10 Cool Updated Ranch Houses

Ranch-style homes enjoyed immense popularity from the 1950s to the 1970s. Today many of those same homes are still around — faux-wood paneling, avocado-green tile and all. If you are looking to update a ranch-style home, gather inspiration from these 10 homeowners who have brought their homes into the 21st century with style.

Tara Bussema - Neat Organization and Design

Tara Bussema - Neat Organization and Design

Revamped Ranch in Costa Mesa

Who lives here: Ryan and Catherine Gale, daughter Gianna and son Rowen
Location: Costa Mesa, California

Concrete walkways, low-maintenance plantings and a new wood fence brought Ryan and Catherine Gale’s 1960s ranch-style home up to date while maintaining the home’s original footprint. The revamped central courtyard provides ample outdoor living space — which the family can use year-round, thanks to the mild Southern California climate.

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Heather Merenda

Heather Merenda

Indoor-Outdoor Flow in Vancouver

Who lives here: Patti Houston, Rick Williams and their youngest daughter, Jordan (age 21)
Location: North Vancouver

When Patti Houston and Rick Williams set out to completely renovate their 1954 ranch-style house in North Vancouver, they started with the kitchen. “We removed all the walls between the kitchen, dining and living areas to create a totally open space,” says Houston. “I love to cook, and that’s where we all hang out.” A bank of folding windows by NanaWall behind the sink connects to an exterior counter with stools, making it the perfect spot for entertaining and relaxing.

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Amity Worrel & Co.

Cheerful Color in Austin

Who lives here: James Spindler, Mina Kumar and their children, Rosemary and Louis
Location: Austin, Texas

Mina Kumar and James Spindler gave their ranch home in Austin a fresh, updated look with beautiful hickory wood floors, a custom turquoise kitchen island and a striking wall of encaustic cement tiles.

Tiles: Architerra

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Susan Teare, Professional Photographer

Susan Teare, Professional Photographer

Bright and Ecofriendly in Vermont

Who lives here: Tom Marrinson and Allison Beach
Location: Hinesburg, Vermont

When Tom Marrinson and Allison Beach bought their 1973 split-level ranch home in Vermont, it was more for the stunning property surrounding it than for the home itself, which was drafty and dark.

After living with things as they were for more than 10 years, the couple embarked on a major renovation to create a lighter, brighter and more energy-efficient home. The new kitchen features an open plan, custom cabinetry and energy-efficient windows and appliances.

Exterior galvanized steel: MBCI; fiber-cement siding: Certainteed

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Valerie McCaskill Dickman

Bill Bolin Photography

Southern Style in Texas

Who lives here: Christy and Adam Blumenfeld and their children, Alexandra and Ben
Location: Dallas

Homeowner Christy Blumenfeld loves to garden, so one of the first things she did after her family moved into their 1948 ranch-style house in Dallas was to plant 25 dogwood trees — which serve as a reminder of her Alabama roots — around the property. Now the tree-shaded drive creates a welcoming entrance to the home, which the couple also updated with larger windows, shutters and carriage-style garage doors.

In the kitchen two separate sinks and two faucets are flanked by appliances. The countertops are Calacatta gold marble, and the island is concrete. “Concrete is so easy to keep,” she says.

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Angela Flournoy

DIY Determination in Dallas

Who lives here: Ilya and Arina Gurfinkel and their son, Milan
Location: Dallas

Ilia and Arina Gurfinkel gave the master bath of their 1975 ranch-style home a major upgrade by replacing the outdated tile and a too-big tub with an elegant new bathtub, a floor-length mirror and a custom vanity. By doing most of the labor themselves, the couple was able to splurge on the new fixtures they really wanted.

Tub, sinks: Victoria + Albert Baths; vanity: (similar) Classic Double Sink Console, Pottery Barn

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Dana Nichols

Dana Nichols

Casual Coastal Style in Orange County

Who lives here: Michelle and Brad Perozzi with their 9-year-old son and 12-year-old daughter
Location: Santa Ana, California

One of the first things the Perozzis did when remodeling their 1960 ranch home was to remove an awkward pony wall dividing the entry area from the rest of the living room, opening up the space. Elsewhere in the home, the couple used sturdy materials, like jute rugs, to create coastal-feeling interiors that can stand up to active family life.

