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Shaker cabinet design is a throwback to a simpler time. It's been around for many years, and continues to remain attractive and functional. You can paint or stain shaker style and use ordinary hardware just like any other type of cabinet. You can build this type of design in your own shop using time-tested measurements for stiles and rails.
A home's exterior entrance provides a clue to what's waiting inside. An outdated, neglected front entrance on the outside doesn't impart a warm welcome to guests. Older homes, such as ranch styles, can benefit from a budget-friendly face lift to bring new life and modern appeal to a tired, old-fashioned entrance.
Building a porch on an existing ranch-style home is a big project, but it brings big rewards to the ambitious DIYer. Through building and remodeling, your home can become your dream home. Porches create attractive, inviting outdoor spaces and add architectural detail to your home that will increase both value and curb appeal. Build a porch onto your existing home that will match well with the rest of the house, and soon you may wonder how you ever lived without it.
The ranch style proliferated in the era after World War II when many large-scale tract developments were built. This style featured a one-story design with a low profile, was easy to build and relatively inexpensive. Ranch houses in suburban developments tended to look alike. They usually had low-sloping gable roofs, with the roof line paralleling the street and gable triangle ends on each side. Entry doors were typically centered in the middle of the house. Changing the roof line can transform the look of a ranch house from humdrum to distinctive in style.
Ranch-style homes are typically simple, long one-story structures. Popular in the 1960s, they feature a number of siding types, but wood and vinyl siding are the most common. The facade can be updated by the addition of a brick, wood or stone veneer all the way around the house to increase its curb appeal and resale value. This installation can be done to either a prominent section of the home or to the entire exterior.
Roof decking, also known as roof sheathing, is the layer of plywood that fits over the rafters and under the shingles on typical pitched roofs. The classic 1950s-style ranch home has a pitched roof with decking. Attaching the decking to a standard gabled roof, which is a type of roof often found on ranch homes, is not terribly difficult and can be accomplished by a confident homeowner. A gabled roof consists of two slopes of equal pitch, and a ridge in the center where they meet.
Your ranch house, once so roomy, may be bursting at the seams with the addition of a child or a second car. The easiest and less intrusive method of adding to a ranch house is to build horizontally. A garage next to the ranch house, connected by a bonus room to the side or at the rear, adds a great deal of room and value to the existing house. Before you start looking at blueprints, however, consider a few preliminary basics for a smooth start to the project.
Ranch houses are one-story homes that sprawl across the lot. The bedrooms may be split with the master suite on one side of the living area and the other bedrooms on the other side. The homes have an informal look to them rather than formal. Renovating a ranch home is a major undertaking if additional construction is required. However, enclosing a porch or finishing an attic or basement adds to the home without requiring major construction.
Dormer windows must have precise dimensions to fit a home’s roof space appropriately. Your goal is to design dormers with roof lines that create a balanced look for the whole house design. You don‘t want dormers to look too small or too large from any angle. Find a ranch home similar to your own that has existing dormers you find appealing. Look in home design books and magazines.
Walls in homes come in two styles -- non-load bearing and load bearing. Non-load bearing walls play no role in the structural integrity of the house. They divide the interior space and can be removed without any effect on the house. Load bearing walls, on the other hand, are structural. They support the weight of the walls, floors and roof above them. They include the exterior walls of the house and walls on which the ends joists rest.
For a landscape that's most pleasing to the eye, design your plantings to complement your house and any other nearby structures. A ranch-style home is primarily distinguished by its horizontal lines that hug the landscape. An fitting landscape might balance the look with some leaner, taller shapes or echo the house's form with sprawling plants. When planting around a picture window, some considerations apply in general, regardless of house shape, such as maintaining visibility, especially for first-floor windows.
Homeowners looking to update or remodel their homes often try to be loyal to the original design of the home. While this is required in many areas for homes on a historic register, for most homeowners it's optional. It's possible to stay true to the original design with modern materials and fixtures. No place is this more true than with windows. Modern windows are much more energy efficient than those of half a century ago. They also come in a wide array of sizes and styles, so it is possible to have modern windows without compromising on design. Ranch-style homes…
Revival building styles appeal to romantic perceptions of a faraway, simpler time. The actual style of building during the time of Henry Tudor was medieval Gothic, but the American Tudor Revival of the early 20th century interpreted the era loosely, mixing Tudor, Elizabethan and Jacobean details. All of which is to say that you have a wide variety of fanciful details from which to choose. Changing a mid-century ranch house into a Tudor-style cottage will require considerable expenditure and a building permit.
