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

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6 Roof Top Hangouts we Love

With forethought and engineering, a rooftop can be a very valuable bit of real estate. Here are six cool roofs that not only work overhead, but underfoot.

1. 

“We sought to create a house that would not damage the environment and not be too visible,” says architect Tina Gregorič of the cliff top house she and partner Aljoša Dekleva built for a couple in Maui. A single zigzagging roof stretches over 5,380 square feet, doubling the area of the interior spaces and serving as an ideal spot for sunset cocktails and whale-watching.

Photo by Cristóbal Palma 

2.  

Architect Jonathan Feldman helped Rian and Melissa Jorgensen create a rooftop paradise for their home in Northern California. Photo by Joe Fletcher.

  Photo by Joe Fletcher.

3.  

A69 Architects were called upon to integrate into the neighborhood this family home in Prague, whose roof is flush with the plane above. Photo by Jens Passoth 

  Photo by Jens Passoth.

4. 

Located in the Bronx, the Brook occupies what had, for years, been a vacant lot. Its rooftop garden serves all the residents of the 198-unit building. 

  Photo by Jake Stangel.

5. 

n southwest Poland, architect Robert Konieczny of KWK Promes raises the roof—with sod intact—on Jacek Perkowski’s modernist rural getaway. 

6. 

On Austin’s outskirts, where urban, industrial, and rural collide, lawyer and science-fiction author Chris Brown’s bunker-style home redefines modern city living. The living roof, which cascades down to the stair connecting the levels, is home to its own ecosystem. 

  Photo by Dave Mead.

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How to Incorporate Your Roofing Into the Landscape

The best landscapes connect with the homes that sit atop them in both large and small ways. Attention to detail is what will move your space from ordinary to extraordinary. Pulling hues from brick, stone or paintedsiding into the landscape with thoughtful plant choices is one thing, but what about that roof? Whether you’ve purchased a home with unusually colored shingles, built a home with a colored metal roof or inherited a home crowned with a tile roof, the principles are the same. Let’s see how to tackle your dilemma and ground your home in your landscape.

nancekivell home planning & design

Homeowners frequently forget to look up when designing their landscapes. Sometimes, I think, they are secretly hoping their challenging roofs will just go away. But for a seamless home-garden connection, there should be a continuous flow, with all parts supporting the others.

Consider three things: color, texture and shape. After addressing these three things, consider accessories to bring all parts of your composition together.

jARCHITECTS: Jim Rymsza, AIA

Color

Roofing is available in myriad colors, some safer and easier to work with than others. Hardscape, such as sidewalks and decking, can be chosen to create continuity through color. If you have purchased a home that presents a challenge to you in this respect, consider painting or staining your ground-level hardscape to create a connection.

The sidewalk pavers in this photo do their job mimicking the color of the shingles and pulling it to the ground level, creating a homogenous vibe.

Southfen

The cut stone pavers in this photo do double duty, picking up both the hue of the home’s metal roof and the gray in the stone cladding. Notice how the shape of the pavers speaks to the vertical seams of the roof, then visually pushes the eye outward toward the greater landscape.

Rob Bramhall Architects

Your planting scheme is of paramount importance when it comes to creating this color connection. Notice how this lawn of ornamental grass picks up the darker tone of the roof and contrasts with the lighter tone of the house siding, creating a harmonious feeling. Ornamental grasses are valuable tools in creating this connection. Species and cultivars can be found in a wide range of hues, such as blue, orange, red, pink and green.

Donald Lococo Architects

Metal roofs with orange or brown metallic hues can easily be complemented or contrasted with foliage. Consider Coppertina or Center Glow ninebark (Physocarpus opulifolious cvs, zones 3 to 8; find your zone), Orangeola Japanese maple (Acer palmatum var dissectum ‘Orangeola’, zones 5 to 8) or Buttered Rum coral bells (Heucherella ‘Buttered Rum’, zones 4 to 9). Don’t neglect seasonal foliage color provided by shrubs such as oakleaf hydrangea (Hydrangea quercifolia, zones 5 to 9).

Peter Zimmerman Architects

Notice how these pink coneflowers (Echinacea cvs, zones 4 to 8) pull color from the metal and tile roofing of this home, creating a seamless home-garden connection. Joe Pye Weed(Eupatorium purpureum cvs, zones 3 to 8) and Autumn Joy stonecrop (Sedum ‘Autumn Joy’, zones 3 to 11) would further reinforce this connection.

Gelotte Hommas Architecture

Texture



Some roofing materials have more texture than others. If you have wood shakes, slate or tile on your roof, seize the opportunity to pull that texture into your garden. Notice how the highly textural wood shakes on this home make a connection with, and are emphasized by, the stone retaining wall. The boulders pull color from both the roof and the house siding and bring their texture to prominence.

Peter Zimmerman Architects

Notice how both the color and texture of the roof tiles on this home are pulled forward into the garden by the old brick sidewalk. The materials share color and texture, even though they are different, creating a meaningful home-garden connection.

Ron Herman Landscape Architect

Up to this point we’ve looked at using hardscaping to pull texture from the home into the garden, but plants can also create this connection. Notice in this photo how the roofing texture is pulled down by informed plantings, starting with New Zealand flax (Phormium sp). The designer of this space starts the mental connection for us by repeating the roof color in the plants closest to the house. Moving farther away from the foundation, the texture then takes over with lavender and heathers. The lesson learned from this well-designed vignette is that you can make the plants closest to the home the ones that most resemble it in color and texture, to set the precedent for the rest of the garden.

Wayne Windham Architect, P.A.

Shape and Line

Shape and line make up our third parameter. If your roofing material has a prominent shape or pattern, accentuate that to create your connection. Notice how the vertical seams in the metal roof shown here are emphasized by the placement of the tall, structural palm tree. Additionally, the color of the palm’s trunk pulls from both the siding stain and the roof, while also adding texture.

Martin Patrick 3

In this example the primary line, or run, of the roofing material is picked up by the stone siding, then brought down to the garden floor with the staggered edges of the stone patio. Also notice how the lines of the patio furniture further reinforce the connection to the home. This kind of attention to detail is what will create a professionally designed look in your space.

Tom Meaney Architect, AIA

Accessories

The proper selection and placement of accessories will make or break your space. Ceramic or terra-cotta pottery, sculpture, light fixtures, mailboxes and house numbers are all fair game to use in achieving your home-garden connection.

Notice how the Italian terra-cotta pots on this terrace beautifully pull out the color of the roof, grounding the terrace in the space. Good-quality pottery is an investment, but a worthy one.

GFDS Engineers

Notice how the boulders in this almost-monochromatic garden add texture while pulling out the gray from the shingles. Meanwhile, the crushed stone on the garden floor seems to flow effortlessly from the house, making a second meaningful connection between home and garden.

Choose your boulders carefully to create your connection, remembering color, texture, size and shape. An ill-chosen boulder can be an eyesore rather than an asset in your design.

Hugh Jefferson Randolph Architects

Well-chosen and well-sited sculpture is a primary tool in the creation of a connection. Notice how this Asian piece picks up the color, line and texture of the roof, grounding the home in its space. - Jay Sifford

SOURCE

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