Previously floor-to-ceiling glass and skylights made the dining room too hot during the day, and blinds were dust collectors. The designers replaced all that glass with transoms and French doors to match the original style of the home.

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Sarah Greenman

Sarah Greenman

Kid-Friendly Home in Dallas

Who lives here: Ryan and Erin McLaughlin; their children, Kate (10) and Owen (5); and their pets, Lemon, a parakeet, and Scout, a terrier mix
Location: Lake Highlands neighborhood of Dallas

A farmhouse sink and lighting from Schoolhouse Electric set a charming tone in the McLaughlins’ newly opened-up kitchen. The kitchen in the family’s 1950s-era ranch home used to be much smaller, until the couple took down a wall separating it from the family room, creating one open-concept space. The new breakfast bar provides the perfect spot for the children to draw, do homework and snack.

The furniture in daughter Kate’s bedroom is hand-me-downs and vintage finds from local garage sales. A friend gave her the pouf covered in a geometric print. A cascading gallery wall of art, mirrors, frames and ephemera hangs above her headboard.

Paint: Reflecting Pool, Sherwin-Williams

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Kimberley Bryan

Kimberley Bryan

Diamond in the Rough in Portland

Who lives here: Heather Tucker
Location: Piedmont neighborhood of Portland, Oregon

When first-time home buyer Heather Tucker purchased her 1938 home, it had sat unoccupied for four years and was in terrible shape. “When I bought it, there were lots of issues,” she says, “like how the previous homeowner had plastered over live wires in the ceiling.” After hiring pros to take care of the safety issues, Tucker did much of the landscaping and painting herself — today, after four years of hard work, her home is bright, cheerful and charming, inside and out.

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Sarah Greenman

Sarah Greenman

A Twister’s Silver Lining in Dallas

Who lives here: John Gilliland and Lenore LoCascio; their children, Jack (age 16), Finn (14) and Haymanot (10); their dog, Lulu; and cats Ziggy and Marley
Location: Forest Hills neighborhood of Dallas

When a tornado damaged their ranch-style home, John Gilliland and Lenore LoCascio took it as an opportunity to remodel. Working with Melissa Williams of W2 Studio, the family added a fourth bedroom, guest bath and second family room, and reconfigured the kitchen — all while staying within the original footprint of the house.

Outside, concrete squares create a modular, low-maintenance walkway to the new facade. Geometric planters, a built-in teak bench and a bright green ground cover respect the modern feel of the remodeled house.

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SOURCE

www.americanhomecontractors.com/blog

How to Cover Windows Above a Radiator

If you live in a home with radiators, you know how tricky it can be to choose window treatments with those big, blocky structures in the way — especially if you have your heart set on curtains. From working with layers to the dos and don’ts of short curtains, these pointers will help you navigate your options.

Rikki Snyder

Stationary curtain panels + wood blinds. With a large radiator cover in the way, hanging regular floor-length curtains that can close is simply not possible. One way around this is to hang the floor-length curtains you want but use stationary panels (meaning they do not close). A second window treatment, like the wood blinds shown here, will let you adjust the levels of sunlight and privacy.

fo design

Cellular shades + ceiling track curtains. Cellular shades, particularly those that can be lowered from the top down, are a great option for adjusting light levels without sacrificing privacy. Instead of using traditional curtain rods, consider curtains on a ceiling-mounted track system. In the right space, this can be a clever way to include curtains that fully close, even with a large radiator in the way.

Holly Marder

Floor-length curtains + roller shades. In the bedroom, where privacy and complete darkness at night are more important than adjusting sun levels during the day, try roller shades with blackout liners and layer a set of floor-length curtains on top.

Tip: Hang curtains on extended rod brackets. Floor-length curtains hung in front of a smaller radiator may be able to close with the help of extended brackets that hold the curtains away from the wall.