The ranch house and craftsman’s bungalow have some similarities, including easy access to the yard. Depending on the designer and the decade in which your ranch-style home was built, its simple architecture might consist of a low roofline, multiple small windows, an open floor plan and centered entranceway, making it a basic, blank canvas ready for change. With the exception of altering the roof’s pitch, the transformation into a craftsman’s bungalow requires adding a few 19th-century English, Arts and Crafts movement features, such as a covered porch, hand-crafted details, interior walls and rustic attributes.
Ranch-style homes, often referred to as a rancher, include one main floor and sometimes a basement. The humidity in a ranch-style home should be between 30 and 60 percent to avoid damage from low or high humidity. Humidity can be controlled using several methods and is a matter of personal choice in terms of comfort.
Toilets of the 1950s have an unmistakeable style. When it came to this mainstay of the midcentury bathroom, white was out of vogue. Toilets were manufactured in a wide variety of colors such as Saffron Yellow, Blue Mist, Peach Bisque and Shell Pink. The pastel porcelain reflected the optimism of midcentury America.
A ranch style house with an oil burning furnace in the basement can be expensive to heat. Because of the horizontal design of a ranch house, the distribution of heat can be more of a problem than in a two- or three-story building. Investing in an alternative heating system can keep your ranch house warmer while increasing its market value.
A lot has changed since ranch-style houses were popular in the 1950s. While these typical three-bedroom, two-bath houses were just what America needed after World War II, they’ve become notorious for their boring, predictable layout, with their bland style and infamous wood paneling. However, few ranch-style homes are beyond hope. Whether you’re planning a complete remodel or you simply want to update your décor, there’s plenty you can do to modernize your ranch style house.
As soldiers and sailors streamed home after World War II and began starting families, the one-story ranch became a familiar sight in communities across the United States. These ranch-style homes were were often wood frame, but many were brick or a combination of the two materials. Landscaping for a brick ranch home is often aimed at breaking up the low lines and making it fit naturally into its suburban neighborhood.
Ranch style homes seem to be as popular today as they were when they came about in the 1950s and '60s. While they are generally rectangular in shape and have only a single floor with lower-pitched roofs, they can be customized to fit a variety of styles and tastes. One of the most noticeable ways to set a ranch house apart from its neighbors is through the addition of a front porch that fits the lifestyle of the owner.
Every few years, any home's entrance can look dated. By incorporating important changes and new materials, the space can add great curbside appeal and interior appeal. You want to create a design that improves how family and visitors perceive the home, so invest time in making the new space feel inviting. How you coordinate colors, textures and lighting will all come into play. Some new construction might be in order as well. Plan your ideal makeover and then adjust your plans according to the allowable budget.
Ranch style homes first appeared in the 1920s and often have a single-story floor plan with an asymmetrical L- or U-shaped layout. Many ranch homes do not have a porch, or if they do it may be small with only a small area immediately before the front door. The style of porch and the decorative elements you choose will help you add more valuable living and entertaining space.
Ranch homes were a popular style of home built in the early to mid-20th century. They were known for their long, low styling and large windows. As the youngest of these homes are close to hitting the half-century mark, owners can find themselves remodeling and updating the homes. One option is to refinish the exterior of the house with stucco. If you're applying stucco to the walls, you can make it almost any color you want by adding pigment to the mix.
The ranch-style house is strongly evocative of Americana, and its characteristics make it easily identifiable. Ranch homes are typically one story, hug the ground, integrate strongly with nature and often one-room deep. The style evolved naturally from the hacienda style in the mid-19th century. If you own a ranch-style home that you think could use some sprucing up or a more modern appearance, then changing its front can give it a quick face-lift.
The traditional ranch home is an American classic, reaching its heyday from 1949 to 1965. These homes were faster to build since the formal foyer and the requisite staircase was discarded and replaced by a level entry and a single-story plan. Beginning in the 1980s, the ranch floor plan formula began to be reversed, as striking front entries once again became coveted. There are several ways to add a formal foyer to a ranch home without adding a second floor.
Adding deck space can enhance living space for a ranch home. The low and often boxy shape of a ranch house often needs visual interest. A multi-level deck or deck that wraps two sides of the house can make a real impact. Creating room outside a kitchen for dining or entertaining will increase the market appeal of the house, too. Take time to review interesting deck options in home design books and magazines.
Ranch-style homes originated as an American design in California. These homes rose to prominence throughout the U.S. in the post-World War II economic boom. This was because the design emphasized function over aesthetics. Typical ranch-style design features a single-story house with large windows facing the backyard and a large window facing the front yard.
A Southern ranch style house is known for a wide, single-story design. Larger ranch homes can even be sprawling, but they might seem lacking in pizazz. To improve a Southern ranch, change the front of the house so it's no longer recognizable from the curb, or make interior changes. You aren't stuck with the limitations of a simple floor plan.
