How ranch-style homes helped build the American dream

Ranch-style homes — with their single-story designs, attached garages, open floor plans and low-pitched roofs — are among the most popular house styles in the United States. 

The houses that we think of today as ranch style started gaining popularity in the 1930s because they were cheaper to build than traditional Colonial Revival or Cape Cod-style homes, said Mary A. van Balgooy, a researcher and historic home consultant.

“The ranch house of today is a uniquely American invention,” van Balgooy said. “It required minimal decoration, it looked very spacious, so it just seemed like it was this wonderful solution for people looking to afford a home.” 

One particular design by a builder Cliff May came to define the form. “Cliff May is what we call ‘the father of the ranch house,’” van Balgooy said. 

May started as a furniture builder and began building homes influenced by Spanish Colonial architecture and California adobes in the 1930s. Though he was not a licensed architect, he managed to get his designs featured in prominent magazines, including Architectural Digest and Sunset. 

“My belief is that he was the best promoter,” van Balgooy said. “By 1955, 8 out of 10 houses that were built in the United States were ranch houses.”

Ranch homes became popular at a time when more Americans were buying houses than ever before — as the population spread into the suburbs, ranch homes spread across the country. 

“The ranch house symbolizes to me a generation’s dream of attaining and living in a home,” van Balgooy said. “It is the face of suburbia America.”

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