Not your grandma’s ranch! With massive curb appeal, modern updates, and trending color palettes, you will love the modern ranch style homes on this list. We will walk you through what is a ranch style house, and also break down design options, features, and suggestions when upgrading your ranch style house.
If you need help bringing your ranch home into the 21st century, our virtual exterior designers at brick&batten can help. We take a picture of your home and bring it to life with a new color palette, finishings, windows, landscaping, and more — complete with a clickable shopping list. Learn more about how it works here.
What is a ranch style house?
The ranch originated in the United States in the 1920s. It traditionally features a low-to-the-ground and sprawling profile with a single story, and a wide, open layout. Ranch style homes fuse modern ideas with the wide open spaces of the American West, creating an informal and casual living space that blends into nature. Modern ranch style homes typically are rectangular, U, or L shaped. They tend to have a devoted patio or deck space, large windows, and often feature a finished basem*nt and attached garage.
Next, ranch style homes have many benefits. They offer easy exterior maintenance with a low-pitch roofline, no stairs to climb, and they’re great for entertaining. We’ve also seen a resurgence in the appeal for modern ranch style homes because of our modern preference for blended indoor/outdoor living spaces.
#1 // Modern Ranch with A-Frame Porch
This modern ranch style home got an upgrade in vertical siding painted in Iron Mountain by Benjamin Moorewith wood accents. We love the pop of color on the teal door, and the A-frame porch and light fixture add visual interest. The porch feels like an extension of the yard and walkway, which is characteristic of a true ranch.
#2 // Bungalow Style Ranch Home
This smaller bungalow style features large windows, which are customary on ranch style homes, as well as an exterior painted in Tricorn Black by Sherwin Williams. Additionally, the wood columns and stone walkway help the home blend into its natural surroundings.
#3 // Contemporary U-Shaped Ranch with Flat Roof
The flat roof and tall rectangular windows give this contemporary ranch style home an industrial feel. Adding stone and wood accents helps ground the space and connect it to the outdoors. Moreover, the U-shaped profile allows for unique, contrasting design elements without losing symmetry.
#4 // Modern Ranch Style House with Roof Windows
Starting in the 1960s, ranch style homes in California and the Sun Belt started featuring more architectural features like cathedral ceilings, angular roof lines, and skylights. This brick home is a perfect example, and we it painted in Revere Pewter by Benjamin Moore. Plus, the contrasting black garage and roof windows create a dramatic yet cohesive effect.
#5 // Contemporary White Ranch
The varied angular rooflines and exposed rafters of this contemporary ranch style home add a little bit of spunk, while the wood accents and stone porch provide an earthy feel. We also love how the vertical siding, horizontal siding, and brick are painted the same color (Seapearl by Benjamin Moore) to bring all the home features together.
#6 // Sprawling L-Shaped Modern Ranch
If you want a large home that doesn’t stand out or take over your landscaping, a sprawling L-shaped modern ranch style home will do the job nicely. As such, we love the painted brick, contrasting roofline, and wood doors on this home. The black vinyl window frames and lighting and copper gutters add some contrast and visual interest.
#7 // Midcentury Modern Ranch
We love a good midcentury modern ranch style home with its large windows and simple, open design. We chose Dragon’s Breath by Benjamin Moore for the roof bump out on this home and garage to contrast with the brick painted in Revere Pewter. Certainly, the wood columns, porch roof, and door also make the space cozy and inviting.
#8 // Modern Suburban Ranch
This modern, symmetrical suburban ranch got an upgrade in vertical painted siding with whitewashed stone. The centered porch and contrasting colors draw the eye to the beautiful door and large picture windows. This ranch style home exterior design is welcoming and modern.
#9 // Midcentury Modern Coastal Ranch
This beach-y midcentury modern ranch home is bright and airy with a fresh coat of paint, modern finishes, and wood accents. Naturally, we also love the seating nook that helps blend indoors and outdoors — as a true ranch should.
#10 // Modern Farmhouse Ranch
With its casual style and natural features, the modern farmhouse trend mixes well with a ranch style house. We also love the metal roof accents and vaulted wood beam porch on this home, both of which contrast with the siding rendered in Shoji White by Sherwin Williams.
#11 // Modern Rustic Ranch Style Home with Pool
This rustic modern ranch style home truly blends indoor/outdoor living with multiple double sliders to various seating areas, a firepit, and an in-ground pool. Furthermore, the large windows bring natural light in and the covered patio acts as an additional living space outdoors.
#12 // Bungalow Ranch with Detached Garage
A smaller bungalow ranch style home gets a modern update with large windows, an open porch, and a glass-paneled door with sidelights. The detached garage blends in with the surroundings so as to not draw the eye away from the home’s focal point — the welcoming porch and oversized modern light fixture.
#13 // Tiny Monochrome Ranch Style Home
We love how a monochromatic look on a tiny home can actually make it feel bigger. This modern ranch style home looks large and inviting because of the picture windows, minimal landscaping, and lighting. The siding is painted in Graphite by Benjamin Moore, which has blue undertones that carry through the roof, porch, and walkway.
#14 // Spanish Rustic Modern Ranch Style Home
The grid-pattern windows on this Spanish rustic modern ranch style home add character and visual interest. The white-painted stucco looks fresh and updated against black accents and finally, the beautiful stained wood garage door pulls things together.
#15 // Contemporary Ranch Home with Low-Sloped Roof
Modern contemporary ranch homes often have interesting roof lines and porch features. While these can sometimes be challenging to design, they’re also fun features that can show off your home’s personality. The gray accent panels on both sides of this home present an illusion of larger windows and balance out the angles. Similarly, the large glass-paneled door and porch skylights give off a welcoming vibe as you enter the home.
The Bottom Line on Modern Ranch Style Homes
Ranch style homes are an American staple, present in almost every neighborhood across the USA. Whether blending rustic and natural elements into the exterior design or using bright, contrasting colors to highlight architectural features, updating your ranch house to suit modern styles and needs is a great way to improve curb appeal. Therefore, we hope this list has inspired you to update your home’s exterior!
Our exterior designers at brick&batten can help you blend the outdoors with modern indoor living; just the way your ranch style home was originally created. Our digital renderings offer design options and shopping links for easy DIY updates. Start today with our simple exterior design questionnaire.
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