A bungalow is a small house best suited for someone with few possessions, but that doesn't mean you can't have a tastefully decorated home. One of the most important rooms in the house to decorate is the bedroom. Your room is your sanctuary, so it's important to keep it comfortable and inviting. It can quickly become a nightmare when you work with so little space, though. Tasteful decorating is important to keep your room feeling open and relaxing.
The ranch style home became popular in the 1950s and 1960s in the post-war building boom that helped to populate suburban areas. The styling offered simplicity and functionality, with a one-story floor plan and large, picture windows to bring the outdoors inside. Landscapers took advantage of these homes' large lots and natural settings. Front porch areas often featured taller plants that broke up the long, low lines of the house, plus colorful low plantings to add interest.
Brick is known for its attractiveness and versatility as well as its durability in home building. Brick can be used in both the foundation and the exterior design of a ranch home. Due to their simplicity in design and materials, brick ranch homes are typically more affordable than other styles of homes. Ranch-style homes are seen in all areas of the country. Many brick ranches come with three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Some styles also include a den or extra space that can be used for storage.
In the 1960s and 1970s, also known as the "Modern Mid-Century Era," interior design transformed into modern interpretations of the high-fashioned European Mid-Century era. Chair designs throughout this era were not only big, but also daringly colorful. This era took furniture color to a new level and introduced us to the retro and space themes still popularized in our modern times.
If you're fortunate enough to have room to grow your house, there are all sorts of wonderful ways to expand it. You can go upward, adding more stories, or go outward, adding rooms on the main level. Think about what you wish you had more space to do. Think about the things your partner or children could do with more space. A home expansion could be just the prescription to expand personal goals and possibilities.
A ranch-style home is a home without livable space above the first floor. Ranch-style homes are spread out so that all the bedrooms and public living spaces are located on the ground level, although ranch homes may have functioning basements. Ranch-style homes are very simple in their presentation, and often look their best with smart paint combinations to attract the eye and draw attention to their best qualities.
The ranch-style bungalow combines features of both the ranch and bungalow styles of home building. The homes typically have a rectangular floor plan with a small front porch, open spaces inside the home and large windows that let in natural light. Whether you are renovating an older home or decorating a newer one in the style, you need to look for the right exterior lights.
Kitchens are the hearts of many homes, and keeping them looking great is almost always a priority. Having a small kitchen diminishes the overall look of your house, but removing the clutter and expanding the kitchen's dimensions can provide a higher-quality look. Expanding your kitchen requires only a small investment and some great ideas. With the right plan, your kitchen renovation can be ready in a fairly short time.
A colonial garden works well on large yards with big two-story houses. Colonial homes are usually made of brick and have pillars out front. The gardens have a lot of well-kept grass, even hedges and fragrant blossoms. This style of garden was often seen in wealthy colonial homes. Smaller, low-key homes were more practical, with much of the space used for growing food and some of the land used to display flowers. Immigrants often brought flowers from their homeland to grow.
Influenced by southwestern and Spanish colonial designs, architect Cliff May is credited with developing the first American ranch style house plans in 1932. The popularity of the symmetrical open floor plan, low-pitch roof and large windows spread, and its simplicity and low cost of construction made it the preferred style for budding suburban housing communities in the 1950s.
A ranch style home presents a wide range of landscaping opportunities. The architectural style of an expansive, one-story home makes for a nice backdrop so you can showcase trees, flowers and foliage. Many ranch style homes have long and deep front yards. Don't let the depth and expanse intimidate you. Use a theme as a starting point. Focus on one area at a time, such as the front of the house. In time, the pretty look that you envision for your front yard will come to life.
Bungalow style homes are often small or medium in size, and feature one or two stories with a large porch in front. This style gained popularity throughout the United States in the early 1900s as an inexpensive living space that could be adapted for small or large families. There are a number of styles--including the Cape Cod, craftsman and mission--each featuring its own details and materials. Landscaping for these homes is often simple and functional.
Updating the look of a 1950s bungalow requires a great deal of planning and preparation before any remodeling takes place. First, decide on a budget; this will set the stage for the level of renovation. If you only have a few thousand to work with, look for low-cost big-impact updates such as painting, refinishing wood floors and new fixtures and hardware. Larger budgets will allow for more extensive projects or an addition.
While living in a mobile home typically means you have a smaller yard to work with, there are plenty of landscaping ideas you can incorporate into your space to liven it up and enhance the look of your home. To make the most of your yard, landscape planning is a crucial step to ensure you select the right shrubs or trees to complement the exterior of the home or choose colorful flowers to brighten up the patio area.
