New California Classics: California Ranch
Author:California Home and DesignLos Angeles is widely considered the unofficial capital of the California ranch-style home. As a defining element of the city’s architectural identity, the ranch-style home carries a quiet sense of history and familiarity, rooted in simplicity and modesty. While earlier architectural styles emphasized ornate facades and formal front-facing designs, the California ranch shifted the focus—bringing the backyard into the spotlight and redefining the relationship between indoor and outdoor living. For me, a ranch home represents the ideal lifestyle for Southern California; simple and easy living on the land where life is con- nected to the outdoors and celebrated through expansive spaces that have few walls and large openings, which allow for consistent natural light where the indoor and outdoor spaces become one.
In the postwar era, the style gained widespread popularity through the rise of suburban housing developments across Southern California. The ranch-style home’s approachable design—casual, livable and attainable—captured the spirit of the times and reshaped how Angelenos lived. It wasn’t just a house—it was a new way of life, one that embraced nature, ease and flow.
Cliff May, who grew up on an actual ranch outside San Diego, is often credited as the “father of the ranch house.” He designed and developed tracts of ranch homes throughout the region and beyond, championing the style in collaboration with Sunset magazine and helping to cement its place in California’s design vernacular. The hallmark features of the California ranch are distinct and enduring: a low-slung profile, wide-open floor plans and an intentional emphasis on indoor-outdoor living. These homes often include low-pitched roofs with deep eaves, vaulted ceilings with exposed beams and generous connections to patios, courtyards and gardens. Open layouts minimize internal divisions, allowing natural light to flow freely and shared spaces to breathe.
Perhaps the most essential characteristic is the seamless blend of interior and exterior. Large glass openings, shaded patios, breezeways and covered walkways extend the living space outdoors, reflecting a deep connection to the land and climate. More than just an architectural style, the California ranch home embodies the relaxed, spacious and sun-soaked lifestyle that defines Southern California living. I have practiced on the residential side of architecture for over 25 years in Southern California, and it is the ranch style that has had the most impact in shaping my perspective on master planning and detailing of the design. I am constantly searching for this simplicity, lifestyle and connection to the outdoors in every project.
-Story by Patti Baker, Barbara Lowenthal, Kevin Clark, Patricia Benner
