie or Craftsman styles.
If you’re looking for a more budget-friendly option, you could give the worn-out veneer doors a new look. Sand the surface lightly, then stain and cover with oil-based polyurethane. Given that the veneer is so thin, use only fine-grit sandpaper for sanding. Then, to add a pop of color, spice up your door with intense shades like yellow, crimson, or turquoise.
Get Larger Windows
The large windows seen in the original ranch-style homes had been reduced to small double-hung windows by the 1960s, partly due to worries about energy expenses. If you have these in your house, replace them with bigger ones, preferably sliders or casement designs, to bring your house back to its original ranch-style appearance. Nowadays, these windows are more energy-efficient thanks to contemporary glazing options with double and triple-insulated glass.
Expand Horizontally, Not Vertically
If you want to create additional living space but you want to preserve the look of a true ranch-style home, avoid expanding upward and building a second story. Instead, stick to a single-story floor plan and try to extend to the side of the house or the back with a T-shaped room expansion. In addition, since an attached garage is a common feature of ranch-style homes, you could consider transforming it into a living space, thus avoiding impairing the architectural lines of the suburban ranch-style home.
Remove Walls
If you want to remodel your house to its original period accuracy, take down interior walls and open up the design. Usually, people combine the living room and dining room, but you could employ the open-concept design to combine the dining room, living room, and kitchen into a single area.
Add Different Heights in Landscaping
Play around with the heights or levels of the landscaping. As we mentioned, ranch houses often have a one-story design that is simple and unadorned on the outside. Therefore, having a landscape with different levels of heights is a great approach to enhance its outside appearance. With taller components like trees, tall bushes or plants, and garden structures like gazebos and pergolas, you may visually break up the narrow roofline and horizontal line of view.
On top of the apparent aesthetics brought in by these vertical outdoor elements, they are also bound to amplify or boost your overall curb appeal. Of course, you could hire a professional landscaper, but if you’re feeling a little adventurous, this is a little project you can take on yourself.
Add Ornamental Fencing
You could improve your ranch house’s appearance with some decorative fencing. It makes a great decorative statement and effortlessly adds a stylish appearance to a ranch house that would otherwise look dated. Choose horizontal lines since they add a modern touch and can make the property appear and feel much broader and bigger than it actually is.
Final Thoughts
Although there are many different varieties of ranch home designs, there are several characteristics of the traditional style to bear in mind if you’re planning a historically appropriate makeover. Hopefully, these seven ideas have pushed you in the right direction, helping you create the ranch-style home of your dreams!