Simply having a basement is a luxury in many parts of the country. A basement offers extra storage space, and quite often, extra living space. Because it is partially above ground, the basement of a raised ranch gets more natural light than the average basement, making it more like a traditional living area. There are many decisions to make when decorating a basement, and it all begins with what you're looking for.
Decorating your home or a room with a 1970s-style decor provides you with a funky look the whole family will enjoy. When designing a room or home with a retro style, choose the colors, textures and furnishings that are most recognizable to that decade. The 1970s decorating style provides a wealth of instantly recognizable features that will leave no doubt about the decade you are using.
A gable roof is one of the simplest styles in modern usage. It features a central ridge beam, supported by two diagonal planes that run from the peak to the eaves. Gable roofs are commonly built in two framing styles. Stick, or traditional framing, is board by board. Truss framing is built from prefab modules, known as trusses.
Technically, a porch is any structure that covers the entrance/exit to or from a building. A verandah is an enclosed porch that typically wraps around at least two sides of a building. The term "porch" is widely used to describe different styles of front porches, such as an enclosed front foyer, a mud room and a screened-in area off an indoor room in the house. Front porch styles include Italianate, Stick Style, Romanesque and Second Empire Style.
Just because you have limited space around your mobile home doesn't mean you're stuck with a lack of curb appeal. In addition to providing color to your home, landscaping offers privacy and can even help your yard appear more spacious. Flowers, shrubs and trees can create an inviting ambiance for guests while providing function such as offering privacy for the home, covering up utilities or screening around the foundation of the mobile home.
Ranch-style homes dot the landscape of suburban neighborhoods across the United States. In some cases, entire neighborhoods are filled with ranch homes. The houses themselves infrequently offer much in terms of architectural detail or interest. Homeowners who want to increase the attractiveness of their homes turn to landscaping. Skillfully chosen landscaping will help to create an identify for the home and possibly raise its property value.
The open floor plan of a raised ranch-style home presents challenges for interior decorators. Creating spaces that are welcoming and distinctly different from each other -- while preventing duplicity and boredom -- can be tackled with a little planning and forethought. Select a whole-house color palette with colors that complement each other so that one room flows seamlessly into another. Raised ranch homes are boxy on the outside, with lots of windows, allowing the simplicity and beauty of the outdoors to flow inside.
Popular home and roof styles of the 1970s were often different from what is considered "updated" and "modern" today. Back then, ranch-style homes were a favored carry-over from the 1960s, and split-level homes -- such as the one featured in the television show "The Brady Bunch" -- were popular as well. Interiors of 1970s homes often included wood paneling on the walls and ceramic tiles in hallways and kitchens, according to history website The People History. In terms of roofs, a selection of styles were used by architects.
The porch on the front of your ranch home is like the jewelry you add to an outfit. The porch gives the home the polished look that completes the exterior design. Curb appeal, that critical factor in the resale value of a home, is largely impacted by the porch: it's appearance and it's condition. Take the time to find the porch that suits your ranch style home and makes the statement you want to make.
You can greatly enhance the appearance of your brick ranch style bungalow with the proper landscaping. Unlike older homes, brick bungalows often lack the mystique and beauty of classic architecture. Surrounding the bungalow with a profusion of beautiful growing things can help to connect it more fully to its surroundings.
Double-wide manufactured homes offer space and a sturdy place to live without the high costs of site-built homes. However, many homeowners who buy a manufactured home prefer to hide or downplay its differences from other homes. Try some focused landscaping upgrades to complement the attractive parts of your double-wide and hide any unappealing areas.
Enumerating the furniture styles of the 1970s is not a tidy task. Some household icons born in the 1960s such as the shag rug and lava lamps were stowaways well into the 1970s, but the Watergate decade definitely developed its own signature styles. Variations in materials and color, as well as the degree of ornamentation and utility, gave the 1970s an unforgettable and, at times, contradictory, furniture design legacy.
Bold colors, patterned home accents and eye-catching light fixtures are cornerstones of 1970s design. To wake your bedroom up with striking hues of green and orange -- or wake up to walls with orange or green tint -- purchase a few '70s-inspired home furnishings or the paint colors of your choice to create a bedroom space that's "outta sight."
Ranch style homes enjoyed their peak of popularity from the 1950 to the 1970s. They're roomy, informal and often have lots of light. Many ranch-style homes have layouts that allow a free-flow of traffic within the home and sufficiently sized bathrooms and kitchens. However, there's no reason your ranch style home has to look like the millions of other architecturally similar homes. Personalizing your house carefully on the inside will not only prevent this but also make your home truly feel like a sanctuary.
