 |
Revitalizing the Ranch House
Once synonymous with American suburbia, the ranch-style, cookie-cutter, Old Florida home is getting a face-lift as designers reexamine its role in modern living. Back in their heyday—the 1940s to the 1970s—these austere yet solid residences were built en masse to satisfy a population boom. They were practical, functional gathering places for the family, usually with the kitchen as the focal point.
Nowadays, the heavy demand for reframing these homes to fit the times is met by architects like Jonathan Parks, who, for the past decade, has redone models in Sarasota, Charlotte and Lee counties.
“I think the ranch house, when it came about, was, strangely enough, a prototype. When Frank Lloyd Wright did the Usonian houses in the 1930s, he said America had changed,” Parks explains. “The middle class was looking for houses and you had to have a floor plan to accommodate them, so the Usonian was picked up by everybody. It’s probably the most prolific domestic floor plan we’ve had since World War II.”
What these L-shaped dwellings didn’t always take into account, however, was the home’s relationship to the environment. And in the Sarasota-Bradenton area, where scenery tops the list of reasons to settle, the ranch house floor plan doesn’t exactly do it justice. Breathing air—and, in turn, life—into these structures is now paramount for planners. They are attempting to widen the windows, invite the landscape in, maximize natural light, conserve energy and create the appearance of more majestic spaces.
Parks recently transformed a modest, three-story Longboat Key home with a 1970s design (small, dark rooms and a 160-square-foot kitchen) into an airy paradise. He was able to retain the integrity of the home’s original footprint while opening it up to the outside pool and bayou.
“You have to be very careful about some fundamental things with these houses. If you take down walls, you have to make sure the walls that are there are insulated, because sound is a big issue,” Parks says. “You have to have light in the proper space, too. So you could put in a huge window, where you would normally have a backsplash, to let in natural light.” Using green materials such as reconstituted quartz-based countertops, low-impact water fixtures and low-voltage lighting are also among Parks’ remedies.
Like Parks, Tom Denslow, a designer for DSDG Inc., is veteran ranch house re-sculptor who has tackled dozens of projects in Sarasota. “Traditionally, these ranch houses exemplified the cheapest attainable housing you could have at the time,” Denslow says. “They were built in as much of a mass production system as possible. They had one floor plan they would duplicate, and it doesn’t always work anymore.”
One of the limitations Denslow regularly encounters is the eight-foot ceiling height. In post-war construction, air-conditioning was not yet fully introduced, so architects were building low-hanging roofs and small-volume interiors that would chill easier. Now heating and cooling units are ubiquitous, as are alternatives to cramped spaces. Denslow, for example, will cut out trusses and install beamed ceilings, which usually add another four feet in the home’s center. The lot size in many ranch houses prohibits extensions, so going up instead of out is sometimes the only option, leaving Denslow to tack on a second story.
“There is thermal stratification in these old spaces. You could shut the windows and the heat would rise to the top of the ceiling, and it would cool the space,” Denslow says. “We kind of forgot all that when air conditioning came along.”
Forgetting a little and preserving a lot is still the credo for most of these neo-ranch house visionaries.
Forging Space
Michael Halflants of Halflants + Pichette: Studio for Modern Architecture believes ranch-style homes are simply not well designed for Florida’s climate. So he tends to take a more dramatic approach to overhauling by removing walls and drilling into attic space, usually at the request of the client. He is currently working on a house addition that has a single-pitch roof and 50 percent as much porch space as air-conditioned space.
Other popular client requests? Closet space. Whereas ranch-style homes used to have one six-foot closet per room, walk-ins are taking over. Master bedrooms are even becoming entire suites, Halflants notes.
Restoration Observations
In the past 32 years, Designer Jeff Hart of Sarasota’s Robb & Stucky Interiors has overseen five local ranch house restorations. Flooring is always a factor, as it was generally done in terrazzo in the 1950s. Some clients have polished the material while others tiled or carpeted over it. Energy efficient glass and aluminum have since taken the place of original awning and jalousie windows. Bathrooms, with their mid-century modern pink and black décor have either been cherished for their vintage appeal or completely knocked out. And recessed lighting has been wired throughout otherwise dim-lit interiors.
“These houses, for the most part, were really soundly built, so I wouldn’t shy away from that,” Hart says. “You may have to take out what isn’t practical for the environment, but other than that, these can be very long-lasting homes.”
Ultra Modern Tricks for Sprucing Up a Ranch House Interior
Alison Bishop, owner of Living Walls Furniture & Design in downtown Sarasota, employs interior design to a take the antiquated drab out of old ranch houses. Case and point: a typical 1980s home in The Lakes subdivision that was cursed with a sullen entryway, dark hallways, an outdated kitchen and poor access to a beautiful view in the rear. It was up to Bishop to mold it into a contemporary marvel, while still honoring its assets, and make it more accommodating for a large family. How did she do it? Using tricks that apply to most ranch houses with similar plights.
1. Delineate entryways, common rooms and private areas. In this house, Bishop redesigned the entrance, brightened the pathways from room to room and forged a “teen room” that could be closed off for privacy. Previously, when guests would walk in the front door, a messy play area for youngsters would greet them. Now it’s no longer a mishmash of rooms, leaving guests to wonder whose domain they’re entering.
2. Maximize windows and views of the landscape. The main living room in the back of this house, which looked out on a tree-lined lake, was where the adults spent most of their lounging time. Bishop wanted to maximize that room’s efficiency, and make the walk there a pleasure rather than a chore. The long hallway past the kitchen and through the dining room needed a major makeover. Now, when guests arrive in the living room, a soft, greenish blue paint called “tide pool” soothes them. The windows are decidedly free of curtains, as the shade from the surrounding trees keeps out sun and spectators.
3. Illuminate dreary hallways with light bulbs and artwork. “I wanted to create a hallway that was exciting to go down, because at the end of it is the home’s real attraction,” Bishop says. “The trek is now a journey.” One-inch canned lights, or “star lights,” sparkle from the ceilings, and the hallway now doubles as an art gallery. Alphonse Mucha’s art nouveau prints, which the homeowners purchased during a trip to Budapest, Hungary, line the walls.
4. Prioritize renovations based on budget and usable space. Because the budget was limited, certain spaces like the living room took priority over others in this home. For instance, a complete overhaul in the kitchen would have been too expensive, so Bishop just had the room resurfaced with black glass Formica. Marble, stone and stainless steel inlays replaced unsightly tiles throughout the home, which was a cheap and effective solution.
5. Add curb appeal using clever, inexpensive lighting. Outside, the original fixtures in this home were Coachman Lights on brick posts, and in the portico area was a hanging lamp with hexagonal glass. For a more “up to the minute” look, Bishop found fixtures with bronze sheens and pieced glass, reminiscent of Frank Lloyd Wright’s creations. The heavily landscaped property, with its brick and stone accents, is now well illuminated. “In a house like this, trying to crash out walls and redo the whole floor plan isn’t respectful of the space,” Bishop says. “You want to see the space for what it was
and adapt it to your style of living.”
1980s Longboat Key living room renovation. Architect: Jonathan Parks. Builder: David Bailey, Inc. Photography by Greg Wilson
Design materials and samples courtesy of Alison Bishop at Living Walls Furniture & Design. Below: Maria Beck home
—By Amy Nance Photography by Gene Pollux
Read Next Acquire Feature
To access all SRQ articles, become a magazine subscriber today!
|
|
