These Ranch Style Homes Sure Look Familiar

I know, I have blogged much about a home style that I have experienced for most of my life: the ranch style home.

Tallahassee, Florida has many ranch style homes as do most communities and rural zones of these United States. Look at these pics to get the basic feel, form and exterior characteristics of ranch homes, ramblers, ranchers. 

First, you probably notice the low lying buildings, with gable roofs that have a low pitch. The form snuggles as close to the earh as possible in a horizontal shape, sometimes with a garage and sometimes without, and sometime in U shape, L shape or just a simple rectangle.

The roof and the simplicity of its exterior is what is so characteristic about the ranch style home. This is also what allows the home to most comfortably fit in with the local environment.

You notice thate these structures are brick rectangles, just like the ranch style hommes I grew up in. However, not all ranchers are brick, and traditionally, builders use local materials. In Florida, many, if not most ranch style homes have brick, or mostly brick exteriors. In other parts of the country, you may see more wood exteriors, adobe exteriors, as well as brick exteriors.

I always see myself living in ranch style homes. This is the architectural style that I am most proud of. These typically simple structures have stood for decades, since the 1940’s as the most functional, popular and affordable housing style in the United States. I do hope builders will bring these homes back. They were a big part of 20th century America.

(All pics above were taken with a Treo 700wx)