Changing key components of a kitchen should involve making choices that fit your budget and have positive impact on the overall kitchen design. Look at your kitchen from every perspective, and don't rule out a high-end makeover. By substituting certain colors, textures or materials, you can achieve an upscale look, even on a modest budget. If possible, visit the homes of friends or associates who have completed kitchen remodels to see what you find appealing.
There are various ways to upgrade a kitchen that require minimal work. There are many options for adding to existing kitchen elements, resurfacing cabinets or changing appliances. Using new colors throughout can make a big difference as well. It's important to review many kitchen design options in kitchen design books, kitchen magazines and online. By starting with your favorite themes, it's easier to make affordable substitutions or figure out how to install exactly what you desire.
It seems that the days of the over sized, built-to-impress McMansion are waning. According to MSN Real Estate, the big trend in housing in 2011 is smaller homes. While home buyers would still like to see amenities like granite countertops and quality faucets, they want them to be housed in smaller rooms. One driving force behind this trend may be the high number of foreclosures in recent years and a desire to simplify. No matter the size of a house, there are simple ways to make it feel like a home.
Revamping a kitchen in stages can be accomplished more easily if you create a layout and detailed steps and time frames on paper. Avoid jumping into a remodel and figuring out colors and materials as you go. It's much easier to work in a predictable way if you have the complete vision of the end result. Look at many kitchen designs in books, magazines and in friends' homes to get as many ideas as possible.
Short of hiring a professional designer to do the work for you, deciding what color to paint your ranch-style home can be a bit tricky. Whether you are debating a particular color palate for the exterior design of your home or the interior, it can take a fair amount of planning, patience and paint to get it just right. However, with just a few essential tips in design, you will have a better idea how to choose the perfect paint color for your ranch-style home, only without the added cost of hiring a professional.
Your old kitchen seems cramped or dark, and appliances are beginning to overwhelm your limited counter space. Give your small kitchen a fresh look and improved efficiency with a well-planned kitchen remodel. Small kitchens are less expensive to remodel and are often more efficient than their larger counterparts. Incorporate smart new technology such as space-saving cabinetry and compact appliances to save space and improve the design.
The ranch-style homes became popular in the United States in the 1930s. The floor plan is usually confined to one story with the bedrooms clustered together at one end of the house and a garage at the opposite end. Unlike Victorian or Tudor homes, the exterior of a ranch house has little, if any, detailing. Common, natural materials are used to build most ranch-style homes.
Landscaping basics apply to every home --- whether you have a spacious yard or have a limited area around your mobile home. Whenever someone moves into a home, the first thing to do is add color and a personal touch through landscaping or other exterior décor. If you're interested in landscaping around a mobile home, there are two things you need to keep in mind: maintenance and personal needs. Adding landscaping can give you the privacy and beauty you're looking to add to around your home.
The bungalow style home was popular in the United Sates from 1900 until the 1930s. It is enjoying a resurgence today as original bungalows are restored and new ones are constructed. California style bungalows were first designed and built in California, and are primarily Craftsman style homes with a Spanish mission influence. They are small houses with simple floor plans designed to complement their natural surroundings. California bungalow décor features themes drawn directly from nature.
The bungalow style home is associated with the architectural style of the Arts and Crafts bungalow, a style popularized in the early 20th century. The term has, since 1900, come to encompass other architectural styles, including the California bungalow and the Prairie bungalow. In the loosest of definitions, a bungalow style house is any small home sharing common characteristics with the Arts and Crafts style.
Redoing a kitchen in stages is a good way to pay for a remodel over time. It's possible to change cabinets or walls in one phase and add appliances a few months down the road. This kind of remodeling has a disadvantages, though. You may be cooking and eating in less-than-desirable conditions for a while. And of course, you will have to delay your satisfaction in having your beautiful new kitchen completely done.
A California ranch home, or ranch-style house, is a low-key, single-story dwelling. During the 1950s, housing developments featuring affordable ranch homes sprang up across the country to accommodate returning veterans and their new families. To simplify the construction process, the typical California ranch was built with a bare minimum of embellishment, which can look a bit bland by today's standards. On the other hand, the lack of distinct decoration means the ranch is easy to personalize. While elaborate furnishings would look out-of-place in a ranch home, any type of casual or country theme would complement the open living areas and…
Design innovation in the 1970s slowed down from the previous decade, but furniture designers continued to experiment with bright colors and industrial-style furniture. Italian designers were at the forefront of interior design and furniture manufacturing during the decade. The main focus of their work was on chairs and office furniture; both were revolutionized in the '70s.
A raised-ranch kitchen is typically small and L-shaped, due to the fact that the house has an entrance foyer. The foyer with steps leading up to the raised-level main floor takes up a lot of the floor space in most cases. You will enter a standard raised ranch house, ascend a few steps to the main level and view the living and kitchen space as one. Focus on creating a slightly bigger kitchen or using the basic kitchen layout "footprint" that's in place. The remodel poses identical challenges for any small kitchen that is close to living space.
