Ranches: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New [Hardcover]

M Caren Connolly (Author), Louis Wasserman (Author)

Book Description

Series: Updating Classic America | Publication Date: October 15, 2003

The ranch can be found everywhere on both coasts and in America's heartland, too. The ranch is simple, functional, and unassuming. But it can look dated. What homeowners are rediscovering about ranches is just how affordable and flexible they can be. This book provides a fresh set of eyes with which to look at the ranches we live in--and the ones we're thinking of buying (or building). It's rich with ideas and inspiration, featuring more than 20 examples of updated homes and ranches built from scratch.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Taunton Press (October 15, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1561584371
• ISBN-13: 978-1561584376
• Product Dimensions: 11.2 x 9.7 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (26 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #732,625 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

96 of 99 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fake reviews abound on this book, September 25, 2005

By 

Lori (Oregon Coast) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ranches: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Hardcover)

I haven't read this book, just wanted to point out that there are a suspicious 7 reviews in 5 days, 2 from 'Joshua,' 2 from 'Jeann,' and three others that were all apparently submitted by the same person with a grudge to throw off the rating. I checked a couple of them and this book is the only one 'they' have reviewed.

I have no connection to this book or the author, but it bugs me when I'm trying to decide whether to get a book, based on the ratings, to have them intentionally weighted like this.

49 of 49 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful, informative, inspiring., May 2, 2005

By 

Ruth Henriquez Lyon (Duluth, Minnesota USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ranches: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Hardcover)

After having lived for years in a boring, utilitarian ranch home, I had no idea that a ranch house could be as elegant as the homes in this book. Even though the authors present some very high-end renovations, with some imagination many of the basic ideas can be translated into more economical ways of updating your home.

The first thing you notice when flipping through the book is the sheer number and beauty of the color photographs. There is a color photo on just about every page. When there's not, then there is a diagram, such as "Fireplace Options," which shows you several ways to design an updated fireplace. Other diagrams show "before and after" floor plans, and a plan showing the early roots of the original ranch homes. Thus, it's not just pretty pictures presented here--there's a lot of nuts and bolts information.

The authors start off with a history of the ranch style, since it helps when updating to keep within the original concepts that the style evolved with. I learned that the current ranch design was originally popularized by designer Cliff May in California. But May drew inspiration from the traditional ranchos of the southwest. These ranchos in turn had evolved over the millenia from the atrium houses of the Romans. These ancient houses were "closed off" from the streets, whilst providing a private outdoor space for family living, the same as many ranches today.

The authors discuss how in ranch houses form follows function. For instance, typical ranch houses have been built with large windows to allow for passive solar heating--thus these were the some of the first energy efficient houses. Also, there were often more large windows and glass doors in the back of the house than the front. This is because ranches were built for privacy on the street side, with openness to the back yard in order to integrate indoor and outdoor living. Thus in ranches, windows are designed with energy use, privacy, and enjoyment of nature in mind. When remodeling an older ranch this information can be valuable in improving the look and functioning of the house.

The ranch home doesn't have to be boring and ugly. As the authors state, many ranch neighborhoods are becoming attractive to buyers again. That's because they have shady trees, and attractive back yards with an abundance of natural beauty which can be enjoyed from the house. The ranch design was built with adding on and remodeling in mind, so removing walls or tinkering with floor plans is often easier than with other styles of houses. This lovely book shows you how, and will inspire you to dream of ways to do it in a more modest fashion if your budget requires economizing.

38 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Best for those who would rather live elsewhere, May 28, 2007

By 

Pennsylvania Reader - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ranches: Design Ideas for Renovating, Remodeling, and Building New (Hardcover)

The title implied that this book would be ideal for me; I like ranches, I feel that they are undervalued, and I see many that are ripe for renovation after years of benign neglect. They're often small by today's standards, too, and I'd like to know how other people have expanded or changed their ranches while maintaining the buildings' architectural identity. For all these reasons, I didn't like this book much. The author disparages the architectural style that some of us appreciate--she is downright insulting about the exteriors--and seems to feel that the reader/owner's main goal will be to ignore the exterior of their house or transform it into something very different such as a developer-style colonial. Little advice is given about maintaining or updating the wonderful horizontal form of the ranch, choosing trim, siding, roofing, hardware, doors, windows, etc., or maintaining and enhancing the architecture-nature connection that makes ranches interesting through appropriate landscaping, decks, gardens, and other outdoor features. If you find it at your library or a charity book sale, it's worth a look, but it didn't contain what I thought it would.