The Ranch House [Hardcover]

Alan Hess (Author), Noah Sheldon (Photographer), Noah Sheldon (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 2005

The trend is unmistakable. The Ranch-style house, a phenomenal success in the '40s, '50s, and '60s, is making a comeback. Like the enthusiastic embrace of Modern-style houses in the past decade, the Ranch house today is being snatched up and restored all across suburban America, while longtime owners are rediscovering what seduced them in the first place. Now Alan Hess, one of the country's leading authorities on the 20th-century American home, offers the definitive look at the Ranch house as he guides readers on a tour of more than 30 iconic examples, all photographed especially for this book. With L- or U-shaped floor plans and sliding glass doors that provide direct access to the patio from the living area, the Ranch house is ideal for an indoor/ outdoor lifestyle and great for families, qualities that made it so appealing in its early days. Now, as this book illustrates, with baby boomers reclaiming the design aesthetic of their youth and a younger generation welcoming the warm and casual spirit of the Ranch, it's no surprise that this most populist of house styles is popular once again.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Alan Hess is architecture critic for the San Jose Mercury News. His books include Googie: Fifties Coffee Shop Architecture, Rancho Deluxe, The Architecture of John Lautner, and Palm Springs Weekend. He lives in Troy, Michigan. Noah Sheldon is an architectural photographer based in New York City whose work has been featured in numerous national periodicals, including House and Garden and New York. This is his first book.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Harry N. Abrams (January 1, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0810943468
• ISBN-13: 978-0810943469
• Product Dimensions: 9.9 x 11.9 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #587,484 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

36 of 36 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The joys of one-level living, June 13, 2005

By 

Robin Benson - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Ranch House (Hardcover)

Another beautiful Alan Hess architectural history that deserves to become the standard work. The book is in two parts, in the first sixty-eight pages he writes a readable and interesting history of this very popular housing concept and being popular it was looked down on by the architectural elite and many critics. The second part (147 pages) is a pictorial study of twenty-six ranch houses photographed by Noah Sheldon.

It is Sheldon's photos that makes the book come alive for me. With one photographer taking all the color photos there is a consistency of composition and color values and these 230 photos really work, with exteriors and interiors showing structural detail and the use of space. He manages to make the work of Cliff May, William Wurster or Harwell Hamilton Harris really sparkle plus Hess has written comprehensive captions to all these images, another refreshing plus for a highly visual book.

The design and production can't be faulted though to really make it perfect I would have liked to see floor plans of the twenty-six houses. By the nature of the ranch house, on one floor and no need for second floor supporting walls, rooms could meander in any direction and the leading architects of the style certainly took advantage of this. The back pages have a bibliography and index. I think Hess has written an excellent survey of this past popular house style and it will appeal to anyone interested in domestic architectural design.

***FOR AN INSIDE LOOK click 'customer images' under the cover.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite comprehensive, but a good survey., January 19, 2009

By 

Maryanna (Athens GA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Ranch House (Hardcover)

The first half of the book quite thoroughly describes the evolution of the traditional working ranch home into the contemporary suburban family compound. Especially interesting is the information about the beginnings of suburban subdivisions in general. While Hess limits his focus to a handful of California and Arizona communities, the stories of these communities were doubtless replicated in other cities all the way to the east coast.

The only negative, really, is that the photo spreads in the second half of the book seem to be focused more on custom homes. With the focus of the first section being more on mass-produced tract homes, I would like to have seen an equal focus on these communities in the second half as well. I would have also liked to see more contemporary examples, as there are only one or two contemporary models showcased, with many examples of the rustic style.

Overall, a very informative look at the evolution of ranch homes in the mid-century American west.

5.0 out of 5 stars Coffee Table Staple, December 17, 2011

By 

danhw6 "danhw6" (washington, DC United States) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Ranch House (Hardcover)

I bought a ranch style home and needed inspiration when remodeling and decorating. This book was great! It now sits on my coffee table and everyone loves the beautiful pictures. It has allowed the Ranch Mansion, as I call my home, to earn respect from my friends.