Don't get freaked out wondering how to decorate a 1970s ranch-style home. Think of it as a superneutral, ultraboxy and, yes, evocative treasure trove of rectangles waiting to morph into the home of your dreams. Work with your ranch-style home's clean lines if you are into 21st century contemporary design. Vintage-wallpaper lovers, shag-rug enthusiasts and ceramic-ashtray hoarders can go retro, gussying up the space to bring out the 1970s appeal. Just use what you have, add some "Mary Tyler Moore Show" reruns and a fondue pot, and you'll be living in the comfort of the President Carter years.
Early modern architecture and design styles began to emerge from the American Arts and Crafts movement of the late 1800s and early 1900s. Modernism arose in America alongside the Victorian and other period styles prominent through the end of the 19th century. After the Great Depression -- which stalled most new construction from 1929 to 1945 -- early modern styles caught on and began to define and dominate America's architectural and design landscape until the emergence of post-modernism in the 1970s. Early modern styles are characterized by simplicity and functionality prioritized over form.
Ranch-style brick houses are typically one story with a rectangular shape and a squat look. People sometimes associate the house style with the 1960s, but it was around years before and people still build these houses now. The ranch style is sometimes combined with a bungalow style, giving the house separate areas for living and sleeping. Interior design ideas for this type of house give you a chance to pay homage to the original design or update it to the modern day.
Ranch homes are built on a single level and often have open floor plans. You do not need any special skills or tools to decorate a small ranch home. However, you will need to consider how to expand the sense of space through use of color, light and furniture placement.
If your ranch-style home seems a little short on space, expand it. Ranch-style houses, being simple, one-story homes, lend themselves well to almost any type of expansion. Remember as you plan to keep the home's exterior look in mind. Adding too much space in one direction on a one-story home can make the home's exterior look uneven and odd.
Ranch-style homes appeared in the United States in the 1920s. They became the most popular from the 1940s to the 1970s. Ranch houses, also known as ramblers, were built with natural elements such as a wood exterior and oak floors. Ranch houses in the 1970s emphasized openness and efficiency of space. The paint colors for 70's home ranch styles should take cues from nature without being drab.
Influenced by Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie style homes, the first ranch style houses were built in America in 1932. This home's key features include a sprawling open floor plan with few interior walls, one-story elevation with symmetrical or cross-gabled footprint and a low-pitched roof. Ranch houses are often configured in an L-shape or a U-shape and many have a long horizontal floor plan with large windows and porch supports. The exterior design is simple and materials used for construction include wood and brick.
Characterized by gently peaked roofs and rectangular shapes, ranch-style homes began to show up on the American landscape in the 1930s. According to Ranch Revival, this style remained very popular from World War II into the 1970s, when more traditional-style homes gained in popularity. Usually built on large lots, homeowners typically keep their landscaping simple, with expansive lawns and low fences. However, given the minimalist architectural elements of these homes, you can be adventurous with your landscaping and add touches to accent your front yard.
Ranch style homes found great popularity from approximately 1935 to 1975. This period in architectural history is considered mid-century. Ranch homes of this time shared a number of characteristics: They were generally one story, located in rural suburbs, had a small footprint and a low roof. Historic colors for ranch homes range from muted French gray and soft Porcelain to bright lilac and turquoise shades.
A gable roof has two upward sloping sides that meet in middle at the ridge. To be a true gable, both sides must slope at the same angle. Viewed from the end, the shape of a gable roof appears as a symmetrical triangle. Gable roofs are the most common style of roof in the United States. They are popular in areas that receive substantial snowfall.
Ranch style homes date back to the early 1930s in California. Ranch homes became more popular elsewhere after World War II. Developers built housing tracts for World War II veterans to take advantage of the GI Bill (see reference 4). Today ranch style homes can be found in neighborhoods across the U.S. Ranch style is a one-story layout. Remodeling a ranch style house can be as simple as upgrading lighting fixtures or as detailed as adding a room.
Suburbs are full of ranch style homes and bungalows that homeowners built in the 1970s. While some of these houses are quite nice, others could use a facelift. Some of the aesthetic choices of the 1970s did not stand the test of time, and many homeowners are ready to do away with their avocado-colored toilet or aluminum siding.
Modern ranch-style homes usually emphasize function more than form or elaborate style. Keeping functionality in mind will help you pick the right exterior colors to match your home’s design. Be sure to consider both the home's main color and colors for trim and accents.