Rajni Alex Design

Woven shades + floor-length curtains. This combination is good when you want a more finished look, like in a formal dining room. It really doesn’t matter if you can’t close the curtains — this look is all about the contrast between textured shades and lush drapery.

Beth Bourque Design Studio

Short curtains. Short curtains are a style choice that can be quite divisive — most people find they either like windowsill-length curtains or can’t stand them. As a general rule, more casual spaces, like a child’s room or a den, take better to short curtains.

If your heart is set on doing short curtains in the living room, try to avoid heavy fabrics and intense colors, which would call attention to the hovering curtains. Instead, you could do rumpled white linen curtains, hemmed to break on top of the radiator covers, for a very casual look.

Rebecca Hayes Interiors

Shutters. Wood shutters don’t have to look old-fashioned; in crisp white, they are classic — and practical, too. Open just the top shutters to let in light while preserving privacy, or open them all. Shutters work best on their own, so if you want to add curtains too, it’s better to go with wood blinds.

Roman blinds. Roman blinds are a classic choice that always works. But they are especially smart in the bath and bedroom, where you need the most privacy, and in the kitchen, where curtains would get in the way of cooking.Roman blinds also work well layered with floor-length drapes for an elegant look.

Holly Marder

Mixing window treatments in the same room. If you have radiators under just some windows in your room, one option is to treat the windows differently. Take this space, for example: Roller shades are used on the windows with radiators, while drapers are used for the glass doors. When mixing window treatments, make sure the colors and patterns coordinate — when in doubt, keep things simple with white and solid neutrals. - Laura Gaskill

SOURCE

http://www.americanhomecontractors.com/blog

What’s the Right Way to Hang Roller Shades?

While hanging toilet paper over or under will always be a matter of personal preference, plenty of practical reasons contribute to the ways to hang roller shades. Is blocking light more important? Appearance? Here’s what to know to help you decide. 

Blinds.com

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Standard Roll

The most common option is the standard roll, shown here, in which the fabric rolls back, close to the window glass. “Having it as close to the glass as possible blocks the most amount of light and affords the most privacy,” says Josh Gaudet, a design consultant with Blinds.com. 

Shades IN Place

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A standard roll is recommended for small reveals, meaning the window depth is shallow, because it gets the fabric farther inside the opening than if the roll were reversed. “Otherwise the shade will feel like it’s floating in the room,” says Gaudet.

The downside for a standard roll, says Gaudet, is that the roll and hardware show — a look some people don’t like.

Kiya Developments Ltd.

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If that’s the case, valances, as shown here, can hide the roll. This offers the most finished look but definitely increases the cost. In some cases adding a valance can double the cost of the shade, says Gaudet. Also, valances cover up decorative molding, which may not appeal to some homeowners. 

Thom Filicia Inc.

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Reverse Roll

A reverse roll means the fabric comes over the front of the roller, as shown here. You don’t see the fabric on the tube, so this creates a more finished look without the need for a valance.

Reverse rolls are also used for shades that have two different colors on each side of the fabric, says Kimi Brown of Manhattan Shade & Glass. This is the case, for example, with blackout shades that have white on one side and color on the other. For one of these blackout shades, hanging the roller standard would mean that the roller would show all white while the part of the shade that hangs down would be black.

A valance could conceal this, but again it’s an added cost and might look too fussy in a minimalist setting. 

DECO Window Fashions

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The reverse roll is also good for clearing an obstruction, like a window crank or door handle, as seen here, because it pushes the fabric away from the glass. 

Rachel Reider Interiors

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If light is an issue with the reverse roll, you can add curtains on the sides.

Florida Design & Associates, Inc

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Side channels, shown here, are another option. A side channel is an aluminum felt-lined channel on the sides and bottom of a window opening that the shade fits into. Think of it like a track for the edges of the shade. These create a seamless seal of shade on window, blocking all light out. It’s good for a bedroom or to create a movie theater effect in a media room. 

-Mitchell Parker

SOURCE

http://www.americanhomecontractors.com/blog