Ranch Houses Living the California Dream

With its archetypal open plan and reverence of indoor-outdoor living, the Ranch house is at the very heart of the California dream. When we picture California Ranch housesthe low-slung, informal dwellings that engulfed suburbs after World War IIwe are thinking of just one part of a phenomenon that has its roots in early-nineteenth-century ranchos, and which continues today in houses that are startling and up-to-the-minute. Examples of the type have been called ranchos, ranchers, and California ramblers. They have been styled Spanish, Japanese, and French; Monterey and International; Vernacular, Minimalist, and Modernist. From the 1797 Rancho Los Alamitos of Long Beach to such contemporary homes as the Miller Residence of Corte Madera, Ranch Houses unveils the great variety and the very finest examples of this multifaceted form. Including the work of such architectural luminaries as Cliff May, Richard Neutra, John Lautner, and Charles Moore, Ranch Houses is an essential resource for architects, home owners, and all those who aspire to the indoor/outdoor lifestyle that is the California Dream.

Lucia Howard and David Weingarten are principals at Ace Architects in Oakland. Weingarten has authored several design books, including Bay Area Style. Joe Fletcher is an architectural photographer who regularly contributes to Dwell, the San Francisco Chronicle, and California Home + Design. He is the photographer for Rizzoli’s Cliff May and the Modern Ranch House.

Twenty-Six California Ranch Houses

Rancho Los Alamitos
Long Beach, 1797

Rancho Camulos
Piru, 1853

Rancho San Julian
Santa Barbara County, 1878

Will Rogers Ranch
Pacific Palisades, 1927

King Gillette Ranch
Malibu Canyon, 1928
Wallace Neff

Roper Residence
San Diego, 1933
Cliff May

Kaufmann House
Palm Springs, 1946
Richard Neutra

Sinatra House, “Twin Palms”
Palm Springs, 1947
E. Stewart Williams

Donnell Residence, “Il Novillero”
Sonoma, 1948
Austin Pierpont, George Rockrise

Schaffer Residence
Glendale, 1949
John Lautner

Private Residence
Lafayette, 1949
Fred and Lois Langhorst

Kirschenbaum Residence
Oakland, 1950
Alvin Fingado

Alice Erving Residence
Montecito, 1950
Lutah Maria Riggs

Edris Residence
Palm Springs, 1954
E. Stewart Williams

Pope Ranch, “El Peco”
Madera, 1956
William Wurster

Pascal/Weinraub Residence
Brentwood, 1956
Cliff May

Kenaston Residence
Rancho Mirage, 1957
E. Stewart Williams

Kelham Residence
Yountville, 1959
Gardner Dailey, George Kelham

Eichler House
San Rafael, 1960
Anshen & Allen Architects

Eshelman Residence
Rolling Hills, 1963
Cliff May

Licht Residence
Mill Valley, 1977
Charles Moore

Allewelt Residence
Modesto, 1978
William Turnbull

Baas/Walrod Residence
Sea Ranch, 1999
Buzz Yudell/Moore Ruble Yudell Architects

Valley Center House
Valley Center, 1999
Kevin Daly/Daly Genik Architects

Beck/Miller Residence
Corte Madera, 2004
Ace Architects

Desert House
Desert Hot Springs, 2005
Marmol Radziner and Associates