A Texas ranch house is an iconic structure that relates to the way Texas was populated and developed. In its historic sense, the Texas ranch home was a response to the climate, local building materials and the functionality of a working livestock (usually cattle) ranch. The traditional ranch, whether hill country or plains, contained multiple buildings that served the daily lives of the families who pioneered the land and the cowboys and retainers who filled out their ranks. To create an authentic yet modern Texas Ranch Home, use a design that respects the natural setting, incorporates traditional building materials, and…
The 1970s marked the end of many eras in American culture and style: muscle cars, record albums, polyester--and ranch houses. A staple of the American suburb since the 1940s, the ranch house slowly lost favor in the American landscape as the 1970s drew to a close. However, the ranch house was still a popular home design in the 1970s, meaning many are still on the market today. Those who find themselves living in a 1970s ranch house need not live in the past, though. Decorating a ranch house means embracing the best of the past and the present.
Ranch-style homes are one of the most common type of house in the United States. Homeowners enjoy the open floor plan and clean lines that come with most ranch homes, but a common complaint is that the style is boring. This is one reason ranch homes are sometimes sold for less money and is also why many ranch homeowners remodel them into interesting and visually appealing houses that can be sold profitably later on.
An addition, or extension, adds living space, storage space, and lifestyle options to a small ranch style house. If planned properly, it livens up what is often a dull exterior, giving the house more life and character, inside and out. The key to a successful addition is adequate planning, and to make as many mistakes as you can on paper, rather than in wood, which is far more expensive to fix.
Ranch houses became ubiquitous in twentieth-century North America. Relatively inexpensive and often built in large numbers in suburbs, ranch homes have become associated with the middle-class, and sometimes with conformity and blandness. There are ways to modernize or upgrade the exteriors of ranch homes to improve the appearance.
Ranch-style housing is perhaps the most popular residential architectural design in North America. Its popularity spanned over four decades since World War II. Although ranch-style homes fell out of favor in the late 20th century, they have since experienced a revival. Ranch-style homes promote more efficient use of living space and quicker, more efficient building methods.
Ranch-style houses, also called ramblers, ranchers, American ranch or California ranch, can be found in just about every part of the United States. Particularly popular in the 1940s to the 1970s, ranch houses came to represent suburban America. The style is now popular all over the world.
Ranch style homes can appear to look dated or lack curb appeal, especially if located in "developments" where the style of the homes tend to be the same or of the same era. In order to spruce up the exterior of a ranch home and improve its curb appeal by making its features pop, you may need to put in a weekend's worth of sweat equity. The visual payoff will be great throughout the seasons.
Ranch homes are typically single-story homes. Many have an attached two-car garage on one end, two front doors, one near the garage and one near the center of the house, a living room and an activity room in the middle, bedrooms and bathrooms. Backyards are usually accessed by a garage door and, sometimes, by a sliding glass door or French doors. Before deciding how to landscape your ranch home, determine how you want foot traffic to flow.
Ranch-style homes not only have signature exterior qualities that set them apart from other home styles, but distinct interior qualities as well. To maintain an authentic ranch style, you must carefully create additions to the home that do not sacrifice the integrity of the style. Ranch homes typically have long, rectangular shapes with open floor plans. To update a ranch, leave these features intact and update other aspects of the home.
A ranch-style house can seem characterless; the long frontage without depth or height variation simply seems monotonous to the passerby. Getting creative with vinyl siding, however, can perk up this plain construction.
The ubiquitous ranch-style home was born of a need for innovation in residential architecture and considered modernistic for its time. According to architect and author Witold Rybczynski, the ranch accounted for nine of 10 new houses by 1950, a mere 18 years after its conception. While construction of ranch homes persists today, those built in the 20th century may be in need of an exterior update to revive their contemporary appeal.
One of America's most common architectural styles, the ranch style home predominates everywhere from California suburbs to Midwestern housing developments. Since the first examples of ranch style architecture were built, in the 1920s, people have continued to design, modify, build and renovate these homes. Although many people associate them with suburban sprawl, ranch homes are perennially popular, particularly for people interested in mid-century modern decor, open floor plans and post and beam architecture.
Nothing makes a ranch house look more outdated than a kitchen that needs upgrades. The kitchen will require more expense and attention to detail than upgrades elsewhere in your home. For example, you must figure out whether to replace cabinets or just refinish them. Part of your decision for each change will be based on how long you intend to live in the house. Speak with a Realtor about upgrades, if you're in doubt. Make sure improvements will increase your home's value.
Heating a home can be quite expensive. There are many factors that could be raising heating costs without you even knowing. It can cost more to heat a house depending on its size, the age of the house, window conditions and the overall layout of the house. There are many differences in housing layout and designs. For example, a Cape Cod house plans and ranch house plans are different, and therefore it would cost more to heat one than the other.
