Ranch Style

If you grew up in postwar America, chances are you lived in or next to a ranch-style house. And the things we loved about ranches when we liked Ike are still attractive—perhaps more so—today: the liberation that comes with open-plan living, the casual feel of easy kitchen access, the comfort of having bedrooms and children near at hand, the convenience of one-level living, and the everyday luxury of smooth indoor-outdoor flow. So it’s no surprise that the ranch is in style again—and this book showcases the best of it. Whether that style is the mid-century modern of Corbusier and the Eameses, or the cross-cultural awareness of the sixties, or the Pop Art and plastic of the seventies, Ranch House Style offers inspiration and instruction on re-creating these looks in your own home. But this book isn’t just for style mavens with professional decorators. Because if there’s any one completely American, democratic architectural style, it’s the ranch house. Ranches, in all their glory (and sometimes utter lack of it), are everywhere, usually affordable, just waiting for the right shag carpet to restore their hipness, the right flea-market find to liven up that patio. AndRanch House Styleshows how—with examples of the ranch’s flexibility for any decorating style, from Victorian and French Country to thoroughly contemporary, from primary homes in the suburbs to vacation getaways on the shore, from vintage gems to newly built originals. It also shows how to solve the special challenges that come with one-story living in a decades-old house, including how to expand into today’s more spacious footprints, how to renovate for modern amenities, and how best to use the ranch’s typically large plot of land. Remarkably, there hasn’t been a book on ranches available in decades. Despite the millions that exist across the entire country, the ranch has been ignored by the high-design community. To address that insult to ranch lovers, Ranch House Style also includes thoroughly researched, authoritative material on the style’s history, sociological context, architects, designers, and furniture. This is a serious work that stands alone in its field, in addition to being a beautiful, inspirational, and practical decorating book. So come visit the ranch—both the remarkably familiar and the strikingly original, from modest to luxurious, in styles from charming to mod—available in neighborhoods everywhere, here showing in all its coolness.

In these pages, you'll find dozens of projects to help you create the custom-quality look normally found only in the most luxurious homes. Ranging from decorative paint treatments to impressive carpentry additions, each project includes complete instructions with step-by-step photography.

My Side of the Mountain is a favorite middle-grade novel. This companion gives background on the author, including an interview, questions to guide reading, clues to the story's themes, plot, characters, and setting, a glossary, writing and other activities, and more. If you loved My Side of the Mountain, you need this reading companion.

With its ground-hugging profile and pleasingly simple facade, the ranch-style home persists as one of America's most popular. Perfect for all phases of life, the plans in this volume are prime examples of cost-efficient design, liberating open-plan layout, and comfortably separated living spaces.

From Popular Mechanics (9.6 million readers every month), the hands-down experts on the subject of how things work, comes the most complete and up-to-date DIY guide ever published. This highly sophisticated household manual will instantly become the gold standard for anybody who fixes anything. Filled with color photos, drawings, and diagrams, this encyclopedic how-to covers every area of concern to house and apartment owners, with information on planning ahead; decorating; repairs and improvements; security; infestation, rot, and d& electricity; plumbing; heating; outdoor care; and tools and skills. And it’s easy to find the solution to the particular problem that concerns you, without having to go from page to page of continuous text: the straightforward design breaks down the subjects into clearly defined, color-coded chapters. So whether you’re looking for advice on applying finishes, adding decorative paint effects, constructing walls, fixing the roof, or installing a burglar alarm, the instructions are here. • National Publicity • Cross Marketing on the Website, PM zone • Featured in PM’s “Great Stuff Column” • Featured in PM E-Newsletter (125,000 subscribers) • Included in PM “Wish List for Guys” Gift Registry • Advertising in PM Magazine

Changing International affairs and the forces of technological innovation shaped the lives of Americans in the last decades of the 20th century. While the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union gave rise to hopes of peaceful international relations, the Gulf War and the attacks of September 11, 2001 on the World Trade Center in New York shattered these aspirations. In the social sphere, cell phones, CDs, and the Internet completely transformed the ways by which people communicated and conveyed information. The election of an African-American man to the presidency marked the successful continuation of the struggle for equal civil rights, bolstering America's reputation as a radically changing place in this contemporary period.

May relates his family history, recalls his early life in San Diego, and discusses the history of his architectural creation, the California ranch house.