As homeowners look for more ways to dress up their homes, architectural ceiling treatments are becoming more popular. Many of the treatments seen today are actually modifications of styles created for the great houses of Europe centuries ago. New materials such as faux wood and plaster cost less and weigh less than the original materials and are adaptable for use in today’s homes.
Ranch style architecture is distinctly American. Ranch style homes were popular between the 1940s and the 1970s, as suburbs blossomed. Ranch-style homes are characterized by long, ground-skimming profiles and minimal outdoor and indoor decoration. One element of a ranch style home that can add character is the windows, which can provide some elegance to a style that is often dull.
Housing designs have evolved over time. Changes in taste and lifestyle, improvements in building materials and construction methods, and advances in architecture have brought many changes to the styles of homes. Influences from other countries have played a large role in American design. England, for instance, gave us our first Colonial-style homes, and Mediterranean styles were influenced by Italian Renaissance palaces. Two enduring types of architectural styles, still in use a great deal in America, are the bungalow, which originated in India, and the uniquely American ranch-style house.
Ranch-style homes have come to characterize American suburbs, where they were constructed in large numbers during the building booms of the 1940s and 1970s. Ranch-style homes are typically single-story dwellings with an attached garage and minimal focus on interior or exterior decoration. The simple design of ranch homes makes them easily adaptable to any lifestyle or design choice and also contributes to them being among the easiest home styles to construct.
As an essential American home style in the past century, the ranch home is well-known in residential neighborhoods. The style, mostly built in suburban developments, demonstrates an open plan. The ranch home attempts to bring the outdoors into the living spaces of the home while providing the essential needs of comfort and function.
Homeowners choose to update their homes both to suit their own needs and desires and also in order to attract potential buyers. There are various update ideas for the different house styles, and owners of ranch style homes can find numerous ideas for updating and remodeling their homes.
Ranch homes are typically one-story structures built from the late 1940s to the mid-1970s. Often deemed architecturally boring by design experts, there are ways to enhance a ranch home's exterior without renovations. Paint can do the trick, and a few complementary color combinations can spruce up the entire facade.
Ranch-style houses, with their clean lines, simple shape and open spaces, can be decorated in a wide variety of styles. Still, if you want to match the classic integrity of the house, decorate it in the ranch style. This does not mean you have to hang a horseshoe on the wall or create a coffee table out of an old wagon wheel. Instead, use some traditional ranch decorating techniques to make your ranch-style home feel cozy and welcoming.
Ranch style decorating covers a wide range of styles, from the rustic "cowboy" look to the quilts-and-country-cottage style and the colorful southwestern look. Still, there are decorating techniques common to all three of these ranch-style decorating types. Use these techniques as a starting point for your ranch style home.
When constructing a building, make sure your roof is strong and can brave the weather so that it can protect all it covers. One type roof to consider is a wood truss roof, which is sturdy and can last a long time.
According to the National Association of Realtors, the ranch-style home's affordability and single-story design make it the most prolific residential design in the United States.
Ranch style homes were popular from the 1920s to the 1970s. These homes are typically only one story, with clean lines and a low roof. If you feel like your ranch home looks plain compared to more modern architecture, modernize the space with low-cost decorating.
Long considered the butt of trendy design jokes, ranch style homes are coming back into their own. The fact is, the origins of ranch style homes differ from what the style became known for. There is a fascinating history and evolution of ranch style homes as well as a philosophy underlying their seemingly basic architectural elements.
Ranch-style houses peaked in popularity by the 1960s, when middle-class families were settling into suburban areas. The style of home provided space needed for growing families to live comfortably. Ranch-style houses were one of the first in American history to begin attaching garages to the family home.
The single-story, basic rectangular design of a ranch-style home makes this type of house functional and affordable to build. Unfortunately, ranch houses sometimes lack the style found in other forms of architecture. There are multiple things you can do, however, to add pizzazz and curb appeal to your ranch home. Some improvements can be accomplished by the average homeowner, but most involve structural changes to the house and require the services of a skilled contractor.
Decorating a home in a Western ranch style gives the space a laid-back breeziness, perfect for relaxing and entertaining. Whether you aim for a top-to-bottom renovation or want some countrified touches, the Western style adds warmth to the home.
Ranch-style fences can add a rustic look and curb appeal. This is a great alternative to the traditional picket fence. Depending on the size of the area, you can finish this project in one weekend.
Simple ranch style homes became popular during a housing boom in the early 20th century. They are most often rectangular-pretty much a box shape. Low to the ground, ranch style homes have low-pitched roofs and are simple to build. Ranch style houses are great for newlyweds, as it saves money on materials.
